The Tombow Olno is an affordable mechanical pencil with one very cool trick: you extend the lead by bending the pencil at the middle. This mechanism is known as a “body knock” and it’s quite cool because it allows you to extent the lead without having to shift your grip.
The Olno is notable because of its large, ergonomic grip and because it’s one of the most affordable body knock pencils ever sold, as a retail price of about $10.
One interesting feature of the Olno is that its knock (lead pushing) mechanism works in two ways: you can bend it at the middle to perform a body knock or you can simply push the top down, the way you would a normal mechanical pencil. The advantages of this are limited but it’s interesting nonetheless.
The Olno has a very large grip (about 2.5 inches long) which serves both as something to hold on to and the piece that holds the top and bottom parts of the pencil together. Because there is a pivot point in the middle of the pencil, the grip act as a pivot and a spring. There is primary, metal spring on the inside which act as a return mechanism for the knock as well.
While the Olno can be knocked with one hand you do need some hand strength and size to do this, so it might now be possible for those with very small hands or younger students.
Tombow Olno Body Knock Mechanical Pencil Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Tombow |
| Pencil Models | 0.5 mm |
| Barrel Color | Light Blue, Black, Pink, Light Green, Pink, Clear, White, Yellow, Blue |
| Barrel Material | Plastic |
| Body Diameter (mm) | |
| Grip Color | |
| Grip Material | Rubber |
| Knurled Grip? | No |
| Grip Diameter (mm) | |
| Body Shape | |
| Capped or Retractable | |
| Lead Advance Style | Bend, Top Button |
| Lead Color | Graphite |
| Lead Size (Diameter) | 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm |
| Similar To: | |
| Eraser? | Yes |
| Eraser Refillable? | Yes |
| Clip | No |
| Length | 13.9 cm |
| Weight | 14 grams |
| Pipe Retractable? | No |
| Cleaning Rod? | No |