Rotring Core

[Titivillus]

Purchased a Rotring Core from Swisher pens in the grey/blue color). Bought it on a whim after getting two bottles of ink It cost about $10. And there was a glitch with ordering but Swisher was great and provided excellent customer service.

 

Appearence 3

It looks like the handle from a high end ski pole and has a section that dips and rises to the large nib. There is high tech writing and lines all over it and of course the section is separated from the body by a red ring!

 

Nib 4

The nib is amazingly good at the price. The XS version I got is a smooth fine nib just how I like them closer to EF than M.

 

Filler 4

The pen arrived with a blue international cartridge as well a converter. I put the cartridge in and it started right up! I bet this is one of those pens that you don't have to worry about- it will just write.

 

Writing 5

I'm putting it through it's paces and once you get use to grip, maybe it is because I hold a pen high on the barrel that it seems to fit me just right.

 

 

Overall...4

The price and quality just come together in the right way. I suggest it.

 

Kurt

[raillink]

This is an amazing pen for the price. Great flow and a fantastic steel nib. It's even got an ink window !

 

[PAKMAN]

They are definitely wild looking. A friend let me write with one for a couple of days and then offered to give it to me. I had to decline because I just can't get a comfortable grip position on them.

[lovemy51]

"high end ski pole"... that's a good description of the appearence!!

 

i've been contemplating the possibility of buying one of these... but i end up not doing it.

 

next time i browse thru the swisher site... i dunno... should i?

[Theresarrt7]

I purchased one of these recently from ebay. I paid around ten dollars for it. It has a fine nib. I own one other fountain pen: a Cross Century II, medium nib.

 

The Rotring Core arrived today with two cartridges. I put one of the cartridges into the pen and the ink flowed smoothly onto the paper. My first impression is that I will enjoy using this pen very much. It's much lighter than the Cross, and this is good for me because I grade papers and the Cross gets too heavy in my hand.

 

The grip works for me. The only thing is that it seems very bulky and ugly (to me). But that should make it hard to lose!

 

The price is hard to beat and the quality is good.

[skinnyPens]

Has any body had flow problems with this? I got the XS as well. Put Noodlers Zhivago in it, in the Rotrings converter. Just can't get the ink to flow.

 

Do you think it is the ink?

 

I'm going to clean it and try it with the cartridge. But just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas.

 

Thanks!

[Titivillus]

Has any body had flow problems with this? I got the XS as well. Put Noodlers Zhivago in it, in the Rotrings converter. Just can't get the ink to flow.

 

Do you think it is the ink?

 

I'm going to clean it and try it with the cartridge. But just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Nope no issue. The one thing I did notice is that the little orange guide needs to help the converter set it. So you might want to rinse it with a little soap to get it going. But try the cart first as that will remove some possible problems.

[wackyjacky1]

Mine has had continual flow problems, in spite of rinsing (with both ammonia and detergent) and trying out different inks. I love the nib (an XL but writes like a medium) but my pen doesn't make it into rotation because of the flow issues.

Edited May 21, 2008 by wackyjacky1

[skinnyPens]

I flushed it a bit, just with water. I'm going to try getting one of those bulb syringes and flush the heck out of it. I have hope, because it seems to be slowly getting better. If that fails, I may go to the 'flossing' I've heard some others say they had to do.

 

And whether cartridge or converter, or even the ink involved didn't seem to matter. The Noodlers' Zhivago worked fantastic for me from the get go with a Sailor Chalana extra fine, so that helps rule out ink issues as well.

 

It isn't skinny, but it is a distinctive looking pen, so I like it and want to be able to use it.

 

In my way too geeky head, the Chalana is elvish, while the Rotring is Klingon.

 

 

[PaulGeo]

Anyone know what the "Write-On System" is all about?

[MinasTirithScribe]

A Rotring Core was my all-round beast-of-burden pen a few years ago when I was working on a book. I found its design a little too outre' but kept on using it for its tactile advantages--smooth, fast, reliable, ergonomic, and LIGHTWEIGHT cartridge writer with which I could do pages on end without a tired hand.

 

Two things pulled it out of my rotation eventually.

 

The "fine" nib seemed less fine than most I've used, particularly with Levenger Cobalt Blue.

 

And the barrel's end-piece (I don't know the proper term) fell off from the wear of being carried everyplace and got lost.

[I am not a number]

I am currently enjoying the Ski-pole description.

[hblanchard]

I have 4 of these Rotring Cores (plus one roller ball) - and I don't know why. The nibs are very good but the bowed section right behind the nib where you grip the pen puts strain on me after any extended writing, and the balance is off with the cap on -- outlandish design trumped practicality and ergonomics. As one person once remarked, they look like they fell off Darth Vader. I also had some feed problems esp with Noodler's ink, nib creep and fast flowing with medium nib, but, ironically, feed problems with the fine nibs -- but a little care and flushing fixes that. The nibs do write really well - and occassionally they come into rotation for a day or two.

 

BTW, the roller ball Core does not have the 'bowed' section, it's straight, and it takes a Pilot G2 gel refill or Montblanc roller ball refill. It is much more comfy to write with than the fountain pen Cores.

[Have Fun]

I don't ski so the pole description went over my head & as I have never seen one of these pens I googled

 

That is one Plug Ugly Pen .. I don't see the logic behind the design, in fact it looks overdesigned & different for the sake of it, so the chances of me picking one up to try are very remote. Does anyone here find the design really attractive? What's the appeal?

 

 

[Tricia]

I have an aqua one and while I love the wild look of it, the grip just doesn't work for me. Since I have and use a number of Safaris, which has a somewhat similar shaped grip, I thought the Rotring would work for me as well, but alas...

 

Nothing wrong with the pen, mind, it's just a personal issue with how I grip a pen when I write.

[RLTodd]

I find it a great writer, the cap makes it a bit big for the shirt pocket, and about as ugly a design as is possible.

[satrap]

I don't ski so the pole description went over my head & as I have never seen one of these pens I googled

 

That is one Plug Ugly Pen .. I don't see the logic behind the design, in fact it looks overdesigned & different for the sake of it, so the chances of me picking one up to try are very remote. Does anyone here find the design really attractive? What's the appeal?

==

 

I think it is way cool and I bought a bunch of them (had one in every colour). Junior high guys really like them, so I had to keep them from my students. I sent a couple of these to a pen collector for his sons, and the boys really loved them.

[Phthalo]

I think they are just plain unusual and interesting. I like unusual things!

 

With the cap off, the Core is comfy in the hand, and great to write with.

Edited May 24, 2008 by Phthalo

[calliej]

we had a bunch of these in all the colours flowting around our house a few years back (me and 2 teenagers). I bought em specifically because they were outlandish and wanted to get the kids into using fountain pens. Unfortunately they were not up to the job and although the nib was good and I found mine comfortable the kids wrecked theirs in just a few weeks at school.

 

The plastic that the cartridge slides into is not very sturdy and my son managed to break 2 of them. The clip broke off of one of the others (and in fact the 2 pencils we had to match) and the last one disappeared (which means it broke and ended up in the bin)

 

sad really but wont buy them again

 

I also agree that the large cap put the balance off

 

I dont remember having any flow problems - but maybe the kids did with theirs which is why the inner plastic broke withe them trying to force ink though it - dunno just a guess but seems plausible

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have an orange and gray Rotring Core---it reminds me of Crocs. I had to have it, because it's so ugly-cute, and the nib and writeability are great, but the grip just wasn't for me. I would not part with it, though---every now and then I take it out, gaze at it, fill it with a few drops and write it out.