Old Rotring Pen

[kevinphilp]

I was hoping you might know the answer to a question that has me
stumped?

I have a Rotring fountain pen and I have been trying to find cartridges
that fit with no luck. Standard universal short cartridges are loose and
the piece of the pen that punctures the cartridges isn't long enough to
puncture the cartridge. Would you have any idea which cartridges fit
this pen?

The image attached is the only online image I have found of the pen, it
was on ebay and they claimed it was from around 1982.

Thanks
Kevin

[doggonecarl]

I thought Rotring pens took the short international cartridge. Perhaps the feed section is damaged.

[dogpoet]

I've never encountered a Rotring that didn't myself. (That said, that really does not look like any Rotring I've ever seen. There's no sign of a red ring anywhere, for a start.)

Do you have a shot of your pen with the section unscrewed, Kevin? That might cast some light on the problem.

[Fazby]

My 600 takes waterman cartridges.

 

I second the above comments about a red ring.

[Zookie]

I see what looks to be a red ring on the clip, but not around the pen as one would expect.

[dogpoet]

Well spotted. I completely missed that.

[Randal6393]

Have you tried putting two international shorts in the pen? Many '80's era pens followed Pelikan's school pens in taking a short in the nib unit and, turned around, another behind it (butt-to-butt). Or an international long. If that doesn't work ... Yeah, maybe a Waterman. Aren't those international standard, though? I have never used a Waterman, don't know.

 

Enjoy,

[ajlmarques]

I can't claim I'm an expert in Rotring pens (or any other pen maker) but the 5 or 6 different Rotring pens I had over the years all took international standards. However, all were manufactured in the 90s and later. Maybe it was different with pens manufactured in the 80s.

Do you know the model of the pen?

[kevinphilp]

I don't know the model number and despite extensive searching I haven't found it. The picture is from an ebay sale and its the only picture I have found that looks like my pen. The only difference is mine is marbled red.

 

There was a small red circle on the clip - just about worn away on mine.

 

I will try to get some pictures of the cartridge mechanism tonight. The international short cartridges are far too loose and the spike doesn't pierce the cartridge.

 

Thanks

 

Kevin.

[kevinphilp]

One point you can't see on the picture - the nib has rotring written across it.

[kevinphilp]

This is the actual pen broke down into its component parts.

[dogpoet]

I've never seen one of those before. The only other photo of one I can find on the internet doesn't name the model, which isn't a lot of help. The section looks a lot like the one in the Freeway, though.

[kevinphilp]

I contacted Rotring and asked them to identify the model and what cartridges it took. Instead of replying to the questions they simply said they no longer made or maintained that model and sent me a list of independent repair shops. I poked them again with the same question and got no reply.

 

I know they are not going to make any money out of this but you would hope a large company involved in selling luxury items (they are Waterman as well) would have better customer service.

[kevinphilp]

Just to be fair to Rotring, they did reply after a few days...

 

"Unfortunately, We were not able to identify the model of your Rotring pen.

Our archive is quite recent and this model is not mentioned in it."

 

I assume its an early pen - maybe the 1980's.

 

I have now given up on this little quest.

[dogpoet]

Which is a shame, as that looks a nice pen.

[Sailor Kenshin]

We would need to see the cartridge mechanism. If you have a lighted magnifying glass, it will help you determine whether the piercing mechanism is broken.

 

Meanwhile, if you have any assorted, empty carts from Lamy, Parker, or another brand, you might as well try them and see if they fit better.

[OakIris]

Rotring was established in the late 1920's. You would think that such a relatively old, established company would be proud of their history and of their products and not purge their archives so that all the info they have is "quite recent." And, speaking as a relatively old woman, the 1980's aren't all that long ago!

 

Assuming you have already asked the seller and she/he had no idea....and assuming the seller is NOT missing-pen on eBay (the place from which you got the first photo in this thread,) - lots of assumptions, lol - you might consider asking missing-pen for information about the pen model and correct cartridge to fit it. He/she has a ball point pen listed on eBay that is a match to your red marble fountain pen in addition to the fountain pen in first post and may have the info you need: http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-Rotring-Ballpoint-Pen-in-Red-Marble-from-arround-1982-/151849878159 It's worth a try!

 

I hope you are able to find a cartridge that fits so that you can put the pen through its paces - and I hope it writes as nicely as it looks.

 

Holly

[kevinphilp]

My pen is the red one, half way through the posts.

I didn't actually buy the pen...well not recently anyway. I found it in a box at home and none of the family are owning up to it! It probably found its way into our house from my Dad, who unfortunately died a few years back.

 

I will at least dip the nib in some ink and see how it writes.

 

Kevin.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Will any of this help?

 

Site #1

 

Something from ebay