rOtring 800 Retractable Mechanical Pencil, 0.5mm, Black Metal Barrel - For Drafting, Engineering, Architecture Professionals

At first I thought I overpaid too much but after using it in multiple classes, hundreds of page of notes and exams I've gotten to fall in love with it. I get to see it patina over time as well to the golden brass underneath with every scratch and ding but also grip. Only gripe is the tiny eraser but still a great mechanical pencil. Would be a great gift and fits just right in my hand. Also looks great when clipped into a suit jacket pocket or normal dress shirt pocket.

As an engineering student I have had many, many mechanical pencils in the past. As I started getting into courses that required fine levels of detail in drawing schematics and also long sessions with a writing utensil in my hand I was on the look out for an end all, be all mechanical pencil. After having the pencil for nearly a year, it has become my most important tool aside from my calculator. This thing is a tank and I abuse it heavily. The construction is superb and extremely robust. The balance is perfect, and nearly exactly at the midpoint of the length of the pencil. The lead advancement is consistent and the clutch has never slipped on me at all. The striking good looks of the machine is just a bonus. Now, there are cons. The tip does wiggle ever so slightly, but I must be clear here, it does not effect precision in the slightest, it is purely a symptom of manufacturing tolerances and the fact that there are so many moving parts within the pencil. The wiggle can make an auditory clinking sound if you really listen but I quite like the noise, it reminds me that I am using a truly mechanical pencil and I like mechanical things... Many people report lead breakage as an issue yet I have never experienced lead breakage, even while using 0.5mm 2B lead (one of the weakest leads). The only major issue I ran into started two weeks ago when I realized that the twist mechanism was experiencing some major friction and it made it very hard for me to extend the head of the pencil. Keep in mind this issue arose a full 9 months after I purchased the pencil and used it heavily every single day. At first it was looking like a was going to have to find a new pencil but then I realized I had some 3-in-1 lubricating oil. I liberally applied oil to the seams of the mechanism and inside the mechanism and let it sit for a while before wiping off the excess oil. It now works better than it did the day I got it. This thing is truly a wonderful writing utensil and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a precise, robust, and dedicated mechanical pencil. As a side note, there is noticeable patina/surface wear from using it so much but I very much like it. It reminds me how long I've had it and how trusty it has been.

i bought two of the rOtring 800 pencils and personally i think that they’re solid writing tools. they are made with solid brass and you can tell the first time you pick it up, especially with the knurling where you’re supposed to hold it. the writing is just like any other mechanical pencil but i like the knurling a lot because of the grip and it’s a little weird writing with at first because of how slender the pencil is compared to normal ones. it’s easy to tell that this is really a tool rather than just a mechanical pencil. for example, pressing the lead advance button or retracting the tip just feels like it is well-made and it’s quite fidgetable if that is something of value to you. now there are cons, albeit one that is just minor design issues. there is a little bit of a “gap” when you press down on the lead advance button, and it’s not really a dealbreaker to me but i feel like that could’ve been improved, and in general how sensitive the tip is but it’s at least retractable (still have to be careful with that). now the biggest con is the very high price, but i find it pays itself off since you wont be using any of those cheap almost disposable mechanical pencils that i myself used to use. and i hear a lot about how some engineering students and such have kept it for years. in short, this is a solid choice for a reliable, tough and nearly unbreakable pen (emphasis on nearly, but the retractability checks itself out) and if you’re willing to get by the high price, i think that this is a good choice for anyone that needs a rugged and reliable mechanical pencil.

I bought 2 Rotring 800, 0.5mm mechanical pencils for drawing and note taking. I use these, as well as a number of the less expensive 500's with multiple colors of leads and keep them at hand in a 3D holder I designed and printed. The retractable barrel is brilliant as you can easily keep it in your pocket without retracting the lead (or poking holes in your shirt). The barrel extends with the lead exactly where you left it, which sounds like a small thing until you do it a few hundred times. The retraction mechanism is also easily managed with your writing hand (one-handed), and spring-loaded. The build quality is excellent, and I imagine that these are made to last a lifetime. The pencil is much heavier than the hybrid metal/plastic models, but I find the weight to be a major advantage for throwing steady lines and arcs, owing to the additional inertia. The "micro" knurling around the grip area is small enough to be comfortable, yet sharp enough to create a positive no-slip hold. The visibility around the point is perfect for precision drawing and also allows for accurate alignment when used with drawing tools (triangles, t-squares, circle and elipse templates, etc.). In terms of finish, I have read some criticism of the durability, and I have a couple of nicks here and there, but I would attribute this to my handling of the instrument and not a failing of the design. To me, it is minor and only adds to the character. If you want to keep this pencil pristine, then you should keep it in a holder and not loose in among other pencils or objects that will chip or mar the finish. That's part of why I designed and printed the holder - so that I could protect the pencil and have it close at hand. If someone knows of a better mechanical pencil. Please post a link to it!

