Rotring Core

[YorkshireCaviar]

Please help! I have just bought two of these pens; XL and XS nibs to see which I prefer. But I am having flow problems with both of them. At the moment they both have J Herbin midnight blue cartridges in, I didn't even try the ones supplied.

 

Is it the ink (I don't know if the Herbin cartridges are notoriously dry or not), or is it just the pens themselves? Neither writes straight away, I have to write a couple of strokes before I get any ink coming through, and they stop if I leave the pen for more than a couple of seconds. I really like the design, and the feel of the pen in my hand. I am in the Army and it seems right pullng one of these out of my combats pocket...

 

So, any ideas?

[Sailor Kenshin]

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.

 

This was my reaction. I love the way my Core looks/writes, and I would never get rid of it, but that grip just isn't for me.

 

[skinnyPens]

Mr. Blonde -- flush the thing almost to death. Mine did the same at first. After flushing it with water, non-sudsy soap, and some water-ammonia mix, mine is working very well, reliably, and quite effortlessly. Just keep flushing.

[davidwholt]

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.

 

I like the way the one I just got from Swisher (no affiliation)

writes if I leave it unposted

and it carries well clipped inside front pants pocket.

 

It does look like a survivalist or Swiss Army tool!

[MYU]

I like that "ski pole grip" imagery--seems to fit even better than the venerable "Klingon" pen.

http://www.startrek-voyager.info/klingon1.jpg

[MYU]

Well, I got one finally, on a whim. Not expensive and quite a value for what you get. The cap is heavier than I thought it would be, enough that posting it (despite clicking nicely into place) makes the pen unbalanced. But the body is large enough to use it without the cap affixed. That dipped section is bizarre... yet, I see the merit of it. It aligns the nib just about in the center of your forefinger tip, so you feel like you're writing with your finger. I haven't inked mine yet, but dry writing tests suggest the XS nib is smooth. I can definitely see taking this on a ski trip, clipping it on the outside of a jacket pocket loop. The clip is ultra firm--not something that allows easy clipping to a shirt pocket (the rubber texture on the cap interferes with it). However, once you get it attached it is not going to fall off on your way down the slopes. The zigzag white lines on the black body with port hole ink view windows is funky. The whole thing screams tech-geek. Or Klingon. K'plah!

 

 

Also, anybody looking for a rugged pen but is put off by the heavy weight of the Rotring 600 should look at this pen. It's definitely more durable than a Lamy Safari.

Edited September 25, 2008 by MYU

[gyasko]

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 have a bunch of them, and yes, some of them do have flow problems. I wouldn't put Noodlers in your pens, let alone mine. I use plain old blues and blue-blacks, but the flow problems are still there. This tells me it's not the ink.

 

I think you should flush the converter and the feed many times. If that doesn't help, check the nib.

[tnmike1]

Interesting pen. Went on the Joon website and there i see these Rotrings are discontinued. By Joon?? Or by Rotring? I know I own two of the Rotring rollerball-types I bought from Levenger a few years ago and they hav ebeen discontinued. Don't know about these pens, though. Might be worth looking into.

[BillTheEditor]

Interesting pen. Went on the Joon website and there i see these Rotrings are discontinued. By Joon?? Or by Rotring? I know I own two of the Rotring rollerball-types I bought from Levenger a few years ago and they hav ebeen discontinued. Don't know about these pens, though. Might be worth looking into.

By Rotring, I think. Chuck Swisher has been clearing them out for several months (may be cleared out by now).

[Titivillus]

Interesting pen. Went on the Joon website and there i see these Rotrings are discontinued. By Joon?? Or by Rotring? I know I own two of the Rotring rollerball-types I bought from Levenger a few years ago and they hav ebeen discontinued. Don't know about these pens, though. Might be worth looking into.

By Rotring, I think. Chuck Swisher has been clearing them out for several months (may be cleared out by now).

 

 

I think I heard that Rotring and Parker lines are combining.

 

Kurt

[dogpoet]

I think it's more that the Rotring line is being yanked completely, but a few Rotringish things are being done by Parker now. (There's already a hexagonal bodied Parker that looks uncannily like a Newton, for instance.)

 

Terrible shame. I have a Core myself, which is a great little pen. Comfortable in the hand, excellent nib, fairly robust (though that, as Calliej stresses, isn't quite the same thing as it being teen proof) and distinctive looking. (It's ugly alright, but ugly with sufficient attitude to get away with it). I've stopped using it due to the flow problems other people have mentioned, but once I've got around to giving it a very thorough flushing, I'm sure it'll be coming out of retirement again.

 

I've seen these things on ebay with starting bids of less than a fiver for an unusued pen in its original wrapper. They're a snip for that: it's definitely worth getting one if the aesthetics don't bother you.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Or Klingon. K'plah!

 

Definitely a Klingon pen. It was an ergonomic nightmare for me. Maybe that's why Rotring stopped making them.

 

Loved the nib, though.

 

[jantirak]

I love my core! I've only had start up problems once and that was only because I moved and the pen ended up in a piece of luggage inked for about 4 or 5 months. After a few minutes of figures 8's it started working great again. I loved the pen so much I bought two more, so now I have 2 XF and one M nib. My XF's are the silver/aqua ones which I must say are the least appaling of the cores IMO, while my M nib core is the black model (and incidentally gets used the least). The silver/aqua ones have really grown on me and I now think they are really cute. They feel good in the hand, are super sturdy and durable, and are definately not going to get lost of stolen very easily. It is so nice to write with but I do agree it is a little akward posted. I realy like it with Noodler's inks except yes, there is the slightest nib creep. I also inked it with PR Burgundy Mist recently and the color is significantly lighter than it shows up in other pens so if you like to use colored inks, keep that in mind.

[eilu]

Rotring Cores scare me. I keep having visions of it transforming into a robot in the middle of the night and taking over the world.

[kjm1211]

Really Good price! you are the Luck guy.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Rotring Cores scare me. I keep having visions of it transforming into a robot in the middle of the night and taking over the world.

 

 

Oooo! I always wanted to be a mecha pilot!

[Silvermink]

I just bought a Titanium XS Core for under $20 with shipping on eBay. Looking forward to receiving it.

[ht1]

Swisher pens has them for $9.95. If you only buy one pen it may be the same...under $20, but if you're ordering ink and other items, too........

[MYU]

Swisher pens has them for $9.95. If you only buy one pen it may be the same...under $20, but if you're ordering ink and other items, too........

That's a good deal. Thanks for the heads up, ht.

[ht1]

You're welcome. They are also having a clearance sale on a lot of items.

 

ht