It's a lovely thing to hold and use. EXCEPT if you drop it! As much as the body is made of metal and feels very strong, the internals are made of plastic. If you drop it on its point, which is how it's balanced so you will. Then the plastic mechanism snaps inside and the pencil no longer locks, which makes it utterly useless and it's not easy to open up or repair. So I now have $60 worth of junk. I've been using a Pentel Graph Gear for 10 years before I got this. I dropped it hundreds of times and it still works fine. It cost $12.25. Get one of those.

WILL NOT ADVANCE LEAD! Disassembled to ensure there was no lead jam, found no jam, ran a clean out rod thru the tube just to make sure, reassembled and still will not advance lead. Rotring minimum repair charge is $43 plus shipping - VERY DISAPPOINTED!UPDATE: My Rotring 800 0.7 mm black mechanical pencil was years out of warranty. Called the Rotring Service Center (800) 237-8736, followed their email instructions and they sent a new replacement free of charge and paid for shipping both ways! Changed my rating to 5 stars.

What is there to say, Rotring pencils are tremendous, whatever level of their pencil range you buy, and I have almost all of them. Still as someone once said, nothing exceeds but excess…Okay, the 800. It’s the build quality. When you turn the knurled top it just slides and clicks into place. No fuss, no slop in the mechanism, just a joy to experience.No, they are not paying me to wax lyrical about this pencil. I have over a hundred mechanical pencils and try to cycle through them all a week at a time but at the end of the day you do gravitate to a few, and, despite some interesting and novel engineering in some other manufacturer’s offerings the full metal Rotrings figure large.Oh yes, I like the weight of the pencil as well.One tiny gripe is the sharp edge on ... MoreWhat is there to say, Rotring pencils are tremendous, whatever level of their pencil range you buy, and I have almost all of them. Still as someone once said, nothing exceeds but excess…Okay, the 800. It’s the build quality. When you turn the knurled top it just slides and clicks into place. No fuss, no slop in the mechanism, just a joy to experience.No, they are not paying me to wax lyrical about this pencil. I have over a hundred mechanical pencils and try to cycle through them all a week at a time but at the end of the day you do gravitate to a few, and, despite some interesting and novel engineering in some other manufacturer’s offerings the full metal Rotrings figure large.Oh yes, I like the weight of the pencil as well.One tiny gripe is the sharp edge on the barrell above the knurl, the 600 and the Rapid pro have a slightly smoother contour.

The pencil itself is ok. Personally I would have preferred a little more weight and a forward balance point rather than the midpoint balance which renders a dead feel in the hand. I also would have liked a stronger internal spring and crisp advancement of the lead instead of the mushy feel. I also think the twist out lead sleeve could use more resistance. It feels as if it is managed by a weak spring. The appearance is good and the pocket clip is nice and strong. For the price of this pencil I cannot recommend. I personally feel the price should be around $20 at the most.

Wanted to like this much more. It is hefty and sturdy. My two problems with it are: 1) the led seems to snap internally way too much for my liking. 2) the black one I purchased has gone back at least twice because it was so jammed that I couldn't fix it. Both my black and sliver versions are now currently jammed (first time for my silver one). That happened about a year ago and I threw them into a draw and stopped using them. I tried a bunch of other (cheaper) pencils that were simply ok. I finally went back to my .5 (for regular writing) and .7 (for underlining in books (I am a history grad student so this one gets just as much use as the other one)) Pentel GraphGear 1000s.I think my love affair with Rotring is now over.

I'll start by addressing the two primary concerns people have with the 800.The first is potential lead breakage. I purposely got the 0.7 mm variant as a stop gap to see if a thicker lead would not result in breakage, and so far that is not the case. No breakage here.The second gripe people have is in the squishy nature of the lead advancement mechanism and the motion of the lead sleeve itself when you click. This issue DOES exist, but you have to decide if that matters for you.At the end of the day, the 800 has almost exactly the same writing experience as the 600, but with the convenience of the retraction. Same length, same weight, same knurling. Precision-focused professionals may detect some play in the lead sleeve, but for daily writing it is barely ... MoreI'll start by addressing the two primary concerns people have with the 800.The first is potential lead breakage. I purposely got the 0.7 mm variant as a stop gap to see if a thicker lead would not result in breakage, and so far that is not the case. No breakage here.The second gripe people have is in the squishy nature of the lead advancement mechanism and the motion of the lead sleeve itself when you click. This issue DOES exist, but you have to decide if that matters for you.At the end of the day, the 800 has almost exactly the same writing experience as the 600, but with the convenience of the retraction. Same length, same weight, same knurling. Precision-focused professionals may detect some play in the lead sleeve, but for daily writing it is barely noticeable. The 600 is a fabulous pencil, and the 800 nearly matches it, if not for some minor gripes.You basically have to decide if the retraction is worth another 20 dollars. If you just want a solid writing piece and portability is not a concern for you, go with the 600. If you need to be able to take your pencil on the go, the 800 is a fine variation.

