You know how much I love rOtring tikky graphic pens? Well, rOtring have noticed and have sent me a rOtring 800 mechanical pencil to try – and it is gorgeous! It’s the top of their range, so its for a serious artist or draughtsman or maybe a gift for the artist/draughtsman who has everything! But let’s unbox it and see what it’s like.

First of all it’s very black! A really deep matt black with a perfect weight and balance. The tip and end are lovely, shiny gold , the end has the traditional red ring inlayed in to it. (rOtring means red ring!)

The barrel is the same thickness and feel of a traditional wooden pencil but it just feels like… well high quality engineering in your hand – a real pleasure to hold!

The drawing end is retracted into the barrel, so you can feel confident putting it in your pocket without stabbing yourself or ruining your clothes. A simple turn off the end of the barrel and out pops the drawing tip, in lovely, matching, shiny gold.

I would worry that a retractable tip might feel a bit wobbly, but no, this feels rock solid when drawing. The Barrel holds spare hi polymer leads so you are unlikely to run out of graphite on a sketching trip or when making notes and designs about your latest project.

With such high quality comes a price tag, but if you are spend half your life with the same thing in your hand, it might as well be beautiful as well as perfectly designed for the job.

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