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Rotring Esprit M Review

vig2432

By vig2432
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vig2432 Rare

vig2432

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Rotring generally doesn't seem to get a lot of love in FPN. Engineers and architects swear by their clutch pencils like Tikky and Isograph. Their design philosophy is minimalistic and somehow Rotring's writing instruments bring out their "germanness" better than Lamy IMO. The present model I got is a NOS Rotring Esprit in M nib. I had got this from ebay.in.

 

post-117506-0-90650400-1437990629_thumb.jpg

 

Rotring calls this colour- "Tourmaline Green". It has a nice sleek design. This is a thin pen and grip section is ribbed for better gripping. The whole pen is made up of metal(probably aluminium) and is very light

 

Some approximate measurements:

  • Pen Length(capped):140mm
  • Pen Length(uncapped):126mm
  • Pen Length(posted):172mm
  • Barrel diameter:11mm

post-117506-0-46887100-1437990661_thumb.jpg

 

post-117506-0-98565500-1437990652_thumb.jpg

 

post-117506-0-15677600-1437990644_thumb.jpg

 

The nib is very plain looking and has M written on the side of the nib and the feed is also plain looking. The nib puts down a wet M line and writes as hard as a nail.

 

post-117506-0-09951200-1437990673_thumb.jpg

 

post-117506-0-24833600-1437990684_thumb.jpg

 

The pen comes with a standard international short cartridge filled with blue ink. I am using it with a spare jinhao converter which fits very nicely with this pen. This pen is a no fuss pen which can be used for long writing sessions. Some people might be put off due to its slender nature.

 

Caveat Emptor: In India, this pen is seeing a revival of sorts. I believe a lot of NOS Rotrings were brought by Indian sellers and is now sold by many Indian sellers on ebay. I had brought this from Indian ebay for the lowest possible cost available and some people mentioned that even with lowest price available on ebay, I had overpaid by almost twice as much. The only saving grace is that the pen performs very well. So, as a word of caution for FPNers, while looking for this pen, keep in mind that most probably the prices are jacked up by unscruplous sellers.

Edited by vig2432

Vi veri veniversum vivus vici

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Pickwick Collectors Item

Pickwick

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Very nice review with good photos. You don't mention how much you paid for it. There is one on offer on US eBay for the equivalent RS3521. How much did you pay for the one you have?

 

I bought the Rotring Initial about four years ago. It's a well engineered reliable pen. "APC System" engraved around the cap. This means the pen should still write if I happen to be on the summit of Mount Everest!

 

If your able to organize an expedition to climb it please let me know. I'd love to find out if Rotring's claim holds good!

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

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vig2432 Rare

vig2432

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Very nice review with good photos. You don't mention how much you paid for it. There is one on offer on US eBay for the equivalent RS3521. How much did you pay for the one you have?

 

Woah.. 3521rs is a hell a lot for this pen. I paid 800rs on ebay. Its price 2 years ago was around 500rs. You could find it in some shops in India for around 600rs. Definitely no buy. If you get an offer within 15-20$, it might be a good buy

 

 

I bought the Rotring Initial about four years ago. It's a well engineered reliable pen. "APC System" engraved around the cap. This means the pen should still write if I happen to be on the summit of Mount Everest!

 

If your able to organize an expedition to climb it please let me know. I'd love to find out if Rotring's claim holds good!

 

I dont know about writing on Everest as inevitably your ink would freeze, unless the pen were insulated or made of insulating material and the properties of fluids are radically different at low temperatures and pressures. Maybe one can try it with Noodlers polar inks

 

Cheers

 

Edited by vig2432

Vi veri veniversum vivus vici

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Pickwick Collectors Item

Pickwick

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Posted

 

Very nice review with good photos. You don't mention how much you paid for it. There is one on offer on US eBay for the equivalent RS3521. How much did you pay for the one you have?

