Rotax Pen?

[wackyjacky1]

Does anyone know anything about Rotax pens? I just purchased one on a whim from YiChengTrading.com. The description says it's an iridium-tipped piston filler made in Germany. It looks like a nice, sturdy pen, but I know nothing about it!

 

http://stores.buyitsellit.com/yichengtrading/images/products/large_16592.jpg (pic from Yi Cheng website)

 

PS I think I'm developing a thing for cheap -- er, inexpensive -- fountain pens...since I've joined this board, I've acquired a Safari ( ), a Core ( ), and a Hero (model #250?).

 

PPS Mods, If I posted this in the wrong forum, please move to the proper location!

Edited December 22, 2006 by wackyjacky1

[Judybug]

Some of my favorite pens are cheap! I'm not familiar with Rotax though.

 

Judybug

[mmoncur]

Is that a piston filler? It looks interesting. Reminds me of Mont Blanc's old "Monte Rosa" pens that I see on eBay from time to time.

[kissing]

Yi Cheng

Iridium tipped from Germany? :bonk:

 

Sounds like cheap Chinese pen - but a Piston filler? Not bad

 

I think there was a topic in Writing Instruments forum lately that Yi Cheng pen sellers are notorious for sending spam to your email

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=20756

[mmoncur]

Based on a quick unauthoritative Google search, Rotax appears to be an (out of business?) actual German company. Everything I can find talks about NOS pens from the 70s or so.

 

The nibs are imprinted "ROTAX GERMANY" and while they're undoubtedly cheap, they don't look like your typical generic IPG Chinese nibs...

[wackyjacky1]

I'll post my impressions of the pen when I get it. All I can say about it right now is I like the way it looks!

[wackyjacky1]

Received my Super Rotax in the mail on Friday (pretty speedy shipping, packaged well), so I thought I'd post my impressions of the pen (probably more than anyone cares to know about this thing ).

 

At first glance, I really like the looks of it. It's inexpensive, but doesn't look too cheap IMO. The body is plastic, and the cap is some kind of chromed metal (I don't think it's plastic -- it makes a metallic sort of "ping" when I tap it). Clip and nib are gold colored. The imprint on the barrel is nice and crisp. The nib says "Iridium" and "Rotax". It is a piston filler, with windows around the barrel to view the ink level. The cap screws on. Overall finish and workmanship is really nice.

 

Dimensions: 5 5/16" with cap on, 4 13/16" uncapped, 5 9/16" posted, widest point on cap 1/2", widest point on barrel approx. 3/8". It's pretty slender.

 

Of course we all know the proof is in the pudding, which is to say, "How does the thing write?" Well, I gotta say I'm not crazy about this aspect of the pen! But that's due to personal preferences: I like a big fat wet line, and this definitely does not fill that bill. Nib size is not indicated, but it seems to be a super fine point, and it writes really dry. It's also hard as a nail. It's nice to have a fine line on occasion, so I may do a Repair Forum search to see if I can't at least get it to write a little wetter.

 

Overall I'm fairly happy with it -- I'll be even happier if I can get it to lay down a wetter line.

 

http://home.satx.rr.com/bubbleswondercat/rotax%20page_sm.jpg

Edited January 9, 2007 by wackyjacky1

[tonydacrow]

I bought two, italic Rotax pens: one a 1.9mm and one a 2.3mm. I filled these with Noodler's Firefly and use them as highlighters. They are both excellent, piston fillers. God bless manufacturers of inexpensive (but not cheap) fountain pens!

[wackyjacky1]

God bless manufacturers of inexpensive (but not cheap) fountain pens!

Amen!

 

(BTW I have not been inundated with spam e-mail from Yi Ching.)

[markh]

I also got two from Yi-Cheng trading.

 

If I remember correctly, the web site described the nib as a medium. This was clearly not correct, you could tell the minute you looked at the pen.

 

I got the first one, and liked it so much that I ordered a second to be sure that if the first failed, I had a backup.

 

Why? Because this is one of the best XXFine, crow-quill fine nibs I have on any pen. Right up there with Sailor, except this is even finer than a Sailor fine nib (which is pretty fine indeed)

 

The pen started out writing way too dry for my taste, almost unusable. I went through the normal process of opening it up to increase the flow. On this pen, because the nib is not very long and is very stiff, its a lot of work.

 

But its worth it. The resulting pen lays down a super fine line, but there is enough flow so that its smooth, and the line is dark. Like the best very fine nibs, it seems to have both a very fine line, but is still very usable for regular handwriting - the nib doesn't seem to catch or dig in to the page. In fact, for a XXFine nib I think its the best I have seen.

 

Its also well made, in the traditional German way. Its a plastic body with a piston fill that works fine. The cap is chromed metal, and also seems well made.

 

My pen has been filled for a while now with Pelikan black ink. It rarely gets refilled, since a pen with this fine a line doesn't use much ink. I can pick it up after it is unused for a few weeks and it writes on the first stroke (stored horizontally)

 

While this pen is smooth enough for regular writing, I use it for two specific purposes - my Filofax and my phone book. Both require small but very precise and legible writing. Its perfect for these.

 

So.. I guess you could say that I like it. Its in my regular "rotation", in the sense that its always filled, even if only for some specific uses.

[qownsgur]

I have green one, "Super rotax 89"

 

It's nice, and very thin, piston filler.

 

but it's fragile...

 

I dropped it, and its screw(?) had been cracked..

 

Watch out! It's fragile..

 

PS Rotax 89 's nib is changeable with Rotring artpen.

Edited November 23, 2008 by qownsgur

[aharitt]

Super Rotax is my first fountain pen. I don't know who of my family bought it. Probably someone bought it when I was a kid. Anyway, I found it in my house and started use it and I continued to use fountain pen.

 

It is really nice. Super extra fine really. But it is very fragile too. You can't bring it when you take a flight. I guess the low gravitation does something with the tank. Two of my super rotax started to leak after oversea travel. So far, I had 4 of them and none of them are working.

 

Good thing is that this pen is cheap. So I ordered 4 on e-bay last week so that I can use it for a while

[cheolk]

Hi

 

I am 67 year old already. When I was a small boy I always buy a new Rotax pen for my annual examinations.

It was cheap by today's standard. 50 or more years ago, I remember the last Rotax pen (still with me) was only Singapore $1.90.

It was expensive at that time. It is a wonderful pen. Not cheap stuff. It is not china made. By the way, China do produces good and quality stuffs.

Of course, there are fakes. Fakes are produced by everyone in the whole world. Not china alone. Why so bias?

 

My Rotax pen is still working and writing fine. It is a treasure to me. I am afraid one day, it may be lost or damaged.

 

Do treasure and keep the old stuff as they are quality made. Nowadays all items are made cheaply so that they can be sold cheap.

For example, houses build today cannot last long compared to houses built 50 or more years ago.

 

bye

[AdeVT]

In case anyone is interested. The Super Rotax was manufactured in Germany by the Excelsior pen company. Excelsior were a direct subsidiary of Montblanc and made pens for the student marker. I am not surprised to hear they are dry writers. I have just bought one and will reserve my wet inks for use in it.

[sd10521]

They look interesting, I tagged one on The Bay of Evil that ends this weekend.

I have too many pens as it is...

[PenPaper52]

I bought a green Super Rotax just the other day.

Looks a lot like my Reform pens.

 

Rita