Rotring Initial Matte Black Metal Review

March 27, 2009

I love my Initial. It is one of my best writers. Never a skip or a starting problem. I paid $25 on ebay from seller Pens N More. I just am not toally thrilled by the way the cap posts, but nonetheless, it is one of my faves.

May 24, 2009

I thought about trying this pen - I find that some pens I have with a bulgy, blimp-like middle section feels good and natural in the hand. But, I decided against this pen (even though they're at great prices now) because:

I don't see any available in XF nib. I'd probably be content with the F nib, but it will always bug me that it's not an XF, given that XF was available at one point in time.
It sounds like that posted, this pen would be a bit too heavy to use comfortably (and extensively). It sounds like I'd have to keep struggling to maintain its balance. I only have a small fp collection so far, and I don't like using them unposted. It seems like something's missing (like they're naked, kind of), and then there's the hassle of placing the cap somewhere where it's out of the way, won't get knocked and go flying into some small crevice or on the floor to get dinged, and also easy to find once you need to put the cap back on. I like to use all my capped/"stick" pens (including ballpoint and rollerball) posted - that's part of their beauty.

Too bad - because I do like the design of this pen (at least based on pictures and online reviews). There are not many fp's with "ergonomic" grips (my top pen fetish) - whether rubbery, ribbed/scored, cushioned, triangular, etc., or blimp-like contours. And, this pen looks nice, overall.

Edited May 24, 2009 by dzdncnfsd

September 23, 2009

I received an Initial (medium nib) a week ago (cost: about £10 from ebay), and my first impression was how UGLY it was in the flesh! So far, I really like how it writes, though. The nib's not fussy about writing angle, and it's nice and smooth and wet. I've not exactly been molly-coddling it: until I get round to buying a converter, I've been using up a few old, slightly dehydrated, bargain bin cartridges. I left it uncapped on the desk while I went off and cooked the dinner, ate it, watched a bit of telly..... after a couple of hours I remembered the pen and it started writing straight off, no skipping whatsoever, like I'd never been away. I read in one of the earlier comments that the nib was the same as on the Rotring Core; another said it was the same nib as the Skynn, but it's a different nib to both of those; different, too, to the nib on the Freeway. Incidentally, I pulled out for nib comparison a Skynn I bought for about 25p on account of somebody had pinched the cap out of the blister pack. It's been sitting in a drawer uncapped and unused for over 2 years; I wet my finger, ran it over the nib, and it wrote straight away!

I don't like the cap on the Initial; I like to write with cap posted, and it tends to fall off the barrel, although it's secure enough when the pen is capped. I do like the weight, the fullness of the barrel, and the indents on the section. But I still think it's ugly, and cheap-looking to boot. Of course, at a tenner or so, it WAS cheap.

June 21, 2010

For the record, I received a new Rotring Initial (medium nib) last week (merci, M. Lewertowski!). I haven't seen that anyone has posted an answer to the question: "This feature really works? Somebody already tried?" concerning the Air Pressure Compensation, so I thought I would let you know my experience.

I am a frequent traveller - I probably take about 20 business flights a year, and was intrigued by the prospect of the APC feature. I have previously had the, not surprising, experience of a Parker Vector disgorging its contents on my notebook mid-flight, which brought my use of FPs in the air to an abrupt halt. So I undertook the experiment of writing with the Rotring during a flight with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

Before the flight, I charged the FP with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir ink (using a Waterman cartridge converter) and tested out the pen on both legs of a Paris-Prague trip this weekend. I put pen to paper (Oxford Notebook) at takeoff, during the climb, while cruising at altitude (wrote about half a page of text), then again during the descent.

Result: perfect writing throughout, not a blot in sight.

I guess this is not yet a statistically significant sample , but so far it backs up the claim. The Rotring looks like it might now become my travelling pen.

Does anyone know what the mechanism for APC is?

