The Pen Addict

Tombow Olno Body Knock Pencil Review

You have to hand it to Japanese designers. The Uni-ball Kuru Toga was a game changing pencil design with its auto lead rotation mechanism. Decades of uneven pencil leads were whisked away in one fell swoop! The Tomobow Olno Body Knock isn’t going to change the pencil game as much as the Kuru Toga did, but with novel pencil design a rarity these days this is an interesting option.

The word Olno is a play on the Japanese word “oru” which means to fold or bend. The Olno Body Knock has a unique design mechanism that allows you to extend the lead by simply bending the body of the pencil. Admittedly, just reading those words it doesn’t seem that great or interesting. In practice though it works flawlessly and will change the way you want to advance lead.

No matter which orientation you hold the pencil at you can advance the lead with a bump of your hand. You don’t even have to move your fingers from the writing position. The small bit of leverage you can create from your grip against the cusp of your hand is all you need.

For traditionalists, there is still a top knock button to push if you prefer. The eraser is found underneath the knock, and is the one weak point of the pencil. It has to be removed from the barrel to be used, but is so small it is difficult to handle. You will want a stand alone eraser handy if you are using the Olno regularly.

It is difficult for a pencil to leave a lasting impression on me, but the Tombow Olno Body Knock is a fun and functional choice. Be sure to check out Brian’s review at Office Supply Geek for another look at this great pencil.

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Hard Tip Review

On my never ending quest to forcibly turn artistic use brush pens into my own personal writing and note taking pen, the Tombow Fudenosuke is the latest put to the test.

If you haven’t been paying attention, I realized a few months back with the the Kuretake Fudegokochi that some brush pens make for pretty good writing pens. As one who uses felt and plastic tip drawing pens on a daily basis to write with, the brush pen provides a unique option. It takes a very particular brush pen to work well in this scenario, starting with a very hard tip.

For a brush pen, the Fudenosuke has a hard tip, but it is not hard enough for writing notes with. It is a wonderful pen for its intended use - I can get a wide range of line widths, and the ink is great - but for general writing it is not firm enough. Artists shouldn’t hesitate to pick this one up.

Are there any brush pens that you have used that I should try out for general writing use?

Rite in the Rain Outdoor Journal and Tactical Pen Review

 

I have been wanting to review a Rite in the Rain notebook ever since I reviewed the Apica Rain Guard a couple of years ago. I also wanted to be sure to give the Rite in the Rain a proper review since I just dripped some water on the Apica to test it out. Well, there was a big rainstorm at my house last week, so the review was on!

I donned my hooded rain jacket at marched outside with my Outdoor Journal and Tactical Pen that I ordered from Hickorees. I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to be able to write and take pictures, but I quickly realized that my grill was the perfect spot. It wasn’t a monsoon outside, but the rain was steady. I tried to take a few in progress photos show how wet the page was getting and how the pen was performing.

Here are my takeaways:

• The paper did great. It was soaked but it hung tough. The spot where my hand was resting on the journal soaked through more due to the pressure, but it held up fine.
• The pen has a Fisher Space pressurized refill, and it did a good job overall. The one issue that you can pick up in some of the photos is that if the ink blobbed at the tip (like a normal ballpoint would) it would spread out a bit in the water. That happened regularly as I lifted the pen off the page and put it back down to write.
• Once I went inside, I wiped down the journal with a paper towel. The ink didn’t smudge, and the paper dried quickly.

It was a very impressive performance by the Rite in the Rain Journal. The pen did well, but if I had planned more I would have tested a Uni-Ball Power Tank and Tombow Airpress for comparison. I think they would have done even better since they write cleaner to begin with. I was just too soaked to go back inside and get them.

I am not a hunter, fisherman, logger, construction worker, or any other vocation that this journal is targeted to, but I can’t imagine another paper product that would perform as well as this one.

Tombow AirPress Ballpoint Winners

Random Randoms:

Winner Winners:

Congrats Patty T and Arleigh!  Here is what I need from you:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Email me your mailing address using the "About" link on the sidebar.

You have one week to claim your prize.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and as always, stay tuned for more!

Giveaway: Tombow AirPress Ballpoint 2010 New Body Color

_{Images courtesy of JetPens.com}

I'm a big fan of the Tombow Airpress, keeping mine in my car at all times due to its versatility as a write anywhere, anytime, on any surface pen.  For the uninitiated, this is what is known as a pressurized pen, similar to what the Fisher Space pen provides.  The difference with the AirPress is that it uses an air retraction method to create the air pressure required for writing.  I picked up two of the new-ish 2010 new body colors from JetPens, one in the clear body style shown above, and one in the full black (aka murdered out) style, as shown below.  Here is how you can win one of these really cool pens:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick two winners at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, February 4th.  The winners will have one week to email me at the address posted in the "About" section on the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

Thanks, and good luck!