[Pen/Pencil Review] Rotring 600 Drafting Pencil 0.5mm

One of the things that I love about my marriage is that Jimmy lets me know about interesting pencils. This time it’s the new line of Rotring 600 drafting pencils. He was debating between the Madder Red and the Iron Blue – and showed me the dark Camouflage Green…and it had to be done.

Rotring is a German company that’s been making drafting pencils for decades. The 600s are full brass bodies with a hex body and a machined knurled grip. The pencil is just over 5.5” long. It has a 4 mm fixed sleeve for a tip. It has a top cap push lead advancer that also holds the white eraser.

This is the 0.5mm – our favorite. There’s lead indicator right under the lead advance cap. It’s also knurled and you can twist it around for whatever hardness of lead you’re using. It comes with a solid HB lead. The clip is solid metal and fits snugly.

It’s a heavy but well-balanced pencil. It feels comfortable in the hand and has smooth advancement action on the lead. It’s a traditional mechanical pencil. You have to manually advance the lead – it’s not a knock or a shaker. It’s a workhorse pencil that can go a distance. But Rotring is not cheap. These run in the $30 range.

We got these on JetPens.com.

The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent. Has a good length and solid mechanism with good lead
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – The knurled grip prevents edges from digging in and some semblance of ergonomics, but it’s still a metal pencil.
3. Material – 1 It’s solid. A well-made metal pencil.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s classic and pretty and functional.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not a cheap back to school pencil – this is a professional drafting pencil and brass. So it’s not cheap. It runs about $30 on JetPens. It’s probably that on other sites as well. This is an investment pencil.

4.0 out of 5 Bronze Pencils

Tags: 0.5mm, HB lead, JetPens, pen, pencils, Rotring