Customer Reviews

I've only had this pencil for a few days,
but I am already absolutely in love with it!
At fifteen dollars, and perhaps having a previous reviewer's comment in mind,
I thought this pencil would look and feel cheap in person.
However, what I experienced is that the pencil feels great
and vastly more expensive than the asking price.
Moreover, I think it has plenty of weight to it.
I must admit that when I received it, I kept checking the label disbelievingly
to see if they sent me the 600 or 800 by mistake because the material feels like metal.
In terms of design, the rotring series is unparalleled.

For being the little brother to the Rotring 600, this pencil leaves nothing to be desired. Everything is identical with the exception of the weight, and even still it's not a huge difference. The pencil gives off this aura of fine german engineering, it's just plastic instead of metal. They may have used a cheaper material but they didn't skimp on the fitting. No rattling, no bending, 100% solid feel while writing. And I just love the very visible tip of the Rotrings. This is probably one of the best pencils available in terms of quality and engineering.

This is a fantastic value. I have the Rotring 600, and I actually prefer the 500. It is lighter, yes, but I find the plastic barrel more comfortable in the hand. This is a solid pencil and I highly recommend it.

i just got this pencil a couple of days ago, and i gotta say im loving it, im an artist and functionality along with style is a must, and this has both.

I bought this pen on a recommendation and I must say the more I use it the more I am pleased with this purchase. It sits well in the hand, consistently draws and writes well on all surfaces and is weighted well for long writing and/or drawing sessions.

If it came in another colour, I'd buy another.

Love this drafting pencil. The grip is nice similar to ALVIN but has a stronger body.

The pencil looks very cool unfortunately for me it feels cheap. The pencil is very lightweight I'm used to write with a heavier type of pencil. It does also feel very fragile especially the tip.

Barrel is high quality plastic.. metal knurled grip. precise handling. great for fine work.

I got 2 of these as a replacement for my Koh-I-Noor rapidmatic which finally broke. This pencil looks awesome but doesn't come close to the koh-i-noor. The two biggest differences are the lack of the nice low center of gravity and the knurling grip is slippery in comparison. Wish I had tried the Alvin but still like it in my "collection".

Ever since I've been retroverting back from typing on a laptop for the past 5 years to writing notes using a pen and paper, I've been on a quest to find a "fabled" good pencil. In the recent months I've been using some Ohto, Zebra, Pentel pencils purchased from Jetpens or in the stationary section of Japanese stores around me. After reading on how well-weighted, balanced and well-constructed Rotring pencils were on various reviews I decided to jump on the wagon and try a few of them out. After a few weeks with the 800, 600, and 500 I must say the one I end up using the most is the 500. Why? The 500 is solidly-built despite the plastic body and I find the weight balanced superior to the Pentel Graphgear 1000 (my previous favorite). At the end of the day I can write more without fatigue due it being lighter than the 600 and if someone decides to steal it...at least they didn't steal my 600 or 800 that I intend keep strictly at home.

what is the difference between this and the Rotring 600? Plz explain

The tip is the weak point on this pen. You will eventually drop the pen,and when you do you will weaken the tip. When it breaks it will be useless since the lead snap off no matter how short you draw it out. Rotring makes much better pencils. If you really like the design, make sure the tip is protected.

this pencil is one of my favorites, it's great.
the only thing i don't like is that the black grip seems to catch everything on it (dust, lint, skin particles). I'm sure all metal gripped drafting pencils do this but it's slightly irksome seeing a "dirty" pencil grip all the time. It's no big deal though, and shouldn't hold you back from getting this great pencil.

This pencil is great for precise writing (ex. writing on beakers for chem labs). I wish the grip was a little bit bigger but that is probably because i have large hands (i can palm a basketball easily). The plastic seems to be durable and i hope so as the grip is attached to the barrel with plastic threads :S Even though i do not use the lead grade indicator i would like to point out that it moves easily and i don't feel like it is high quality.

Overall i think that this pencil is 4 stars because for 3 dollars more you can have a Staedtler 925 25 03 which is an all metal body and bigger grip. It will however be heavier which may not be what you want.

