The Pen Addict

Rotring Tikky Liner Gel Ink Pen 0.3 mm Review

A recurring theme for the past few months has been my newfound love for all things Rotring. It’s not that the love wasn’t there before, it’s that the availability and accessibility to the product is much greater now. One can argue that today’s Rotring (as part of the Newell Rubbermaid conglomerate) is a much different product than it was in the past, but my focus is on the present. How do Rotring’s current products compare to other similar products on the market?

The first word that comes to mind is expensively. If you have compared a Rotring pen or pencil to another comparable pen or pencil then your know what I mean. Rotring products are more expensive, usually around two times as much as similar products. But are they a good value? That is the more important question.

The Rotring Tikky Liner is a good pen, but I would hesitate to call it a good value. The design is beautiful, the feel is great, and when the ink flow gets going it is a great writer. Open up the original size photo in Flickr and you will see what I mean. I love how it performs - when it performs.

That is the problem with the Tikky Liner. I am finding the ink cartridge to be very fussy and frustrating. It is widely know that the Pilot Hi-Tec-C needs a little warm up before heading off to the races. Two or three seconds of scribbling and it is ready to go for as long as you are. With the Tikky Liner, two or three minutes often wasn’t enough to get the ink flowing.

If a pen is going to cost this much the frustration level needs to be a lot lower. I can’t help but reach for it at least once a week, but more times than not I am reaching for a different pen within a few minutes.

Rotring Tikky Graphic Drawing Pen 0.4 mm Review

Rotring makes some of the best looking pens on the market. I am a big fan of the high quality construction and clean design. Yes, you do pay a premium for them compared to other similar pens on the market, but in most cases I think it is worth it.

The Rotring Tikky Graphic Drawing Pen is a relatively new item at JetPens. It had been requested a few times by artists and art students because of its durability. I certainly don’t put these pens through the rigors and stress that an artists does, so I take their word when they say how durable the tip of the pen is. Like your favorite coffee, they are good down to the last drop of ink.

I use this pen mostly for writing. My lettering looks amazing, but since the ink flows so fast and heavy it tends to bleed through regular weight paper like the Doane Writing Pad I use for reviews. Compared to the Sakura Pigma Micron, the Rotring Tikky is a true artists pen, made to be used on heavier weight sketch paper. I can get away with simple note taking with the Micron where I can’t with the Tikky.

There are always so many different things to consider when purchasing a pen. If you are a writer this pen might not be for you. But if you are an artist this might be your new favorite pen.

Rotring 500 Drafting Pencil Review

I am not completely up to speed on my Rotring history, but according to the Wikipedia page, the company was sold to the Newell Rubbermaid conglomerate in 1998, who also owns such popular brands as Sharpie, Uni-Ball, and many more office product names you know and love. Rotring brought a more technical product to their portfolio, but some of the all-time classics - like the Rotring 500, 600, and 800 - are not part of their US offering. These cult classic drafting pencils are still being manufactured, but are Japan only, and of course imported by JetPens.

The Rotring 500 is the entry level model in this line. It features a plastic body as opposed to the fully metal body of the Rotring 600, but otherwise all of the other features are the same. The knurled grip is the highlight for me - it feels just awesome to hold - and even the lead grade indicator has a knurled metal casing. The most visually appealing part of this pencil to me is tip/guide pipe section of the pencil. It is wonderfully designed and is the main reason why I like drafting style pencils more than traditional mechanical pencils.

The Rotring line can be expensive at first glance, with the prices (at the time of writing) at $16.50 for the 500, $33.00 for the 600, and $82.50 for the 800. But looking at the reviews online at JetPens and on other blogs like Dave’s Mechanical Pencils, these pencils are going to last you a very long time and are a great value.

I hope I get the opportunity to review the 600 and 800 soon. If anyone has either of these models and would like to write a guest review I would love to have you.

#OnePenOneDay Rotring Tikky Ballpoint

The Rotring Tikky Ballpoint has one of my favorite pen barrels, but its traditional 1.0mm ballpoint is just average. I switched out the refill a long time ago with a black Parker Gel 0.7mm, and while it is better than the original ballpoint, it still isn't great. It drags across the page much more than you would expect from that size of refill. I'm still on the hunt.

Review: Rotring Core Eternium Rollerball

I have spied the Rotring Core Eternium Rollerball for sale on several pen sites over the past year or two, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered one from Goldspot Pens when I ordered my Fisher Space Pen.  I don't think the design is for everyone (that's probably why it was marked down), but I thought it was pretty cool and interesting looking, so on its way to me it came.

While I like the design of the pen, I could tell the real issue with it pretty early on.  The barrel is made from plastic and a very lightweight aluminum, but as you can probably tell from the picture, the cap is very large, and unfortunately a little too heavy for the rest of the pen.  With the cap posted, the pen was off balance.  I even felt sometimes that is was going to flip over the back of my hand while writing if I wasn't careful.  It was a very odd feeling.  With the cap unposted, the barrel is almost too light to write with.  I don't necessarily mind a light barrel, but I prefer the pen skinnier if it is.

The ink cartridge wasn't especially impressive either, but that didn't bother me because I was planning on switching it out very soon anyway.  I may hold off for now unless I get more used to writing with it.  This is one of those pens that may require some time to break in and get comfortable with.

Click here for the XL review.