I managed to get the mint green colorway without NONBLE on it and it looks really good. And… I’m happy to report that there are no cracks on the barrel. I used a high magnification loupe on it and everything looks perfect.
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I’ve been on the hunt for a 600 in 0.9mm for 30 years give or take. I saw one in an Artworker in Brighton in the UK in the early 90s and lament being a poor student at the time, because I have never seen one since. It wasn’t my preferred lead width at that time so I didn’t pay it much thought until some time down the line. Since then I have discovered that they can also take a 1.0mm lead, but I cannot find one for sale. I feel like it’s a forgotten niche in the 600 line that, short of spending $300 on one on ebay, just isn’t going to happen.
Reading about various mods and Franken-pencils people have smashed together on here and reddit, I am considering it. I can’t stoop to a Red Circle, which I know has it, as a life-long rOtter I just cannot. Even if their “”“Pro”“” line is plastic trash.
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You may know already, but Rotring released a 1.0mm labeled version and a 0.9mm labeled version. They are the same size clutch, just a different label. It has to do with the fact that nominal 0.9mm lead is actually closer to 1.0mm in thickness.
I’d always thought ISO system was a simple doubling of sizes:
0,35 x 2 = 0,7
0,5 x 2 = 1.0
0,7 x 2 = 1,4
1,0 x 2 = 2,0
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Also, let us not forget the other three (unofficial?) pairs:
0.2 and 0.4 (mostly Japan-only markets)
0.3 and 0.6 (remember the Tombow 0.6 MP made in Turkey)
0.4 and 0.8 (the latter diameter only available in Korea, alas!)
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I once read (unfortunately I forgot the source) that the lead diameters were created according to the DIN A paper format with an aspect ratio of 1 to the square root of 2, starting with 2 mm.
2 / square root of 2 ≈ 1.4
1.4 / square root of 2 ≈ 1
1 / square root of 2 ≈ 0.71
0.71 / square root of 2 ≈ 0.5
0.5 / square root of 2 ≈ 0.35
This ensures that the line weight ratios are maintained when a drawing is scaled up or down in the DIN system.
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A subscriber to my channel pointed out that in Better Call Saul, there is a scene where Gus Fring meets Werner Ziegler (the German mining engineer) and Werner is using a rotring 600. I’ve seen the series twice and missed it both times.
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Ol’ Werner, man loved his wife and Rotring! Stand up guy!
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I love this. The nerdiest and coolest bit of lead trivia I have come across. I hope the article you read resurfaces.