Rotring Ball Point Or Roller Ball

[bearcat1]

I just recently found rOtring pens and pencils and bought the new, Japan pencils and ball point pens. Having a technical degree I wish I would have found this brand sooner as I really enjoy mechanical pencils and pens.

 

I have spent quite a bit of time on this site researching the German varieties versus the recent Japan models.

 

From a practical perspective is there much difference in feel or use of the German pens/pencils versus the latest ones?

 

I would like to get a 600 Roller ball pen and it seems the only real opportunity is on eBay. Are there any other sites or suggestions you might have to locate a new old stock roller ball?

 

The pens would only be as good as the refill and I was curious what some have used for the rOtring 600 roller ball refills?

 

I realize this is a fountain pen site and hope you can help. I have not quite come around to the fountain pens, yet.

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[RMN]

I just recently found rOtring pens and pencils and bought the new, Japan pencils and ball point pens. Having a technical degree I wish I would have found this brand sooner as I really enjoy mechanical pencils and pens.

 

I have spent quite a bit of time on this site researching the German varieties versus the recent Japan models.

 

From a practical perspective is there much difference in feel or use of the German pens/pencils versus the latest ones?

 

I would like to get a 600 Roller ball pen and it seems the only real opportunity is on eBay. Are there any other sites or suggestions you might have to locate a new old stock roller ball?

 

The pens would only be as good as the refill and I was curious what some have used for the rOtring 600 roller ball refills?

 

I realize this is a fountain pen site and hope you can help. I have not quite come around to the fountain pens, yet.

 

Thanks,

Jeff

 

 

Hi and welcome to FPN

 

FPN itself may be a fountain pen forium, but this particular subforum is dedicated to non-FP writing utensils.

 

So your question is pertinent here.

 

Alas I myself can not answer it though. But perhaps one of the other members can answer it?

 

 

Enjoy the forum

 

 

D.ick

[sidpost]

edited:

 

I have spent quite a bit of time on this site researching the German varieties versus the recent Japan models.

 

From a practical perspective is there much difference in feel or use of the German pens/pencils versus the latest ones?

 

I would like to get a 600 Roller ball pen and it seems the only real opportunity is on eBay. Are there any other sites or suggestions you might have to locate a new old stock roller ball?

 

The pens would only be as good as the refill and I was curious what some have used for the rOtring 600 roller ball refills?

 

Thanks,

Jeff

 

 

I have spent a good deal of time in Germany and the Netherlands over the years and while I like the German refills and cartridges in general and, the 'commodity' priced ballpoints and mechanical pencils. I really like the original German brass Rotring 600 pencils and ballpoints. The Rollerball I had never appealed to me due to its length, bulk and weight, and poor overall balance though, it did write very well. If you read up on Rollerball and Ballpoint refills, Schmidt is a name you will see often with very favorable comments. If you put one of those into your cheap pen, you have the same 'guts' you will find in many pens costing a $100USD or more.

 

The Japanese pens and pencils are certainly nice but, the cultural aspects of their design and build are different from what I get with their German counterparts. Is one better than the other assuming similar price points? Not really but, in cheaper 'disposable' pens I do prefer the Japanese pens in general over the German equivalents even though they are very good too. As the price point moves up I find I prefer the German models over the Japanese as I like the technical and manufacturing aspects in the German products which appeal to me more than the Japanese equivalents. The Japanese higher priced models have more flash and 'eye candy' but, the engineering in the German products still appeals to me more which is most likely due to too many semesters in Engineering North and South during college.

 

The Waterman Expert Rollerball is where I would start personally if I was looking for a ~$50USD Rollerball. The brass body, weight and, balance are very nice IMHO. A Retro 51 Tornado is a 'cheap' way to test drive a Rollerball and a Ballpoint however since you can swap out the factory Rollerball cartridge for a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000 for ~$4USD. A "Japanese" Pentel Engergel Alloy RT sort of splits the difference and can be found for $5~10 depending on where you shop and is a great bargain IMHO. Personally, I would take a Pentel Engergel Alloy RT over a Rotring 600 Rollerball today and use the money saved to buy more Energels in different colors (1 Rotring = 5~10 Pentel). The size weight and balance of the Pentel Energel Alloy RT is very nice and the price makes it hard to resist.

 

Best Regards,

Sid

 

p.s. I'm looking forward to other posts about other brands I'm not familiar with too!

Edited February 11, 2017 by sidpost

[Pickwick]

 

 

I have spent a good deal of time in Germany and the Netherlands over the years and while I like the German refills and cartridges in general and, the 'commodity' priced ballpoints and mechanical pencils. I really like the original German brass Rotring 600 pencils and ballpoints. The Rollerball I had never appealed to me due to its length, bulk and weight, and poor overall balance though, it did write very well. If you read up on Rollerball and Ballpoint refills, Schmidt is a name you will see often with very favorable comments. If you put one of those into your cheap pen, you have the same 'guts' you will find in many pens costing a $100USD or more.

 

The Japanese pens and pencils are certainly nice but, the cultural aspects of their design and build are different from what I get with their German counterparts. Is one better than the other assuming similar price points? Not really but, in cheaper 'disposable' pens I do prefer the Japanese pens in general over the German equivalents even though they are very good too. As the price point moves up I find I prefer the German models over the Japanese as I like the technical and manufacturing aspects in the German products which appeal to me more than the Japanese equivalents. The Japanese higher priced models have more flash and 'eye candy' but, the engineering in the German products still appeals to me more which is most likely due to too many semesters in Engineering North and South during college.

 

The Waterman Expert Rollerball is where I would start personally if I was looking for a ~$50USD Rollerball. The brass body, weight and, balance are very nice IMHO. A Retro 51 Tornado is a 'cheap' way to test drive a Rollerball and a Ballpoint however since you can swap out the factory Rollerball cartridge for a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000 for ~$4USD. A "Japanese" Pentel Engergel Alloy RT sort of splits the difference and can be found for $5~10 depending on where you shop and is a great bargain IMHO. Personally, I would take a Pentel Engergel Alloy RT over a Rotring 600 Rollerball today and use the money saved to buy more Energels in different colors (1 Rotring = 5~10 Pentel). The size weight and balance of the Pentel Energel Alloy RT is very nice and the price makes it hard to resist.

 

Best Regards,

Sid

 

p.s. I'm looking forward to other posts about other brands I'm not familiar with too!

It looks as though Rotring pens have not been made in Germany for some years. The name is owned by Newell Rubbermaid who moved the manufacture of Rotring pens to Japan.

[qsnc]

the rotring 600 rollerball fits pretty much any refill i've thrown at it so far. my personal favorites are pelikan refills in M. you could also try schmidt 888 or 5888, they manufacture refills for many brands, including montblanc.

 

the 600 is my favorite mechanical pencil of all time, and the rollerball is just as good (haptics, looks, precision cap). however, i believe 600 rollerballs are quite difficult to get now.

Edited February 12, 2017 by qsnc

[sidpost]

It looks as though Rotring pens have not been made in Germany for some years. The name is owned by Newell Rubbermaid who moved the manufacture of Rotring pens to Japan.

 

Yes, the current generation Rotrings are Japanese.

 

For the price, current generation Rotring 600 mechanical pencils are pretty nice. However, there are a lot of competitors in the $10~$20USD mechanical pencil marketplace.