July 8, 2010

I can vouch for the APC as well; had a Rotring Initial half-filled with Baystate Blue on a non-stop from Seattle to Germany; did not occur to me to make sure that it was either empty of filled to the top. No problems whatsoever. I'm very impressed with this pen!

For the record, I received a new Rotring Initial (medium nib) last week (merci, M. Lewertowski!). I haven't seen that anyone has posted an answer to the question: "This feature really works? Somebody already tried?" concerning the Air Pressure Compensation, so I thought I would let you know my experience.

I am a frequent traveller - I probably take about 20 business flights a year, and was intrigued by the prospect of the APC feature. I have previously had the, not surprising, experience of a Parker Vector disgorging its contents on my notebook mid-flight, which brought my use of FPs in the air to an abrupt halt. So I undertook the experiment of writing with the Rotring during a flight with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

Before the flight, I charged the FP with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir ink (using a Waterman cartridge converter) and tested out the pen on both legs of a Paris-Prague trip this weekend. I put pen to paper (Oxford Notebook) at takeoff, during the climb, while cruising at altitude (wrote about half a page of text), then again during the descent.

Result: perfect writing throughout, not a blot in sight.

I guess this is not yet a statistically significant sample , but so far it backs up the claim. The Rotring looks like it might now become my travelling pen.

Does anyone know what the mechanism for APC is?

July 28, 2010

Unfortunately, I now have to qualify my favourable comments on this pen. On two recent flights I have 1) leakage of ink into the cap and 2) blotting of the ink while writing in flight. So the "APC" mechanism is clearly not infallible.

I can vouch for the APC as well; had a Rotring Initial half-filled with Baystate Blue on a non-stop from Seattle to Germany; did not occur to me to make sure that it was either empty of filled to the top. No problems whatsoever. I'm very impressed with this pen!

For the record, I received a new Rotring Initial (medium nib) last week (merci, M. Lewertowski!). I haven't seen that anyone has posted an answer to the question: "This feature really works? Somebody already tried?" concerning the Air Pressure Compensation, so I thought I would let you know my experience.

I am a frequent traveller - I probably take about 20 business flights a year, and was intrigued by the prospect of the APC feature. I have previously had the, not surprising, experience of a Parker Vector disgorging its contents on my notebook mid-flight, which brought my use of FPs in the air to an abrupt halt. So I undertook the experiment of writing with the Rotring during a flight with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

Before the flight, I charged the FP with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir ink (using a Waterman cartridge converter) and tested out the pen on both legs of a Paris-Prague trip this weekend. I put pen to paper (Oxford Notebook) at takeoff, during the climb, while cruising at altitude (wrote about half a page of text), then again during the descent.

Result: perfect writing throughout, not a blot in sight.

I guess this is not yet a statistically significant sample , but so far it backs up the claim. The Rotring looks like it might now become my travelling pen.

Does anyone know what the mechanism for APC is?

June 3, 2011

If I may be forgiven for resurrecting an old thread, I have recently bought an Initial too.

This is my first fountain pen since a leaky plastic one I had when I was about 12, so I have little to compare it with, nevertheless I am very happy with it! I decided on the Initial after borrowing one at work, and I liked it so much I Googled Rotring fountain pens to see if I could indentify it.

Mine is the aluminium-bodied one in brushed silver, with a fine nib. The build quality is what I would expect from Rotring, all-metal construction with quite some heft. (42g capped, 32g uncapped) Drop this puppy on your desk and co-workers will jump! The cap will stay posted, but it needs to be pressed slightly rather than just slipped on. That said, I find posting the cap makes the pen too tail-heavy so I use it unposted.

The nib lays down a lovely wet line of consistent breadth, this may be a problem for people who prefer more expressive lines, but I tend to write small so consistent is good. Speaking of the nib, I found it a bit toothy to begin with but after a couple of weeks' use it's either smoothed out or I've gotten used to it.

