Amazon has a “Sharpie, Expo, PaperMate & more” promo today, (12/13/21), and the rOtring 800 mechanical pencil stood out to me, as it is typically a LOT more expensive than this.
Only the black barrel 0.5mm size is on sale.
Price: $24.99 (reg. ~$53-55)
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The deal ends at 3am ET 12/14/21 unless supplies sell out sooner.
Should You Buy it?
If the rOtring 800 is on your wishlist, you probably already clicked the “buy” button and ordered it. And if not, you should definitely stop reading this and go do that now in case supplies are limited.
If you have been wanting to buy a rOtring 800 and haven’t because of the price, $25 seems like a heck of a good deal, given that it typically sells for more than twice the amount.
But if you’re reading this and thinking what’s a rOtring?, maybe this isn’t for you. If you get into mechanical pencils, you can always get a rOtring 600 for just a little more than $25, depending on size and color.
If you’re looking for something a bit more affordable, I recommend the Pentel GraphGear 1000 mechanical pencil, which has a retractable tip/lead guide, and Staedtler 925 series mechanical pencils.
Buy Pentel GraphGear 1000 at Amazon
Buy Staedtler 925 Pencil at Amazon
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Wayne R.
For clarity: The 800 (and 800+) fully retracts the business end, where the 600 doesn’t retract anything. The 800+ has a touch-screen tip when the pencil is retracted.
Just don’t drop them.
Stuart
Thanks! I forgot that the 800 has a retractable sleeve as well.
I bought a 600 on sale a while back, and it’s a great pencil. I’d be more interested in the 800 as a “one and only” pencil, but for my needs I’d be more likely to buy 2 Staedlers.
If you do drop it, I’ve heard good things about rOtring customer service.
Adam B
I bought a 600 based on your post a while back when it was on sale and it absolutely is my favorite pencil to use, so much that I bought another next time it went on sale. I love the shape, never rolls off the table, has a fantastic finish and feel to the barrel, and is weighted nicely. The one con, is I do worry about the tip breaking and I can’t pocket it either. Finally, the 800 is on sale that solves my one issue, thanks for the heads up.
Stuart
I’m glad to hear it – thank you for sharing!
Luke
Just bought two!
Stuart
Update: I took the plunge and ordered one as well.
rob
Rotting is the bomb. The pen is whack though.
Koko The Talking Ape
I bought one in spring of 2020, and I love it for a drawing/drafting pencil. Precise and pocketable, a big plus. For me personally, it’s a bit heavy for writing, and the eraser is small (actual draftspeople would likely have a separate eraser, maybe even an electric eraser, plus an erasing shield or two. Also they’d be really old. ;-). ) I just got another one. Thanks for the heads-up, Stuart!
Stuart
What’s wrong with using an eraser shield!? =)
I treat mechanical pencil erasers as if they solely exist to plug the refill tube end, but they’re good to have, just in case. 2mm lead holders (and wood drawing pencils) rarely have erasers, and so I got in the habit of using a separate eraser.
When I started using mechanical pencils a bit more, I didn’t want to have to source pricey eraser refills, and so I never worked to change my established habits.
As for being “really old,” my high school required everyone to take a technical drawing class as well as a CAD class. I just checked, and it looks like they still have the same requirement.
Koko The Talking Ape
No offense intended! Some of my favorite people are really old! 😉
I don’t know any architects who still hand draw working drawings (despite the name), but they all sketch concept drawings with pencils, like the 2mm lead holders you mention. Now I don’t know about engineers, furniture designers, etc. For my own drawings, I use a 0.5 mm pencil, but that might be because I haven’t learned to use SketchUp yet.
Still, the market for a 0.5mm drafting lead holder has shrunk in recent years. I imagine Rotring et al. are wondering if they’re going to go the way of Kodak. I think they could enter the market for luxury fountain pens and the like, but they have to do something. It’s either 2mm or digital, or bust.