As expected, this one is drastically lighter than its brass cousin, the Rotring 600. It uses what appears to be the same nosepiece, eraser cap, and clip, but I'm not 100% certain anything else is shared between the two ranges. Granted, the examples I own are of a different lead diameter, but the advance mechanisms still feel substantially different. It might simply be the resonant characteristics of plastic versus brass, it's hard to say. It's still a high-end feeling and well worth its price point, though. It certainly doesn't appear to sacrifice anything in terms of overall quality of manufacture in the apparent step down from its lofty metallic brethren, but it definitely has a different character simply by its lesser mass. It's no 600, but it is a solid 500, and it's half the price. Go for it.

A substantial pencil with a fine black finish. Though metal doesn't feel too cold in winter.

Fed less lead out than Japanese pencils. A favorite.

The Rotring 500 is an excellent Drafting pencil for drafters. The lead indicator holds firmly, ( Unless you use it frequently, as the friction will loosen the indicator.) Obviously, as the 4mm lead sleeve is very fragile, extreme care is required, or else a little drop will ruin your pencil. The factory lead is nice & dark, wears fairly nice, and doesn't smudge (Great if you're a lefty). If you're going to bring the Rotring 500 to a public place, don't flash your pencil to other people, unless you do want attention from people( " peasants " ) using cheap mechanical pencils. The looks of the 500 & the 600 is very similar in the design. The Rotring 500's eraser works decently, however as with most drafting pencils, the erasers are for well... minuscule mistakes, not for erasing an entire essay, or paragraph; for those duties, I use separate block erasers.

One negative/annoying feature of the Rotring 500 , as "henrylouis16" stated, is that the grip of the Rotring 500 seems to attract particles. ex. Skin cells, dirt, eraser shreds, etc. The particles will make your Rotring 500 a little bit dirty, however the grip has good traction and isn't rough, unlike other knurled grip that makes your fingers hurt after hours of use.

The weight of the Rotring 500 isn't heavy , but it is pretty substantial, especially when you compare the weight to the Pentel Graph 1000 for pro,(which is a feather compared to Rotring 500). If you do want something heavier, I'd recommend the Staedtler 925-03, Rotring 600, & Pentel Graph Gear 1000 .

If you want something durable, reliable, fancy, entertaining to stare at when you're bored,and are willing to take care of your Rotring 500, I'd highly recommend the Rotring 500. If you're looking for something cheap, extremely expensive, light, very heavy, jewelry, or easily breakable, then I'd not recommend the Rotring 500. That being said, the tip is still fragile, and needs some care.

I own a wide variety of mechanical pencils, many found here at Jetpens as a matter of fact, and some found elsewhere. This Rotring 500 design is among my top 2 favorites. The other is a Pentel design not found here. 'Nuff said.

I have this in .3mm and its full blown metal brother the silver rotring 600, which is a .5mm, and I'm loving them both.

What I'm saying is, please restock on this so I can complete my collection of rotring drafting pencils. :D

Exactly what I paid for, and more. I heard this was just like the type 600, only sacrificing the metal tube for one of high-quality, light-weight plastic. It has the perfect weight, a good feel, and a simple, yet attractive design.

For half the price of the famous type 600, this is a must-buy.

* Be sure to buy eraser refills. They're tiny.

This is the greatest pencil. I have used it and dropped it and it still works properly. It is extremely durable. If you want this pencil totally buy it!

Awesome!

Great Pencil. Perfect Balance of weight for a comfortable writing experience, couple that with a solid lead advance mechanism, quality grip and SOLID construction and you have a 5 star pencil right here.

Besides the reliable and fast service jetpens always offers, this pencil arrived with the rest of my order today.
It's simply amazing. I've been through quite a lot of mechanical pencils in the years but so far I think I'll be working with this one (and its younger brother the rotring 600 when it becomes available) for the longest. The grip feels right and the weight isn't too heavy since it's made of plastic and each end is made with metal. :) Everything feels very solid and with the .3mm size, it's perfect with fine detail. I use it for drawing artwork rather than actual drafting.