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Rotring Tikky

8/10/12
Okay, this is the last of the non-FP posts for a little while. I'm about to head to DC today for the DC Fountain Pen Show. I'll be posting from the show (if I can find the time), and perhaps I'll meet a few of you there. Let me know if you're a reader! Alright, on to the pen.



The Rotring Tikky is a liquid ink rollerball pen along the same lines as the Uniball Vision or the Pilot V5. It's a pretty average size and weight. The grip is alternates between smooth and textured in a way that doesn't let the pen become slippery. It has a black plastic barrel with a pretty glossy finish. The design of the clip and cap is a little more distinctive than the more common pens on the market. It's a fairly classy pen for its class.




The performance of the pen is pretty solid. The blue ink is a really nice blue that might tend a little more towards violet than the other blue rollerballs that I have in my pen cup. It flows really well, and it doesn't have very much spread even in the recycled paper that I am using for these reviews. It doesn't have much in the way of penetration, though. Perhaps some ghosting on cheaper copy papers.







As you can see in the written sample, I went a little overboard with the comparisons. It turns out that I have a lot of rollerballs in my cup. Of these, the Tikky is probably the second best. (My favorite is the Pilot V Ball Grip. That pen always makes my handwriting look great.) It is most similar to the PreciseGrip (which is really just a V5 with a rubber grip on it), though I think the color and overall look of the pen is superior.

The bottom line on this pen is that it's really good. The ink flow is awesome and I really like the color of the ink and the feel of the pen. It's a pen that I like using, and it's one that stands out from the rest of the bunch. I don't think that justifies the price.  I wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have the Rotring name on it. At $5.75 it costs as much at a pack of several of the others.
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