Rotring 800+ Mechanical Pencil Review

There are many excellent drafting pencils on the market but none with the name recognition and history of the Rotring brand. The Rotring 600 is an all-time classic, with older models being passed down through generations as an heirloom. The Rotring 800 is a popular upgrade to the 600, giving the user a retractable lead sleeve to protect it from damage. The latest model, the Rotring 800+ brings this great product into the modern age with the addition of a capacitive stylus tip.

I'm of the opinion that some classics should be left alone, but Rotring has handled this correctly by adding the 800+ to the product line, not replacing one of their already popular other pencils. The stylus option will be devisive, but in the end the choice is up to you. I don't necessarily find it useful in my everyday life, but I can see how many would welcome this addition. A perfect use case came up in Apple's 2014 WWDC Keynote intro, with architect Daniel Libeskind using an iPad to draw using the Paper app. I could see architects, engineers, and artists using this pencil to transition back and forth from paper to tablet with ease.

I've owned my 600 for years and the 800+ falls right in line on the quality front. There is a density that you feel in the metal barrel but it isn't overly heavy. The hex barrel gives it a traditional look, as does the grip knurling, which is in the mid-range of roughness. The lead sleeve extends and retracts with a quick half-twist of the top of the pencil, and the stylus is quite responsive when in use. There are no negatives that I have run into yet in my short time with this pencil.

So, what do you think about updating classic pens and pencils to fit today's modern use cases? I would be sad to see older models vanish off the shelf and be replaced with NEW! SHINY!, but as additions to an already great product lineup? I think that only benefits us all in the long run.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Pencil Review

OMG a pencil review!!!

In looking at a product like the Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Pencil I can understand why there is so much love for this oldest of writing instruments. Something about graphite on paper fires off those often under used creative brain cells.

I know the Grip 2001 comes highly recommended by many pencil addicts so I wanted to give them a try. I was not disappointed. The package I chose from JetPens contained three different lead grades: 2B, B, and HB. As an admitted pencil newbie, I always have to double-check the hardness chart to see where these grades fall in the scale. All three are right in the middle, with 2B being the softest and darkest, and HB being the hardest and lightest. It is relative though, as all three are neighbors.

The 2B did a wonderful job in the written review but I found that I much prefered the firmer HB for regular use. In fact, I have picked it up and used it several times over the past week and it was great. I loved how clean and sharp my lines were.

On the design side, the Faber-Castell 2001 is famous for those little black bumps on the barrel known as the Soft-Grip-Zone. They make for a non-slip grip and a comfortable writing experience. The barrel shape is triangular, and my only gripe with the pencil as a whole is that the overall diameter is slightly smaller than other pencils I have reviewed like the Blackwing 602. It's a minor complaint and I didn't notice until I picked up other pencils after using the 2001.

I'm not at the level yet where I can deep dive on all the reasons why you should or shouldn't use one pencil over the other but I will say I prefer my Blackwings over the 2001. That said, I just ordered several more pencils to get a better feel for different brands. The hook has been set folks.

For more reading on the Faber-Castell 2001 check out these great reviews:

Pencil Revolution

Pencil Talk

The Well-Appointed Desk

The Pencilcase Blog

Stationery Traffic

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Faber-Castell 2001

Faber-Castell Close

Faber-Castell Grade

Pentel Sharp Drafting Pencil - 0.5 mm - Carbon Black Review

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Pentel Sharp Drafting Pencil. It is the first quality mechanical pencil I remember using, and was ubiquitous in offices around the world for decades. Remember the time when you had access to decent quality office supplies at work? Me neither.

Pentel has done a nice job of keeping the brand alive, releasing a metallic plastic body last year and the Carbon Black plastic body this year. It actually took me several months to get this one from JetPens because it would keep selling out every time it restocked. Pentel Sharp fans love their pencils!

What has kept the Sharp so popular for all of these years is the simple but highly effective barrel design. Featuring a slight taper from around mid-barrel to the grip area, it fits the hand just right. The taper continues down through the tip section as well, giving users an unrestricted view of their work. No wonder it was so popular with architects and engineers in its heyday.

The Pentel Sharp's heyday is still here in my opinion. Sure, pencils like the Uni-ball Kuru Toga have surpassed it with technological advances, but as with other classic designs there will always be room on the desk for something this great.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)