rOtring 600 Review

The rOtring 600 has a special place in my heart, as it is the pencil that made me interested in mechanical pencils.

(I apologize for the odd lighting in the pictures)

The first time I saw a rOtring 600, was when my friend showed me his. It was the most beautiful pencil I had ever seen. When I first held it I felt that it was a little heavy, but overall a great feeling. 

It was about a week after that that I decided to order one for myself. I was able to buy one at around $17, but it seems as of now that the price is around $24. There is another color option that is silver, but I prefer the black. 

rOtring's ship in very cool triangular boxes. Inside the box is the pencil, and a small piece of paper that has their other pencils and pens on it. 

The pencil itself is amazing. The whole pencil is metal, except for a small part of the interior mechanisms. I personally prefer 0.7 lead, and due to general availability I use HB, and this pencil writes incredibly smoothly. The weight, although it seems to be a little much at first, is quickly adjusted too and feels great.

The knurled grip can be a tad rough on fingers, but allows you to hold the pencil firmly even when your hands are sweaty. 

Besides the grip, the rest of the pencil has a hexagonal body, similar to the average non-mechanical pencil. If you were to remove the belt clip this would stop it from rolling. It also adds a nice grip, if you are likely to grip a pencil up that far. 

As you may be able to tell in the photo above, the lead sleeve is damaged. The rOtring 600 has a 4mm fixed sleeve, so it is very prone to damage (to both the pencil and your leg if you keep it in your pocket). Despite my love for this pencil, I have accidentally dropped it twice had have had to rebend the sleeve in order for it to work.

Besides the tip, this pencil is very durable. The lead advance mechanism gives off a satisfying click, and I have never had a lead jam problem. 

Towards the eraser part of the pencil, there is a lead hardness indicator. In order to change what it displays, you just rotate the piece around. The rOtring 600 can display 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, and 4H. 

The pencil eraser is what is expected from a drafting pencil: very small and easy to use up. I personally use a external eraser anyway, so this is less of a problem for me. 

The belt clip is "removable". It is advertised as being removable but it feels like taking it off would result in scratches to the pencil, and it would take a large amount of force to remove. 

SUMMARY

Pros:

-All metal

-Knurled Grip

-Lead Hardness indicator

-"Removable" belt clip

-No jamming

Cons:

-Fixed lead sleeve (prone to damage and leg stabs)

-Small eraser

The rOtring 600 is a great, all metal, mechanical pencil to buy if you can get over the fixed lead sleeve.