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.

#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 Tikky Ballpoint 1.0mm

The Rotring Tikky line has been around for a while, something which I didn't realize until reading a great review of the Tikky pencil line at Dave's Mechanical Pencils.  I had actually already purchased the Tikky Ballpoint by the time Dave's review was posted, so I am glad I got some background on it in the meantime.

First of all, this is a fantastic looking pen, and that is really what sold me on it.  JetPens carries them in five barrel colors - black, white, blue, red, and yellow.  While they are all great looking, the yellow really jumped of the page at me, so that was the one that came home to papa.  The grip area is especially nice, with the yellow plastic of the barrel intertwined with grey rubber grip material.  Rotring pulls this off very well, making for a comfortable writing experience.

The ballpoint performance is decent.  It is not the greatest refill I have used, but like I mentioned in the written review, if you prefer ballpoints you will probably like how this one writes.  It is very clean, with no ink buildup or mess at the tip or on the paper to speak of.  At $5.70, it is reasonably priced for a refillable pen, but before buying more, I am going to see what - if any - other refills I can fit into this barrel.

Click here for the XL review.