Rotring Sketching Art Pen

[ksteryous]

Need help please...I bought a couple of the Rotring Art Pens (F and EF) from Utrecht.com, and the description is:

 

Flexible stainless steel nib produces lines of varying width by changing hand pressure through sweeping curves or short sketching strokes.

 

I've been wanting to try a flexible nib without spending a lot of money, but when I received these today, I tried them out, and I cannot produce any line variation. I've pressed down fairly hard and still get the same line. I fear if I press any harder I will damage the nib.

 

Any thoughts? Is there a break in period for these pens?

 

Thanks,

Kenton

[brh]

I believe that you can get the Artpen in some standard nibs and then some italic/stub type things that are broad (labeled 1.1mm, etc) and the EF, F that you are describing are probably just normal ball nibs and won't demonstrate much in the way of line variation... I could well be wrong though, but I have Artpens in EF, F and they are just normal nibs.

 

-brian

[ksteryous]

Hmmm....well I wonder if they will take them back even after I've inked them since their description clearly says they should produce line variation. I'll email them and ask them. As it stands now, these do nothing more than my existing fountain pens.

 

If they don't take them back I'll understand since I've already put ink into two of them, but their description really is not accurate.

 

Regards,

Kenton

[*david*]

Don't press any harder. Flex nibs respond to light pressure. I also have a Rotring Art Pen, fine nib. Zero flex on mine as well, but mine wasn't advertised as such so I didn't feel cheated.

 

I don't see a difference between this and a regular Rotring fountain pen nib - I don't know why they call it a sketching pen.

[*david*]

Buy your pen from somebody who actually uses them. Store staff and ebay sellers do not know a flexible pen from a biscuit.

 

Flexible nib fountain pens at ordinary prices are no longer made, and haven't been made for a long time. People who have one generally don't want to part with it for cheap. Resign yourself to either spending some serious money (whether for a good old fountain pen, or for work on a new pen to make it flexible) or to using dip pens.

(Or, to becoming extremely patient, and very knowledgeable about what you are looking at.)

[kissing]

There are modern pens that are "springy" which some non-FP cavemen like to call "flexible"

 

There is a clear difference between the term "flexible" we use within Fountain Pen Network and outside FPN.

 

I went to the pen store the other day, and asked whether they had any "flex nibs", assuming they would understand what I meant (since we're always using the term here on this website), but they didn't understand what I meant, and pulled out a Parker Sonnet (which is a modern springy nib, not a flex).

 

So I explained to them thoroughly, and they finally said "Ohh! You mean those 1930s and 40s nibs that they used for Copperplate writing?"

 

The only (main) ways to get your hands on a flex nib these days are either..

 

-Go Vintage. However, there might be some money involved in having to restore old pens. . .

-If you want something new, there are nibmeisters out there who will convert a Pelikan 14K pen (forgot what the particular model was...M215?) into a flex nib of different degrees to your preference (I believe Richard Binder is one such person to see). But this ain't the cheapest option out there (I'm gonna save up for a flex nib from him )

-I believe there are inexpensive dip pens out there that are flexible. I don't really like dip pens though, so I havent tried, and nor is it likely I ever would

 

I tried the flex nib at the pen shop I was in (it was a Vintage black-hard-rubber pen...possibly an old Waterman with a flex nib. It was a WONDER to write with! I WANT ONE )

[kissing]

ps: Oh yes - I really really doubt that you'll find any "flex" in Rotring nibs

They're amongst the stiffest ones out there :blink: "Flexible Rotring" is like an oxymoron to me

 

pps: Most pen stores or pen brands have a certain number of days for satisfaction guarantee, I think. Most pen stores I've been to allow you to refund pens for at least 14 days or so after purchase, whether it was inked or not

Edited November 30, 2006 by kissing

[mmoncur]

I was very disappointed with the Rotring Art pens - not only are they "nails" as far as flexibility, but their "EF" isn't all that fine. A decent Lamy Safari beats them on both counts, although you still don't get much flex...

 

Since I had no other use for it, I filed my ArtPen down to an XXXF nib. It's still a horrible writer, but at least it's marginally useful for drawing.

[ksteryous]

Well, this is the response I got from the vendor where I bought the pen:

 

"The Rotring Sketching Art Pens are design like regular dipping pens, except the convenance of an ink cartridge. The nib is designed to produce fine lines or varying lines depending on how you handle the pen. You can vary the line width by the hand pressure you give the pen. The nib pen should have a little flexibility that the line changes from its regular mark, to a different width in line mark. The Pen does not create a strong difference in mark, except when you angle the nib to its side. This should produce a larger mark..."

 

Clearly they believe this to be a flex nib that should produce line variation, but I can tell you it produces absolutely no line variation. It is one of the firmest nibs I've used, certainly firmer than any of my existing Pelikan fountain pen nibs.

 

Regards,

Kenton

[kissing]

Vendors these days rarely know anything about pens anyway <_< Even the employees of the manufacturers of these pens are uninformed about fountain pens.

 

I went to the Sanford Head office in Australia earlier this year, and saw that they don't even use their own products in their offices (They use BICs and Reynolds ballpoints. No Parkers, No Watermans and No rotrings to be seen anywhere, except for a display window next to the office )

 

The vendor who described the "art pen" as flexy is clearly terribly misinformed, or is making some ridiculous assumptions

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

That is so different from Cross. When I went to Cross, everyone had a Cross pen, and if you borrowed a pen, you were lent a...Cross... They had a Morph for signing the guestbook. Yes, you need an appointment to get in, and I had one.

 

Dillon