Rotring 600 Mechanical Pencil Review

Rotring 600 Mechanical Pencil Review

For a while now I have been in contact with Ovidiu from Romania who is a fellow collector of mechanical pencils. I’ve been twisting his arm to write a guest review for my blog, and eventually he succumbed to the pressure, and so, here is his review of the Rotring 600 mechanical pencil.

For some years after I got into collecting mechanical pencils, the Rotring 600 was something of a myth for me. Very hard to find at that time and quite expensive, this pencil was and still is considered by many, the definition of a drafting, professional mechanical pencil.

My pencil was bought from Japan and it arrived in a small, black cardboard box, along with a sheet of paper that quite amusing is entitled “Manual”. In fact, Rotring and Manual are the only words intelligible to me, because the actual instructions are written in Japanese. This manual seems to apply also to the cheaper Rotring 500 and Rotring 300 models and explains, as I figured from the picture, how you can insert the leads into the mechanical pencil’s inner tube.

On the box it’s written Sanford GmbH – Hamburg, Germany, so this pencil is surely made after 1998, when Sanford bought Rotring. This text is the only thing that betrays the German connection of the Rotring 600, because, as far as I know, this pencil is only available in Japan stores and most likely it is also Japan made.

The first impression when you hold the Rotring 600 for the first time is how well it is made, is like a solid block of metal, with no wobbling parts. The body is brushed silver aluminium (there is also a black model), with the traditional (for drafting pencils) knurled grip with rhombus pattern and continues with the 4mm fixed sleeve, so we can’t talk about pocket safety here. The grip itself is nice, not too rough to hurt your fingers with long term use and also provides a pretty good grip. The central part of the body has a hexagonal shape, in a design effort to link somehow this modern pencil with the older wooden pencils. The hexagonal body also gives this pencil more stability when you write with it. The body is continued with a rounded part where the clip and the lead hardness indicator are located. The clip itself is nice and sturdy, made from the same brushed aluminium as the pencil with the Rotring inscription embossed, another nice touch, that gives class and elegance. The lead hardness indicator is in fact a knurled ring and is the standard twist mechanism that helps you choose the hardness of the leads you are using. You have enough values to choose from : 4H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B. Around the top, it’s the classic red ring, a trademark of the Rotring writing instruments.

The cap is standard, also made of brushed aluminium like the rest of the pencil and it hides a small eraser. It also has the information about the lead size embossed on the top. I was surprised not to see a needle under the eraser, but I then I have never had problems with lead jams so far.

The mechanism is a standard push top ratchet advance, with a very positive, loud “click” which I like. Ten clicks will give you around 7mm of lead which I think is an ideal length for 0.5mm lead.

I have used the Rotring 600 many times, for writing mostly and very rarely for quick drawing. The feeling is that of a solid instrument, one that won’t let you down. It is very well put together, you don’t feel any play in the mechanism. The weight is very well distributed, with the center of gravity somewhere around the centre of the pencil. Personally, I prefer the weight to be distributed towards the grip, but that’s just me… that’s probably why I like Ohto Super Promecha so much. The grip can feel a little slippery after long periods of writing sessions. The brushed texture of the body guarantees that the pencil will remain scratch free for a long period of time, with minimal care.

All in all a fantastic, almost perfect pencil with a technical, robust and simple design, a real trendsetter at the time it was launched, and one that I highly recommend.

• Best points: The design and build quality, the history behind it.
• Not so good points: You have to be very picky to find something wrong with it, but honestly I wished a thicker grip.

Dimensions:
Length: 142mm
Thickness: 9 mm (the hexagonal barrel across points), 7mm diameter for the grip.

Price range: Medium

OK, thanks Ovidiu. I’ll look forward to something about the Ohto Super Promecha in the future :-)

Link to Rotring 600 Model Identification
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