Joatman
I draw a LOT and have many quality mechanical pencils, including a few rOtrings……but when you mentioned erasers…..
Here are a couple of my favorites. These are amazing IMO….
https://www.amazon.com/Tombow-Pen-Style-Eraser-Refill-Refills/dp/B00ZZ4PJRA/
Stuart
rOtring has pencils at different price points – e.g. the 500 is ~$11 – https://amzn.to/3pYraJP . I don’t think they’ll need to expand their focus anytime soon.
Mechanical pencils might be a smaller market than others, but I wouldn’t think it’s shrinking, at least not globally.
To be honest, I was uncertain as to how well this post would be perceived, and I at first tried to include a deal mention at the end of the Home Depot deal of the day post before deciding it needed to be separate.
I thought that maybe a couple of readers had this pencil on their wishlist, but it turns out that more than a few jumped on the deal. That’s what prompted me to buy one, so that I can review or better know this pencil if there’s ever a similar deal or promo in the future.
It’s not really aligned with my needs, but I’ve explored other pencils that this was equally as true for.
There are huge markets for stationery products.
Regarding mechanical pencils, once you cross the line into enthusiast territory, there’s so much there.
The Orenz Nero (https://amzn.to/31Xcylq) is a more premium version of the brand’s small lead-size pencil.
Kuru Toga has a unique lead rotation mechanism, which helps to prevent uneven wearing.
Going back to Rotring, the 600 is now available in several different colors, including blue and red. If I recall correctly, it was only available in black and silver until recently. Would they add more colors to the mix of the market has shrunk?
Koko The Talking Ape
I agree, the market for mechanical pencils has probably not shrunk lately. But for technical drafting pencils, the kind Rotring makes, the market must’ve contracted massively when people switched to CAD a few decades ago. It’s true that there are connoiseurs now, but I doubt there are many of them.
Aha. As it happens, Rotring was sold to Sanford (of uni-ball, Parker, etc.) in 1998, about when that sea change happened. They also started selling Rotring fountain and ballpoint pens about that time too (according to Wikipedia.)
Fun bit of history: when I was in architecture school, the teachers frowned on the newfangled 0.7 and 0.5 mm mechanical pencils. They preferred the old 2mm lead holders, that required a separate sharpener. The very tip of the lead would often break off, leaving a nearly invisible speck to make a horrifying dark slash across your drawing when you moved your parallel rule.
I actually bought a 2mm leadholder recently, to write down interesting dreams. It’s always ready to write, and won’t stain the sheets if I fall asleep holding it.
TonyT
My guess is that the higher end of the pencil market will hold up better (in $$$ terms at least, although maybe not in volume), because stationery is becoming more boutique. And the “drafting pencil” segment will do fine, because very few people ever really used them for drafting, myself included.
For initial idea exploration, I still strongly prefer pen/pencil and paper.
Craig
I just keep a can of skum-x and a brush on the desk
Koko The Talking Ape
lol! I used those little pillows filled with powdered rubber. But they always made the drawings a little less crisp.
Gordon
I bought one because I’m a glutton for pencils. I have quite the collection started and love rotating through and rediscovering each pencil.
My favorite so far is a 0.9mm vintage Cross Century with twist action. We’ll see how I like the 0.5mm of the rOtring 800.
Adabhael
I also love the rotating mechanism and the chunky 0.9mm lead on the classic Cross pencils! They look classy, but I wish the barrels were a little thicker to grip and/or not made of smooth metal. I’ve often thought about plundering the guts and machining a different grip. Or maybe I should go buy a Rotring…
Gordon
See, it’s the thin barrel that I absolutely love. But I have thin long fingers and find something like a Sharpie to be the largest pen I can comfortably use. I did see a fancy version on ebay that has a knurled grip area and I almost bought it just to try it out!
Jordan
ah dang, fell asleep and forgot to push the cart through yesterday with the discounted price.