Rotring800 Drafting Pencil - 0.5 mm - Silver Body

I was a master draftsman for 10 years before becoming an engineer. I still keep a drafting table in my office and use it during design. My technical drawings are the work of a true craftsman. My taste in drawing instruments is highly refined, and I will only use the finest pens and pencils. My intent here is not to boast but to qualify my comments on this pencil. That said, I believe the Rotring 800 is the finest mechanical pencil I have ever held in my hand. When the Rapidograph 5635 that I had used for 25 years broke, I panicked. After extensive research, I bought the 800. The balance is perfect, the knurled metal grip is cool to the touch and smooth enough to be comfortable for hours of drawing, but has enough grip to avoid slippage in your fingers. The retractable drafting tip helps prevent damage to itself or your pocket, and it is just freakin cool. It's a beautifully designed and constructed writing instrument, and I use it in place of a pen often, which I never had done before. It's well worth the price. Buy it.

The best mechanical pencil I have ever used in my 20+ years as an engineer. I've had pencil's far cheaper and more expensive, but this pencil beats them all. Build quality is fantastic, writing (maybe it's me but I'm getting much better performance from this pencil - I'll have to check on the type of lead that came with with it.) The retractable nib is a great, makes the pencil safer to carry without the nib jabbing into something. I like the weight of it, it is well balanced and makes using it a real pleasure. Expensive but worth it every penny. Highly recommended if you use a pencil. For technical types it's a god send.

Lightweight and writes smoothly. Feels great in the hand

I own this pencil in 0.5mm and I really like it. It has lasted a year now, and is still going strong. However, there are a few serious flaws. The mechanism that feeds the lead thru often snaps the lead off in inch long chunks; this is too small to put back into the pencil for reuse, but large enough to seem like a considerable waste. To fix this issue I used a few drops of WD40 on the internals,and switched to stronger led. Also, always be cautious of the metal end-- if you bend it your pencil is toast(and no replacements are sold). It is possible to bend it back into shape, but it may take a while to get it just right.I have said a lot of negative things, but don't let them stop you... This is the only pencil I have used in the last year, and most likely the only pencil I will use in years to come.

This all metal pencil works as expected. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a pencil.

I have always been a fan of Rotring pens and pencils. I am glad to add this one to my collection. A bit pricey, but you are paying for functionality, coolness, and upscale brand. If you want to show off your mechanical pencil, but if it's not a Rotring, I wouldn't care. :P

Nice body. But, the leads are constantly breaking. Makes the pencil useless. I'm using full, high quality lead, so it's clearly an issue with the pencil... Don't do it!

I lost the mate to my Rotring pen soon after I got it some time ago. Something told me to look on Amazon and there it was, offered by many dealers. The best deal though, all things considered, was from this Japanese based dealer selling a German product. It wasn't the cheapest but they were competitive and stocked the merchandise. Many others advertised it but apparently did not inventory them. This firm does and ships promptly, surprisingly promptly.