I really want to love this pencil. It's beautiful and it's among the most enjoyable pencils to hold. The gold accents are great; the matte black finish is super cool; the red accents are a nice touch. If only the pencil worked.On the positive side, apart from its looks, the pencil is weighted nicely. It's easy to write with and easy to keep a firm grip on. The knurled grip is gentle enough on skin without sacrificing grip strength.The retractable tip is a nightmare. Twisting the top to move the tip works well enough, but designing the pencil around this function causes a lot of problems. For some reason, the barrel of the pencil has almost 0.2 cm of slack when clicking, so the cap and the tip wiggle a lot. After pushing through the slack, advancing the lead ... MoreI really want to love this pencil. It's beautiful and it's among the most enjoyable pencils to hold. The gold accents are great; the matte black finish is super cool; the red accents are a nice touch. If only the pencil worked.On the positive side, apart from its looks, the pencil is weighted nicely. It's easy to write with and easy to keep a firm grip on. The knurled grip is gentle enough on skin without sacrificing grip strength.The retractable tip is a nightmare. Twisting the top to move the tip works well enough, but designing the pencil around this function causes a lot of problems. For some reason, the barrel of the pencil has almost 0.2 cm of slack when clicking, so the cap and the tip wiggle a lot. After pushing through the slack, advancing the lead feels like using a miniature air pump. There is absolutely no click sound and no vibration in the pencil. It's super weak.Another problem is that the barrel snaps the lead frequently while writing. I don't mean the lead breaking from me writing hard or from advancing too much lead. I mean the lead inside the barrel, but still near the tip, breaks all the time. It's very annoying. However, that problem went away as soon as the pencil stopped advancing lead entirely. Maybe the plastic parts inside the pencil warped from heat, but lead doesn't go through the pencil anymore. It has become completely and literally unusable.This pencil is not worth the money, especially with a masterpiece like the 600 series that costs less. Don't buy this thing.

A high quality item for

A high quality item for a very premium experience. Not too heavy but has a nice weight. The lead is smooth and there is virtually no play in the guide tube. The retracting mechanism is satisfying to fiddle with throughout the day and it hasn't broken yet which is a feat in and of itself. The length of the pencil when retracted is the perfect fit for sticking in a shirt pocket. The bottom of the eraser has a needle for blockages. So many great features.My only qualms are that the eraser is comically small, almost more for aesthetics than function and it doesn't come with replacements and that the graphite that it ships with is not the smoothest I've used. Very minor issue for anyone who has their own preferred graphite at home.

Nice mechanical pencil

The 800 is a nice pencil. Feels nice in your hand (although lighter than I expected). Pros: Looks great, nice texture, nice balance. Retractable - no sharp lead or sleeve to poke through your pocket. Cons: Difficult to find (and expensive) erasers. Black finish is not scratch proof - just be careful, don't throw it in you pocket or bag with keys or other 'sharp' objects. Note: The sleeve is not a 'sliding sleeve' which would retract as you use up the lead. It does retract together with the lead. If it had a sliding sleeve, it would definitely deserve 5 stars. Is it worth it? Yes, if you can get it on sale; I would not (and did not) pay $50+ for it. It looks and feels really nice / professional. Also note that although the box states Germany (that's where the company ... MoreThe 800 is a nice pencil. Feels nice in your hand (although lighter than I expected). Pros: Looks great, nice texture, nice balance. Retractable - no sharp lead or sleeve to poke through your pocket. Cons: Difficult to find (and expensive) erasers. Black finish is not scratch proof - just be careful, don't throw it in you pocket or bag with keys or other 'sharp' objects. Note: The sleeve is not a 'sliding sleeve' which would retract as you use up the lead. It does retract together with the lead. If it had a sliding sleeve, it would definitely deserve 5 stars. Is it worth it? Yes, if you can get it on sale; I would not (and did not) pay $50+ for it. It looks and feels really nice / professional. Also note that although the box states Germany (that's where the company is founded and the pencil was designed) they are actually made in Japan - not a bad thing.