Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen • Hacker News Board

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#201

Post by munificent » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 9:17 PM UTC

aredox wrote: post #195

munificent wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, enshittification is a different economic thing where a continuing service provides less and less for more and more (either attention or money) over time. What I'm talking about is buying concrete objects at discrete moments in time. Similar, but not the same.

I think it is the same: build reputation and trust in your brand, and then abuse that trust by making more and more consumer-screwing decisions.

With enshittification, you aren't just coasting on historic brand reputation. You actually have users locked into your product with pervasive network effects.

People don't still use Facebook because of any lingering nostalgia from its halcyon glory days. They use it because that's where their friends are and they can't get away. That's what enshittification is about.

There's no lock-in making boomers buy Harleys. It's just brand nostalgia despite the fact that the bikes suck now.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#202

Post by munificent » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 9:18 PM UTC

handsclean wrote: post #199

munificent wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rotring quality has been going down over the years, or their name outgrew the actual quality of the product. This story is so common that I wish there was an established economic term for it. Something like "reputational arbitrage" or perhaps "sentiment stickiness". The basic idea is that a business can change its quality much faster than its reputation changes. If the business rapidly cuts costs and quality, their…

Legitimately curious, could you tell me more about Pyrex? I only heard that they changed the formula years ago to trade some impact resistance for thermal shock resistance, not that there are all-around better options. I haven’t had issues with mine, though I haven’t dropped them, and the only other options I notice in stores are store brand tempered glass that seems to be competing only on price.

I'm not an expert but what I've heard is that the glass isn't as good. I know they say it's because they traded thermal resistance for impact resistance, but I don't know how much I buy that.

I do know that when I bought a Pyrex measuring cup last year, the labeling faded in months. Meanwhile the old one I inherited from my mom is still usable.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#203

Post by ForOldHack » Thu, Jul 31, 2025, 6:14 AM UTC

kps wrote: post #132

0x_rs wrote: post #121

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 w…

The original Rotring is gone; Rotring was bought by Newell Brands and is now just a label on copies made elsewhere. (They did the same with Parker and Waterman.) 20th-century Rotring is the real thing.

I had an old one and it broke, so I went looking for a new one,and it just felt cheap. Then I saw a pair at a flea market for $10, and only one had been used. I use a black rubber tape on them for comfort and it makes it less prone to cracking on the handle, and store them in a black box. ( Less UV ). I do keep going back by the store, and hoping their cheap ones get discontinued... But they are still. There.

What are the best refills to use for them?

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#204

Post by ForOldHack » Thu, Jul 31, 2025, 6:23 AM UTC

freeopinion wrote: post #196

lozenge wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making left handed people write right handed doesn't make them right handed.

As a T-ball coach, I had every player bat left-handed in the first inning and right-handed in the second inning. They alternated each inning. I was surprised how much this upset parents. "My child is right handed!" some insisted. I wondered how they could know that about a child who had never swung a bat before. I also wondered why a parent would want their child to be so limited.

This is hysterical: you are a T-ball coach for tykes, which are just picking up their first good coordination, and you let them feel their way, and someone tells you otherwise. Wow. You are good, while you need 6 foot tall signs for helicopter parents that say "Do not drink engine cooling fluid!"

You are a saint..

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#205

Post by MrSkelter » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 11:16 AM UTC

kps wrote: post #132

0x_rs wrote: post #121

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 w…

The original Rotring is gone; Rotring was bought by Newell Brands and is now just a label on copies made elsewhere. (They did the same with Parker and Waterman.) 20th-century Rotring is the real thing.

This is correct. I have NOS Rotrings made in Germany. They sell for a pretty penny online. People who love the pens know the modern production isn’t the same.

Re: Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen

#206

Post by iso186 » Tue, Aug 12, 2025, 7:02 AM UTC

handsclean wrote: post #199

munificent wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rotring quality has been going down over the years, or their name outgrew the actual quality of the product. This story is so common that I wish there was an established economic term for it. Something like "reputational arbitrage" or perhaps "sentiment stickiness". The basic idea is that a business can change its quality much faster than its reputation changes. If the business rapidly cuts costs and quality, their…

Legitimately curious, could you tell me more about Pyrex? I only heard that they changed the formula years ago to trade some impact resistance for thermal shock resistance, not that there are all-around better options. I haven’t had issues with mine, though I haven’t dropped them, and the only other options I notice in stores are store brand tempered glass that seems to be competing only on price.

Only thing I know is that there is a difference between pyrex and PYREX:

https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/8xq8ac/ysk_p...