 

Woah.. 3521rs is a hell a lot for this pen. I paid 800rs on ebay. Its price 2 years ago was around 500rs. You could find it in some shops in India for around 600rs. Definitely no buy. If you get an offer within 15-20$, it might be a good buy

 

 

I bought the Rotring Initial about four years ago. It's a well engineered reliable pen. "APC System" engraved around the cap. This means the pen should still write if I happen to be on the summit of Mount Everest!

 

If your able to organize an expedition to climb it please let me know. I'd love to find out if Rotring's claim holds good!

 

I dont know about writing on Everest as inevitably your ink would freeze, unless the pen were insulated or made of insulating material and the properties of fluids are radically different at low temperatures and pressures. Maybe one can try it with Noodlers polar inks

 

Cheers

 

 

Well that will save me a journey. I'll rest content!

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

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senzen Antique

senzen

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Posted

Nice review! This looks really elegant, even the barrel is the same colour as the rest of the body; I'm seeing them for $50 on eBay... Pity I can't buy anything right now...

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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RMN Museum Piece

RMN

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Thanks for the review.

 

I picked up a Nautic blue gift set (pen, ballpoint and pouch) last year for the price of 18 €. Looks very nice, I haven't inked it yet.

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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The Blue Knight Collectors Item

The Blue Knight

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I bought one in 2013 I think for £12 from an Indian seller. It was a surprise to say the least one of the smoothest nibs and most subtle yet elegant pens I've seen, Bauhaus design at it's very best. Meaning to buy another at some point as a spare.

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vig2432 Rare

vig2432

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I bought one in 2013 I think for £12 from an Indian seller. It was a surprise to say the least one of the smoothest nibs and most subtle yet elegant pens I've seen, Bauhaus design at it's very best. Meaning to buy another at some point as a spare.

 

Yes, It signifies Teutonic minimalism and efficiency. A very nice design. I don't know why this pen is not more popular compared to Lamy Safari, even though Esprit is much better(IMO, ofcourse)

Vi veri veniversum vivus vici

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subbu68 Extremely Rare

subbu68

Posted
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Ha, you got at the same time as I got and for the same price. I too fitted my Jinhao converter. Nice pen in my opinion, light weight and best of all the German engineering stands out. It's like touching some electrical equipment from Siemens (I get to handle a lot of electrical equipment at project sites).

 

Thanks for the review. saved my time ;)

Regards

 

Subramoniam

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pensnproses Near Mint

pensnproses

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Even I bought Espirit around the same time and feel like buying one again, now that I know a beauty like this would be buried by Parker.

 

One question, which convertor is compatible with this? Sheaffer or Pelikan?

Regards,

Pratik

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subbu68 Extremely Rare

subbu68

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Posted (edited)

Even I bought Espirit around the same time and feel like buying one again, now that I know a beauty like this would be buried by Parker.

 

One question, which convertor is compatible with this? Sheaffer or Pelikan?

just plug in Camlin trinity converter if you have one. If in India Trinity costs only Rs.99.. cheaper than any standalone converter . Jinhao worked but was a bit loose

Edited by subbu68

Regards

 

Subramoniam

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RMN Museum Piece

RMN

Posted
Posted

Even I bought Espirit around the same time and feel like buying one again, now that I know a beauty like this would be buried by Parker.

 

One question, which convertor is compatible with this? Sheaffer or Pelikan?

 

Standard international size, so the Peikan will fit, as a host of other converters in that size, like Faber Castell, Conway Stewart, Visconti.... These are all based on the Schmidt K-series (K1, K2, K5 -- K6 is for screw-in converters)

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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pensnproses Near Mint

pensnproses

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just plug in Camlin trinity converter if you have one. If in India Trinity costs only Rs.99.. cheaper than any standalone converter . Jinhao worked but was a bit loose

 

Thanks, using my elegante convertor on the Rotring.

Regards,

Pratik

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pensnproses Near Mint

pensnproses

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Posted

Standard international size, so the Peikan will fit, as a host of other converters in that size, like Faber Castell, Conway Stewart, Visconti.... These are all based on the Schmidt K-series (K1, K2, K5 -- K6 is for screw-in converters)

 

 

D.ick

Thanks.

Regards,

Pratik

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