I recently got tired of fighting my assortment of cheap plastic mechanical pencils and decided to throw them away and buy a new good-quality one. After considerable thought, I selected the ROtring 800 in 0.5mm. I haven't been disappointed. The ROtring's all-metal construction looks as though it'll stand up a long time. The slim body has a comforting weight and solidity to it and a firm, positive non-slip grip. The retraction mechanism is simple, smooth and positive — just twist the knurled section at the top — and leaves nothing vulnerable to damage exposed when retracted. There is an eraser under the black pushbutton, but let's face it, who uses the bad erasers on mechanical pencils? Do like the professionals do, buy a Staedtler-Mars refiller stick eraser and call it done. Most ROtring pencils come in 0.3mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm. You probably don't need the 0.3mm unless you're doing something like fine-detail drafting, and 0.3mm leads are terribly fragile in any case, but either the 0.5mm or the 0.7mm is a good choice for general-purpose use. I prefer the 0.5mm because I like a fine line, but for a bolder line you might prefer the 0.7mm. Don't cheap out on refill leads; the more expensive polymer leads are worth it many times over for the reduced lead breakage. What else is there to say? Its a ROtring. If that isn't enough, maybe you should buy one to find out why that name is so highly respected.

This is a well crafted pencil and I love the design of it. I used to use Pentel GraphGear 500 and was always dropping them which would inevitably bend the tip rendering the pencil useless. I balked at the price of this rOtring, but have read great things about them so I chose the model with the retractable tip. Pencil Feel/Balance - The balance of the pencil took a while getting used to, and I still don't think I'm fully there. The balance is smack dab in the middle of the pencil. The GraphGear 500 is closer to the end of the metal grip. This is only about a 1" difference, however I've found my arm gets tired much faster while using the rOtring to take notes quickly than it does with the Pentel. What this means is that I've relegated the rOtring to work use and exams/homework, while the Pentel still stays in my rotation as a note taker. Lead Advancement - The click to advance on the rOtring takes a while to get used to. When you first press the cap, the tip extends ~3/32" and then hits a stop. At this point, you continue pressing and the lead advances. There is no need to release all the way between lead advancing clicks, just let off a little. When I'm in a rush, I often feel as though I advanced the lead with the first click but nothing happened, which takes more time to redo the motion. Retraction - The rotation to retract the tip is wonderful. No more worrying about where the pencil is on the desk and if you'll knock it off and bend the tip. However, a note as others have said, ride the mechanism to fully retracted with your fingers (slowing the motion) to avoid it from slamming home. What I found is constantly retracting the tip whenever I set the pencil down (which could be every few minutes while I pick up reference material), was causing the lead to break (see more on this below). Eraser - The eraser has a metal poker attached to it to help clear lead jams in the thin tip. Others have said it uses standard Pentel eraser refills, but I haven't tried this yet. I use Pentel Hi-Polymer erasers since they're the same material, cheaper and faster to use than removing the eraser protective cap. Breaking lead - Within a few days after receiving this pencil, I started noticing the lead was breaking off in ~1cm pieces. Being the engineer that I am, I disassembled the pencil (twist to remove the knurled end) and started investigating why. Some reviews (here and else where) stated that this was due to a bent tip. In my case, the gold tip that makes up the first 3/4" of the pencil had loosened ever so slightly from the silver part. From what I can tell, when this gold tip is not fully seated, it is allowed to rock ever so slightly due to the nature of threads, when writing. This causes the lead holder to no longer be concentric to the gold tip and snap, the lead breaks. The solution that I found is to grip the silver ring (just below the spring) with my left thumb/forefinger and grip the gold tip with my right thumb/forefinger and tighten the gold tip as much as I can. The lead no longer breaks. However, after another week or two, I found another piece of lead was broken, so I employed this fix and didn't find another. This solution makes me want to apply some sort of adhesive on these threads to prevent the gold tip from loosening, but I haven't decided exactly what to use. A small dab of loctite (200 series or blue, i.e. NOT permanent red threadlocker) may be sufficient. I did contact rOtring about this problem and it took them nearly a week to respond. When they did, they wanted me to prove that I own the pencil (picture), proof of purchase (receipt), contact information, and what the problem was. They obviously did not read the email I sent and they may have just offered to replace the pencil, but it seemed like too much of a hassle to continue with that. Since, for the most part, this is a great pencil. If the lead breaks once a week, and I lose a 1cm length piece, that is a loss of maybe $0.1. It would take a long time for this to add up to the cost of replacement Pentel GraphGear 500 pencils that I was continually replacing due to bent tips. Final thoughts - This is a great pencil. The black anodizing, red text and gold accents scream this is a quality utensil. The entire pencil is metal and feels very well built with attention to detail. Yes, it does break lead, but before completely discounting this pencil, figure out who much each little 1cm piece of lead actually costs. I think its a drop in the bucket and not worth fussing about. Keep an eye on the price though, it does fluctuate quite a bit and will drop down to a reasonable amount.

