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Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

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Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#121

Post by 0x_rs »

There's no mention of this in the article, so be aware there's multiple posts online about QC issues. Rotring quality has been going down over the years, or their name outgrew the actual quality of the product. Current generation of 600s especially suffer from: cracking of the body (0, 1); but most importantly for pens, the joint part that screws into the bottom and upper part of the pen is extremely susceptible to wearing out the thin and fragile upper part's threads, as they are two different metals. So you should be prepared to exercise your warranty if you purchase one.

0. https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalpencils/comments/1fzacf9/...

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalpencils/comments/1439ru7/...

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#122

Post by joshvm »

xeonmc wrote: post #21
kstrauser wrote: post #4

That's a very nice pen and I get the appeal. However, I've recently discovered Uni Jetstream pens, and I don't see ever buying anything else. There are nicer pen bodies out there but I've never used a pen that does a better job of putting ink on paper, reliably, every time, without ever skipping in the slightest, not requiring any significant pressure, working on every kind of paper, and drying instantly. For me, it…

You can buy a Uniball One-F (the premium body) and put Jetstream refills in there as a drop-in replacement. Note though that for longevity in engineering notebooks I don’t like to use Jetstreams because of the yellowing seepage problem over time. But for everyday throwaway writing this setup is the ideal best of both worlds.

What's the timeline for this? My undergrad notes from ~15 years ago have held up without obvious degradation. Those are mostly Jetstream inks on generic paper (some Oxford notebook). I swapped to fountain pens at some point when I discovered Noodler's. Bernanke Blue dries extremely fast. Though my TWSBIs from the time haven't held up well. They were fine when constantly used but they cracked in storage.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#123

Post by throwanem »

bicx wrote: post #116

As a regular user of the Rotring 600, I recommend getting the EasyFlow 9000 refill for super smooth writing. It’s true that a ballpoint pen is just a vehicle for the refill, but the Rotring 600 is a pretty nice vehicle. All that said, I reach for my Lamy Safari first. I also have a Pilot Vanishing Point as my “grail pen”, and while it’s a cool fountain pen, I don’t love the feel on paper.

I don't like the EasyFlow 9000 very well, because even on Clairefontaine paper it doesn't live up to its name. I have one in an Ohto Rays for the retro vibe, but it's the pen I keep in my bag to have something nice I won't mind giving away. Even compared to Ohto's stock gel refill, the EasyFlow just writes lousy.

Try moving one nib size up with the Vanishing Point, especially if you're used to Western pens. Pilot's EF is sharp enough to draw blood and you'll never really break it in; the F starts out a little rough but wears in nicely. Too, the Vanishing Point itself I found a little big and heavy for real comfort, both in the hand and in a shirt pocket. The Decimo is mechanically identical but smaller and lighter, enough so that it's my go-to pen for almost every purpose, even sitting alongside a Parker 51 Deluxe.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#124

Post by throwaway_edge »

There is a parker-style 0.5mm point refill from jetstream (Uniball Jetstream SXR-600) that I used in my Rotring 600. Thin point and dries instantly, very nice for taking quick notes. However for the last year I have switched to a Jetstream Edge 0,28 mm point pen which unfortunately does not fit the Rotring 600.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#125

Post by hydrogen7800 »

deltarholamda wrote: post #119
radicalbyte wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're also horrible to use if you're left-handed and writing English or any other left-to-right language.

Perhaps a silly question, but would something like a Mahl stick help with left-handed writing? Painters and old-school draftsmen use them to keep their grubby mitts off the surface. I suppose in today's public school you wouldn't be allowed one because it could conceivably be used as a weapon, but it would seem to be helpful.

>Mahl stick

Thank you for using its name. I first saw it on TV showing someone hand painting a design on a car (probably a Rolls Royce on Top Gear) and thought it was brilliant in its simplicity, but didnt know its name.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#127

Post by hydrogen7800 »

Theodores wrote: post #108
radicalbyte wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably doing the lefty-handed-curl. If you adopt a really weird writing position you can write without smudges. Depending on your body-type it's either easy and obvious or very uncomfortable. I'm in the latter group so I just use a pencil.

Euch. That lefty-handed-curl is a solution proposed by the right handed world. The correct way to write as a left handed person is to turn the page ninety degrees.

My left-handed father always turned the page 90 deg to the right when given something to sign, with the left side of the line up. He caught hell for that in catholic school.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#128

Post by layer8 »

lars_francke wrote: post #52
lelele wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What variant of Uni Jetstream pens? Because here are a few: SXN-150, SXN-210, etc. Thank you.

I've been using SXN-210 for over a decade and I love them.

Same here. I tried a lot of different pens and these are still the best.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#129

Post by layer8 »

cobalt wrote: post #12
kstrauser wrote: post #4

That's a very nice pen and I get the appeal. However, I've recently discovered Uni Jetstream pens, and I don't see ever buying anything else. There are nicer pen bodies out there but I've never used a pen that does a better job of putting ink on paper, reliably, every time, without ever skipping in the slightest, not requiring any significant pressure, working on every kind of paper, and drying instantly. For me, it…

have you tried pentel EnerGel?

Not the GP but I have (BL77), and much prefer the Jetstream.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#130

Post by kstrauser »

lelele wrote: post #23
kstrauser wrote: post #4

That's a very nice pen and I get the appeal. However, I've recently discovered Uni Jetstream pens, and I don't see ever buying anything else. There are nicer pen bodies out there but I've never used a pen that does a better job of putting ink on paper, reliably, every time, without ever skipping in the slightest, not requiring any significant pressure, working on every kind of paper, and drying instantly. For me, it…

What variant of Uni Jetstream pens? Because here are a few: SXN-150, SXN-210, etc. Thank you.

This is what I’ve been using: https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-ball-Jetstream-RT-Ballpoint-Pen-...

Although lately I’ve been using this multipen: https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-3-Color-Ballpoint-Mult...

It’s nice having 3 colors of ink available, and it’s not that chunky blue thing we had in elementary school.

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