The Rotring 600 mechanical pencil, in black and with a 0.5mm mechanism, is currently on sale at Amazon for $12.88.
It doesn’t look to be a one-day deal, but supplies are likely limited. There’s no mention of when the deal will end.
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If you want some background on this mechanical pencil, our deal post from last December has some more discussion.
I bought one more than a year ago, at $18. It’s priced at ~$24 and up elsewhere.
Deal Price: $12.88
Buy Now(via Amazon)
I can’t tell you why it’s on sale, how long the sale will last, or whether there are limited supplies, but what I can tell you is that this is a great mechanical pencil and that $12.88 is a fantastic price.
The Rotring 800 also appears to be deal-priced at $24.63. The 800 has a retractable tip.
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If you want to spend just a little less, I can also recommend Staedtler’s mechanical pencils. The blue series and silver series are both under $10 each, better than what I paid 3 years ago.
Frank
I bought one of these last time and its very nice until you drop it and the lead tube bends.
Stuart
Ouch.
Replacement tubes are sometimes available, but I’m not sure about this brand. You could email them and see what they say.
Unfortunately, most mechanical pencils are the same way, with exposed lead tubes.
I broke a glass dip pen by cleaning it too hard. Accidents happen.
The Rotring 800, Pentel Graphgear 1000, and a couple of other mechanical pencils have retractable or otherwise protected tips and are more durable.
Koko The Talking Ape
I believe all the pencils mentioned here do not have retracting tips, meaning they are not pocket-safe. They will need to stay on the drafting table. But I can recommend all of them. The silver Staedler is pretty snazzy.
PETE
I wonder what the cut off it on age that the new generation has no idea what a drafting table is lol
Corey Moore
I’m 31 and I took drafting in highschool. It was helpful when I was in a job that had me designing prints, but I don’t know that I’d say it’s necessary in reading prints, but there’s still value to be had in the knowledge, for sure.
Altan
Rotring old products were made in Germany, we had a huge set of them when I was a child, they were extremely expensive. Now they are not extreme quality and are made in China, still acceptable.
Will
I think they are made in Japan now, at least the 600 and 800 I have were. And I would recommend the 800 over the 600, the retractable tip is well worth the extra cost for both durability and making it pocket safe.
Altan
It might be, they still make some I Germany as well, but mostly in China.
TonyT
Some people (myself included) feel that the 600 is a little more solid (little less tip wiggle). OTOH, there is the matter of the tip — IIRC, JetPens sells replacement tips from Rotring, but they weren’t cheap.
nicolau
Japan. Not China.
Stuart
My 2018 Rotring 600 was made in Japan.
William
Just Ordered 2, keep one at Home and the other for the office, leave the cheapies in the workshop. Thanks for the heads up.
bob
I personally prefer the Rapid Pro over the 800 for retractable Rotrings. The mechanism is a more traditional push to retract rather than twist to retract and doesn’t break lead as easily. The 800 is notorious for breaking lead.
Vards Uzvards
I’ve got a Rapid Pro too, paid just a little more than the 600’s price today (so, all kinds of sudden price drops happen on Amazon). It’s made in Japan. I love heavy metal pencils (but not the Caran D’ache, which cost about the same as Rotring)!
BeePee
If you want a great mechanical pencil, buy the Pentel Side FX:
https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Automatic-Pencil-Eraser-PD257EBP2/dp/B002VL5I8A/
As an Engineer & designer i have tried MANY. The Side FX is a great value and feels great with my average adult male sized hands.
Koko The Talking Ape
The tip on these don’t retract, is that right?
Kilroy
Pentel Side FX mechanical pencils were my writing utensil of choice through high school. Fairly reliable, easily available at Walmart and most other chain stores, and cheap enough that I didn’t cry if I lost one. For a mechanical pencil with a good eraser, they are about as good as it gets- the erasers on them work well, last a long while, and refill erasers are readily available and cheap.
RKA
Almost bought another 600 last night. Then I changed the color to silver and no sale price. :(. My current (black) 600 is I-don’t-know-where. Black is a poor color choice in a shop, it’s made to camouflage into the darkness! Grr.
AC
Though I haven’t tried them, these Muji aluminum pencils look really nice for $10. As a brand, Muji is know for exceptional minimalist design. Looks like they have a few different designs. Probably not on many people’s radar.
https://www.muji.us/store/aluminum-hexa-mechanical-pencil-0-5mm4548718616015.html
Vards Uzvards
“Product images are for reference only.” These pencils, sold by a company “specializing” in practically everything from Japan, would probably belong in a Dollar Store, priced correspondingly. I might be wrong, of course. I’ve been to Daiso a few days ago, and saw a few no-name mechanical pencils there, all sold for $1.50.
AC
Actually Muji is know for producing best quality, best designed projects. They do some furniture, house hold items, clothing and have quite a bit of stationary stuff. They design it all themselves. Again, never held one of these pencils, but I know they make very nice things and you find them in the US MOMA stores. One neat thing is they don’t stamp their name on anything, kind of the anti-brand.
Vards Uzvards
I don’t buy that.
Read it however you want 🙂
Stuart
That disclaimer is there for every product, presumably in case a small product change isn’t reflected in imagery soon enough.
I have experience with Muji products, having purchased some small stuff at their JFK store (is it still there?) and online, and the quality is very good for the price.
Vards Uzvards
Right, right. Almost all of my mechanical pencils are of the made-in-Japan kind (except Parker). Some of the clothes we wear are made in Japan. I like their teas as well. Hitachi tools, anyone?! Your car can be any color, as long as it’s white, made by Honda, and its model name starts witch ‘C’. But, in each and every case, the company is different, specializing in their own thing. And they are always proud of their products, “stamping” their name on top. I am not very fond of the “kind of the anti-brand” attitude in a manufacturer. I might be wrong, of course 😉
Kilroy
Muji has great stationery products. They might be sold at “dollar store” (100 yen store?) prices in Japan, but the quality/price ratio for Muji stationery products compared to other options sold in the US is very good.
Joatman
These are awesome pencils. I have two…..one for drawing and one for work. Both 0.5 mm. I use Pentel Ain HB lead. Don’t want to use too hard of a lead in such a heavy pencil. The harder the lead, the heavier you have to press to leave a mark. Such a thin lead will break….so soft lead is best for darker writing. I also have an entire set of Pentel 1000 pencils in the full range of sizes. Great pencils, lighter, but I still prefer the Rotring 600. Just has a great feel and quality. Was thinking about the Pro but decided against it. Anything with moving parts is going to wear out sooner or later.