Cleaning, cleaning cleaning is the problem with Rotring pens. You need to use them daily to prevent drying up. Never had much success with 0.1 myself.

Doug

Yes I’m afraid these are very temperamental pens, this is absolutely what to expect time & time again. It doesn’t seem to matter if you try different makes of this type of design of pen they are all doomed to a short & problematic life.
Alternative suggestion – Try the pilot gel pens which are permanent in their black ink ( not the brown ) & available in good sizes, the G4 has a 0.2 line & the O.25 (ball size) pen writes a line as fine as a hair although does have to be used gently on smooth paper.No fuss, no refilling,perhaps a little slow in drying time is only down side. Additionally you don’t have to hold them at an unnatural 90 degree angle to your page as with the technical pens.
With the Pilot G2 series (retractable) the ink seems a bit drier & with the delicate touch you will have already developed from your dip pen experience you will find you can get some line variation from the one pen.The ink in both the above ranges of Pilot pens has a rich Indian ink like opaque blackness which is head & shoulders above the thin & weak looking fibre tips’ ink.
I too used dip pens for years & after trying a lot of different alternative pens out these Pilots seem to be the best option for drawing , at first it was just for outside sketching but once I had the feel of them, it seemed so slow & cumbersome to go back to dip pens that I use a selection of line thicknesses of pilots for everything now.
Obviously there are rare subject matters where the extreme variation of the thickness of line in a dip pen adds a lot to a drawing, say a figure drawing in outline or similar where I would have to get my dip pens out but I have found my style adapting to the new tools so completely that I hardly ever do !
The greatest liberation is the flow of drawing is not interrupted at inopportune moments & also the overall time taken to complete a drawing must have been shortened by as much as a third !

Yes, I mean the G-Tec-C-4, Cultpens.com here in the UK ship worldwide & are an excellent company to deal with.
If however you insist on staining your trousers ! some determined dip pen diehards carry a bit of indian ink in one of those plastic film roll containers, in it is a piece of sponge (perhaps glued to the base) this is then super saturated with ink but not so much that can not be absorbed by the sponge.

I use Rotrings all the time – bought new ones a year ago

They need to be stored horizontally when not in use – capped – they have a rubber insert in the cap that seals them and prevent ink from drying out. Cap up is not a good move.

A am assuming these are the newer versions as Rotrings have been around for a long time.

I am not sure you have to use them daily, that is not the case for me – but I would agree you need to get the ink flowing every now and then. I try to use mine at least once per week.

I use the 0.10 and 0.13 with no problems – The angle you use them at could be part of it – they are originally drafting pens that generally work more consistent upright. I get gap when I lean them over heavily, but I use this to great effect to get random strokes.

Rob

Yes, I mean the G-Tec-C-4, Cultpens.com here in the UK ship worldwide & are an excellent company to deal with.
If however you insist on staining your trousers ! some determined dip pen diehards carry a bit of indian ink in one of those plastic film roll containers, in it is a piece of sponge (perhaps glued to the base) this is then super saturated with ink but not so much that can not be absorbed by the sponge.

Have you ever tried the Uniball Signo (gel pen) series?

I used to love the .38 black pen in this series, but switched to Microns/fiber-tipped pens because of the uniformity of tone and guaranteed archival ink. I actually had to adjust to this style, as prior to it, I had only ever used ballpoint pens. I still have some Uniballs left and will eventually use them up, waste not, want not.

So you’re saying Pilot G2 has some pens as small .20mm, with rich blacks, and uniformity of tone?

Hi Batman, yes some Pilots are finer than 0.2 line width.

UNDERSTAND – that the decimal numbers on gel pens refer to the roller ball diameter & NOT their line width. Further complicating the matter is two different manufacturers 0.38 ball gives a different line width !

Here are the Pilots with the Signo 0.38 for you to compare line width.

Both the Pilots & the Signos are lightfast, the Signos are waterproof but the Pilots are not.
The Signos have a steady line width regardless of how hard you press on, with the Pilots if the pressure of your touch is reduced to a “feathers stroke” & also depending on the speed of movement ,you can get varied thicknesses out of the pens, this is especially true of the G2 models.
Very often the ability to taper a line can add great life & character to a drawing whereas one perfectly uniform thickness is dull & deadening to the life in a drawing, that’s why a lot of people still struggle on with dip pens despite the hassle.
The Thinnest line pilot is very delicate & will only work OK on the smoothest Bristol board, actually to get the finest line out of any of these gel pens Bristol board is best.