I received one of these as a gift two years ago, and absolutely loved it. I use it every day in my college classes, and it has held up very well, with only a little wear in the paint. It took a little while to get used to its weight, and there definitely is a small amount of play in the tip, but this is to be expected with a retractable pencil, and the movement is so minuscule that I have never noticed it, even when drawing. Also, the eraser that comes with the pencil is tiny, so if you are the sort of person that relies heavily on the in-built eraser for pencils, be prepared to buy replacements. After I was given this pencil, I bought five for several of my college friends, and they have all loved them. One friend is a particularly fidgety type, and will repetitively extend and retract the tip, which eventually led to the mechanism jamming. The pencil still functions, but its retractable feature is substantially stickier. I very seldom run into the problem of lead jamming within the pencil, as some of the worse reviews will complain, but when this happens, it is easy to fix it by simply holding down the top to loosen the feeding mechanism, and using the metal rod attached to the eraser to push the jammed lead free. I noticed that one of the top complaints about the pencil is that the lead breaks inside the barrel. This happens when the lead is extended too far (more than two mm) without support; I've had it happen numerous times when I'm in a hurry and don't pay attention to how far the lead sticks out. If you prefer having a substantial length of lead out for writing, either change the habit or don't use this pencil, because the lead will break repeatedly.

I began as a draftsman & illustrator in the 1980s and have always been drawn (sorry) to writing instruments, primarily pens (ball point & fountain) & mechanical pencils, and have been collecting/accumulating and using them for many years. I've reviewed the Rotring 600, Rapid Pro, Faber Castell TK Fine Vario, Alvin Draft-Matic, Pentels and many others, but just realized I hadn't written one for what has turned out to be my "absolute" favorite, the Rotring 800 Retractable 0.5mm, that I purchased in 2019. Reviewing a mechanical pencil differs from reviewing other products because every pencil will draw. As with other writing instruments, it really comes down to the buyer's preference for how an instrument feels in their hand and the value they attach to the experience. Though I'm pleased with a number of brands, every Rotring I own works perfectly, feels the most substantial and has impecable build quality. If I could only choose one instrument it would easily be a Rotring and specifically be the Model 800 retractable. I love the retactable feature because it protects the tip, not to mention my skin, clothes, etc. and functions just as solidly as all my Rotrings. I hate to think of how many times I've accidentally "stabbed" something with the needle-like tip of a non-retractable 0.5mm. Everyone has their own preference for how an instrument feels in their hand, but I think most would find Rotring to be the "ultimate". Due to the build quality and quality control it's no surprise to me that every Rotring I've ever purchased or used has worked flawlessly. I feel very comfortable in recommending any Rotring model and expect the vast majority of users would be very pleased with their feel and function. For anyone not interested in owning and using a premium instrument then I'd recommend they purchase any of the many inexpensive mechanical pencils available.

Tak jak w tytule, kupiony na prezent, obdarowany miał nie tęgą minę, dostał przedmiot używany, w środku pudełko oceniłbym tak 3/5. Jeden rysik prawie wypisany (1 z 3), do tego na ołówku widać rdzę! Serio? Niezły "nowy" ołówek, pogadam z obdarowanym czy nie będzie chciał go zwrócić, bo to są jakieś nie zdrowe żarty. Żałuje tylko że zdjęcia nie zrobiłem. Najadłem się wstydu tylko, nieźle amazon.

Original excelente escrita.

Min favoritstiftpenna. Ett givet val om man gillar ett stadigt grepp och är ok med en något tyngre penna. Dessutom kan man få in hela spetsen så man inte råkar spetsa sig själv.

Ik heb een Amazon bestelling geplaatst voor een Rotring 800 pen. Toen het pakket bij mij aankwam, was de doos leeg. Dit is pure oplichting

Can be the best pencil ever