rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil Discussions | Drop

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rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil

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rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil

Barry

431

Mar 11, 2013

I got my 600 this weekend; it's hands down the best pencil I've ever used. Should have got another. What's the difference between the 600 and the 800? Anything else besides the retractable tip?

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JasonLee

May 5, 2013

BarryFrom what I can tell with mine the only difference is the lead-lock feature when the pencil is retracted, the gold, and the retractable tip. I think the clip on the 800 is a lot stronger (?) then the one on my 600. Have experienced the difference with clips while trying to take out the pencils from my pencil pouch that I clip onto.

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A community member

May 10, 2013

JasonLeeJust wondering, but does your "click" on the 800 feel significantly worse than on the 600? I just received the Rotring 800 and I am incredibly disappointed by the feel of the led mechanism. Not sure if I have a defective item or just the design of the pencil. Also when extended, I can depress the eraser a little without having lead come out; does yours do that as well?

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JasonLee

May 11, 2013

This is kind of embarrassing, but I returned my recently purchased Rotring 800 because I found a better deal (the one for ~$56). I found out that the $56 one was out of stock the day after I purchased it and that it would be in-stock in 2 weeks. So the thing is that I do not have an 800 to compare side-by-side with me right now, but when I did have it, I did not notice any muted "click" sounds (it sounded pretty much the same). When I had my pencil in the "locked" position, I could not depress the eraser. I would definitely take a look inside the pencil to see if anything is wrong with yours. Does not sound like what I would expect from Rotring. Hope this helps!

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Influrenza

May 11, 2013

I'm experiencing exactly the same thing as my pencil as well. It's definitely not nearly as clicky as well. Also I also have the extension issue. I'm not sure whether this is defective as well. Also the case that comes with it is not nearly as fancy as the rapid pro - you would imagine it would be fancier since the price is significantly more expensive.

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A community member

May 16, 2013

Yeah. To be honest, I'm not liking the feel of this compared to the 600. The knurled grip absolutely sucks. The twist mechanism that advances the lead sleeve also has a lot of play, about 2mm, which you notice every time you advance lead or erase, and it doesn't stay in place easily. I have a typewriter that has a similar mechanism for its caps lock, and once the groove that locks it in place wears out, it stops holding the caps lock and pops back. The mechanism on this pencil feels similar. It takes barely any force to untwist and pop the lead sleeve back into the pencil. Once the mechanism wears down, it won't stay out and the pencil won't be useable. And there's no lead grade indicator. And there's a lot of side-to-side play when extended. I'm seriously disappointed all around with this pencil. I wonder if it has to do with having rotring rush to produce a lot in very little time. Edit: Is your grip also not very grippy?

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A community member

May 16, 2013

JasonLeeWhen yours is locked, the eraser doesn't travel? Mine travels about 1mm, and when extended my mechanism travels 2mm every time I advance the lead. This is seriously annoying when trying to erase.

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JasonLee

May 24, 2013

Sorry about the late reply. I did not receive an email from Massdrop saying I got a reply. I just happened to be on the page because I was wondering if you guys received your pencils yet. I'm not sure if my eraser did, or didn't "travel" when I had my 800. I never took the eraser cap off. What I meant to say is that when the pencil was locked, the eraser cap did not budge. I'm not sure about the eraser. Sorry! When I received the 800, I felt it was not worth it. The main difference between the 800 and 600 are the retractable tips, and I always have my pencils in a pencil pouch (Nomadic PE-08 in Black/White) so it didn't really matter much to me. The Rotring 600s are solid and are the best mechanical pencils I have used (not that I have used many). I have 2 Rotring 600s in 0.35 and 0.5. I got the 0.5 first and then the 0.35 next. One thing that I notice is that sometimes the 0.35 lead (Rotring lead) breaks. I don't know if this is because I'm used to 0.5, but oh well! LOVE the weight and balance to the pencil even though it is a little expensive. Oh yeah, one thing that I didn't like about the 800 was that it was flashy instead of the understated 600s - perhaps even to the point of being gaudy. I mean, gold on a pencil? Come on...

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A community member

May 24, 2013

JasonLeeYeah, it's definitely more decorated. Compared to other "formal" mechanical pencils, it isn't that bad though -- there are some seriously flashy ones that just make me cringe. On the plus side, I accidentally put mine through a wash, and it came out unscathed, so at least it's more durable than I originally thought it would be. I had to dry it out thoroughly before the lead in the barrel would advance, so I fed lead backwards through it about 50 times to pick up all the water, and it's back to normal. Hopefully it won't rust. I had the same problem with the 0.35mm 600 -- the rotring lead snaps too easily. I know it may seem counter-intuitive, but try using a softer lead like 2B. Because of how dark the line is, you don't need to apply as much pressure, so it breaks less. The two types I found to work best in it were Ain (regular, not Ain Stein) and Pilot Eno Neox. Tombow and Ain Stein are ok, but smudge more easily even though they write smoother to the touch. BTW, any 0.3mm lead works in it, Rotring just calls theirs 0.35mm because that's closer to the real diameter.