This post is not intended to be a full review, I will just make a few consideration about the main differences that two of the mostly liked and discussed drafting pencils have between them. Rotring 600G (where G stands for Gold) against Rotring 800.
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| Rotring 600G and 800 collection |
I would really like to make a more extensive and detailed review of this nice pencils in the feature, but now it's not the time. The 800 is a newer version of the 600G and it is officially for sale only in Japan for what I know. There are many USA and Japanese stores that are selling the 800 online, and it is not difficult to get one for a "reasonable" price (60$). The 800 is available, just like the 600, in 2 colors, silver and black. The sizes are just two, 0,5mm and 2,0mm.
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| Rotring 600 and 800 |
The Rotring 600G is no longer produced, it was available in the 90ties. Rotring made a pen, a 0.5 and a 0.7mm mechanical pencil. All available in black and silver colors.You may notice that some of the 600G in the pictures report "Japan" on the clip. I think that this were made for the Japan market, but I am not sure, maybe somebody could help.
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| Rotring 600G - silver collection |
Let's come to the differences. First of all there is some plastic in the 800, it is part of the lead advance mechanism. As you can see the 600G is all metal. So we have this difference. Please notice that plastic doesn't necessarily mean worse. Some "plastics" nowadays are better than metals, so I can't really say if one solution is better than the other. I used the 800 0.5mm for a lot of time and I didn't notice any particular problem related to the lead advance mechanism.
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| Rotring 600G and 800: advance mechanism and nib |
The 600G has a more definite click, with a "precise" sound, while the 800 sounds more soft and less clear. I personally prefer the 600G, but some you may prefer the quieter 800. The lead seems to advance more of less of the same quantity, I did not made measurements.
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| Rotring 800 and 600 handle differences |
I noticed also that the 800 and the 600G have a different handle. The 800 in black color seem to have a different knurling from all the other (including the 800 in silver): less clean-cut, you feel it less when you have it in your hand.
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| 800 and 600G eraser and eraser cover |
Another difference is in the eraser cup. The 800 has no indication on it, while the 600G reports the size of the lead. The size indication on the top of the pencil is something that I always like to have, so that I can pick the right pencil from my wraps. As you may have seen, the 600G has a lead grade indicator on the upper knurled part. It is more stable that other indicator that I have used and it could be particularly useful.
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| Rotring 600 Black collection |
As you could easily guess from the amount of 600 and 800 that I own I like this pencil quite a lot, although it is far from being perfect. One of problems of it is that the nib is not stable. Nothing that can compromise your writing or drawing experience, but something that is not nice to deal with.
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| 600G diameter |
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| 600G and 800 diameter (same size) |
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| 800 diamter |
Both the 600G and 800 have this problem, but the 800 seems to have an higher play as you can see from the picture above. I honestly can't tell any real difference when using the pencils, but if you play with your finger on the nib you may feel a little difference. The measurements above were taken also to try to find a solution for this problem. Maybe something like an o-ring, as suggest in Dave's Blog. I already asked some o-ring production companies for a 3-6.5mm size, and if I have any news I'll post them on the blog.
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| Rotring 600G collection |
I don't have any particular preference between those nice pice of equipment, I think that all of those are very nice and durable writing instrument. There is a big difference in price and availability. The 600G can be found nowadays (2012) for price between 100 and 300$ depending on the conditions, the shop, the luck of the buyer. Those items, like all collectables, have increased their value and price during time. The 800 is currently in production for what I know and it could be found in some online Japanese stores for less than 5000JPY.
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| From top to bottom: Rotring 600 Japanese, 600 first series, 600G Japan, Rapid Pro and Retro51 Silver Hex-O-Matic Pencil |
The 800 and 600G have approximately the same weight, and share the same eraser refills. As I wrote in previous posts I am a collector but also a user and I like to erase also with the bottom of the pencil. Eraser refill are available in many online shops.
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| Rotring 800 and eraser refills |
There are some other small differences that can be notice in the pictures below. The 600 has a slightly shorter threaded area and a different advance mechanism/nib design.
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| Thread difference: 800 in silver color and 600G in black color |
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| Tip difference: 600G in black color and 800 in silver color |
I hope that you found this review interesting. Please feel free to aks any questions. Thanks for reading!
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