All in all I am very pleased with this as a first pen, and it has led me to look into other offerings from Rotring. I am currently eagerly anticipating the arrival of the legendary 600.

February 22, 2017

This is my first review, so please keep that in mind when reading. I am also new to fountain pens, so bear that in mind as well. Please feel free to offer suggestions as how I can improve future reviews (or if I should just give up).

I have shamelessly borrowed categories from KendallJ’s review of his Sheaffer Aspen Balance (thanks) to aid me in the review.

Overall Design (4/5)
The Rotring Initial in Matte Black Metal is a modern design every-day writer. The cap is topped with Rotring’s signature red circle. “Germany” is imprinted on the side near the top of the cap and “APC System” circles the cap bottom. APC stands for Air Pressure Compensation, a system of the fountain pen which Rotring claims prevents ink leakage and ensures smooth writing even during flight.
The most impressive aspect of the cap is the clip, as it is a very well designed spring-loaded clip with a maximum opening of 3.7 mm – wide enough to easily fit over the pocket seam of your blue jeans.

What are your thoughts, now, on the cap?

Mine does not even stay! Till last month it needed a gentle tap for the pen to fall off. Now, Mother Gravity does it.

Disgusted at this $110 wastage!

March 15, 2017

What are your thoughts, now, on the cap?
Mine does not even stay! Till last month it needed a gentle tap for the pen to fall off. Now, Mother Gravity does it.
Disgusted at this $110 wastage!

This is my yet unanswered complaint email sent a month ago.

What kind of nonsense is this rOtring?

______________________--------------------------_____________________

Dear Ma'am / Sir,

I purchased a Rotring Initial (F) pen, last year, from Amazon.com and got it delivered to a friend who was coming to India, from the USA.

I could not get a Rotring converter so I went to William Penn and got myself a $ 11 Visconti converter!

Having owned Parkers (cheap ones and a Sterling 75 for 20 odd years till my Super Boss stole it) till now, I wanted change.

This Rotring is hardly that change!

This purchase was inspired by the legendary Rotring 600 that belonged to my Uncle! The 'clack' of its cap! Pure music!

I treat it with due respect, often rudely refusing strangers this pen and take the pains to take off my bag from the back and offer them a ball point pen.

However, it seems, this pen shall be relegated to the drawer because I just can't carry it in my pocket without constantly adjusting it so that it doesn't slip out of its cap; and, it still does!

Just a gentle tap is enough to get it off! (See photos. Video can be sent, if needed.)

Normal bodily movements dislodge it from the cap, staining clothes!

Disappointed and disgusted at this 'German' quality!

Ra.

UPDATE : It does not even stay in the cap! Watch the disgusting video! I am so sad about this "German Engineering"!

Do I buy the Mercedes Benz, next year?

-15th March, 2017

No reply. Could anyone guide me as to how to go about it?

May 28, 2017

I received an Initial (medium nib) a week ago (cost: about £10 from ebay),. Of course, at a tenner or so, it WAS cheap.

Mine cost $ 100 at Amazon! Am thoroughly disgusted with its new and replaced cap that you can see in action, here, and am parcelling the two caps and the pen to rOtring, without expecting anything in return!

I don't know what brand to trust, any more!

October 31, 2017

Rotring sent me a new pen with glossy body.

It has been a few weeks and the cap clicks nicely. Let us hope for the best in the long run.

This is my yet unanswered complaint email sent a month ago.

What kind of nonsense is this rOtring?

______________________--------------------------_____________________

Dear Ma'am / Sir,

I purchased a Rotring Initial (F) pen, last year, from Amazon.com and got it delivered to a friend who was coming to India, from the USA.UPDATE : It does not even stay in the cap! Watch the disgusting video! I am so sad about this "German Engineering"!

Do I buy the Mercedes Benz, next year?

-15th March, 2017
No reply. Could anyone guide me as to how to go about it?
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