Deutschland Über Alles: the rOtring 600
Originally released in 1989, the 600 mechanical pencil was rOtring’s first foray into the “upscale writing instrument market”. It’s main body, designed in a hexagonal shape to prevent rolling, is machined on a lathe out of a solid piece of brass. The tip is also solid brass, now cylindrical with a coarse knurling to provide grip. The long lead sleeve helps reduce breakage and also allows for a better view of the line being drawn when used with a straightedge. Moving the other way up the pencil’s body, there is a removable brass pocket clip, a rotating knurled section with a window that can be adjusted to indicate the hardness of lead being used (display options are 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, and 2B, listed in order of descending hardness), and finally the eraser cap which serves to engage the lead advancement mechanism, also brass.
The 600 is something of a cult classic among engineers and drafters. Its simple but thoughtful design, quality materials, durability and reliability, and ease of use embody qualities all engineers strive for when designing a tool. The visual language of the pencil is rugged and elegant: this is a no-bullshit tool designed to create greatness. The muted black with splashes of primary red branding motifs gives the pencil a mature feeling. It’s fixed lead sleeve provides a stable, wobble-free writing experience, and facilitates reliability by employing a minimal number of moving parts.
I’ve been using the 600 pencil since high school. I got my first one, in 0.7mm, as a gift to myself in 11th grade after taking and enjoying a hand drafting course. I retained this one some way into university. When I lost it, heartbroken, I immediately ordered one in 0.35mm to replace it. When this one also eventually dematerialized, I finally replaced it with a 0.5mm model, which I’ve owned for about 5 years. The areas of the knurled grip where the black coating has been eroded to expose raw brass are a testament to my appreciation for this precision machine. Recently, I picked up a 600 ballpoint to compliment it. In this I’ve put a needle tip refill that somewhat mimics the look of the pencil’s lead sleeve.
Unfortunately, one of the 600’s strong points is simultaneously it’s fatal flaw: the non-retractable lead sleeve, a central factor in the pencil’s simplistic and reliable mechanism, is extremely prone to bending when dropped. Most get around this by putting a pen cap over the tip, but it’s inelegant and I haven’t found a nice black metal tip that fits snugly, visually compliments the pencil, and doesn’t extend the pencil to an unwieldy length when capped.
I want to try the 800 next. Its retractable tip nullifies the 600’s Achilles heel, but isn’t without it’s own problem: the movability of the lead sleeve introduces a noticeable level of wobble while writing, sacrificing the rock steady stability that is part of what made the 600 the cultural icon it is today.
I haven’t had the chance to write with an 800, and there’s a simple O-ring mod that all but eliminates the wobble, so it’s entirely possible that I’d be satisfied with the writing experience with the 800. Even then, though, you just can’t beat a classic: no futuristic self-driving car will ever be able to match up in coolness to the pencil world’s equivalent of John Carmack’s turbocharged Ferrari 328.
