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.

Palomino Blackwing 602 Review

One of the things I always try to be is transparent, and in that vein, I have to say up front that I am far from an expert in the realm of woodcase pencils. There are many people that know much more than me in this area, and I often defer to their judgement when asked about these wonderful, yet sometimes overlooked, writing instruments.

The Palomino Blackwing 602 is such a famous and well known pencil that I wanted to do the review justice. The more I thought about it and the more I talked to my Twitter friends about it, I realized I should just tackle it the same way I would any other review I have done on the site. That is, review it how I personally would use this product on a daily basis.

My first challenge with the Blackwing was how to sharpen it. Not having a need for a good quality sharpener before, I headed to my daughters room to use the electric one she uses for her colored pencils. Blasphemy, I know, but I had to roll with what I had. One I had a nice, sharp point on the pencil I was ready to put it to the test.

The first thing that struck me as unique about the Blackwing was how smooth the lead is. I have only ever used “normal” #2 type pencils before, and when writing with them it is almost like you can feel the grain and hear the scratch of the graphite. Not so with the Blackwing. They are smooth and quiet, and honestly a completely different writing experience.

I also like how there was no difference in lead color depending on the sharpness or dullness of the tip area I was writing with. It was very consistent, and in relation to that, the tip held its point better than I recall on most pencils.

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about with the Blackwing was the eraser. The design and replacability of it are great, but it just doesn’t erase that well in my testing. I think most hardcore users will have a favorite stand alone eraser handy, so this is by no means a deal breaker.

If I choose to review more woodcase pencils is my experience with them going to be skewed by how much I enjoy using the Blackwing 602? Probably so. I have been using it on a near daily basis, and have no plans on stopping anytime soon.

Pilot MultiBall Liquid Ink Pen Review

(This is a guest post by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape)

I was rather skeptical on whether the Pilot MultiBall would actually write on multiple surfaces as it claimed based on its description. I was quite shocked to find that it does indeed write on nearly every type of material and it is also one of my favorite writing pens now.

I was blown away by how dark, smooth and even the ink rolls off the onto the page that it doesn'€™t even require any effort to use. The overall line constancy is very dark black and writes the same way regardless of the surface type. It works on glass, plastic, mirrors, metal and cloth; materials that are usually only reserved for markers. One of the interesting things about this pen is the ability to wipe off any type of mark you make on any nonporous surface with a damp cloth. Once the ink has dried for a few hours, it becomes permanent like a Sharpie.

Taking off the cap, the rubber grip is rather comfortable. The grip is textured just enough to create an ideal balance between your thumb and index finger. It can definitely provide long endurance sessions of writing notes or sketching without any hand fatigue. Design wise, this pen has a bold striking shape that is lightweight and sleek to hold. It has a look similar to tactical pens that are available to its long and pointed body.

The MultiBall does have some issues adjusting to certain surfaces. Writing on a mirror, for instance, takes a few seconds of adjustment for the lines to start appearing. This is such a minor issue for an otherwise great pen.

Overall

The Pilot MultiBall is easily one of my top five pens due to it's surface versatility and smooth writing ability. The fine point works perfectly with my own writing style and I can always count on it to write the same way every time I use it. The Pilot Multiball is a such steal on JetPens.com for $1.65 that there should be no reason not to at least try this jack of all trades pen.

Rating 5 out of 5 pens

Pros

- Smooth and dark lines every time

- Writes on nearly every surface

- Very affordable pen

- Long writing period without fatigue

Cons

- Brief time to adjust between surfaces