The oldest tool in this catalog, and the specification is the shape.
What the manufacturer publishes
Universal use on site, in the workshop or in the garden, suitable for DIY work. A six-pencil set with a matching sharpener. Good grip and comfortable handling thanks to an oval design, in a conspicuous signal color. A length of 175 mm (6.89 in).
The shape is the whole tool
A round pencil on a sloped surface is a pencil on the floor. Every trade that works at height or on timber uses a flat one, and the reason is not the line — it is that the pencil is still there.
The signal color is the same argument applied to sawdust.
Where its accuracy ends
The line is wide. On a saw cut, the width is consumed by the kerf and it does not matter. On a mark that has to be transferred, drilled or measured from, it is the largest error in the chain — which is what the deep-hole markers in this hub exist to fix.
Availability
Read on the day this page was built: $26 at the American Amazon shop.
Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 31 August 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
What gets asked here
Why a flat pencil?
Two reasons. It does not roll, which is why it is still on the beam when you reach back for it. And its wide lead lays a broad line that stays visible on rough sawn timber, where a fine graphite line vanishes into the grain.
Why does the sharpener have to match?
A carpenter pencil is oval and its lead is rectangular. An ordinary conical sharpener cannot take it, and sharpening one with a knife wastes half the pencil.
How accurate is the line?
A wide carpenter line is a millimeter or more thick. On a cut in timber that is inside the saw kerf; on a hole to be placed precisely it is far too coarse, and the deep-hole markers here are the answer.
The only marker here whose holster has a drain hole — and the only one that stops both halves rolling away.
Body and fittings
A ROLL STOP on BOTH the pencil and the holster, stated. Every other marker on this shelf that addresses rolling addresses only the pencil — and a holster left on a sloping surface rolls away with the sharpener inside it, which is the half nobody else thinks about
Also stated
A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLSTER, stated to lead dirt and moisture away from the pen for longer durability. Nobody else on this shelf publishes drainage, and a closed holster on a wet day is a tube of water around a lead: it is the mechanism by which a holstered marker rots rather than wears
Functions
A sharp and accessible sharpener placed in the HOLSTER, stated, and Hultafors adds the reason: the marker is easy to remove from its holster so you do not have to let go of what you are working with. The sharpener staying behind is the point — one hand keeps hold of the work
Supplied
The dispenser is stated to double as a BLADE SNAPPER and to fit the handle of Hultafors SRP knives. A second function nobody else on this shelf has, and a real one: snapping a blunt snap-off blade without pliers is a daily job
Material
A grip-friendly ergonomic design, stated, and easy lead changes. No barrel material, no lead diameter, no lead color and no HARDNESS is published — fewer figures than any other marker here
Stated dimension or range
Not published. No tip diameter, no tip length and no lead count appears, and the shape of the holster is stated to keep the pen in place when you move
Amazon reference
B07L22N2WD
EAN
7317846501015
A roll stop on the holster as well as the pencil
A drain hole in the holster base, unique here
No lead diameter, so a refill is a guess
Best for: Wet and dusty work, where a holster normally turns into a reservoir
A triangular body does what a flat pencil does — it stays on the beam — and the ten leads come in a case.
Body and fittings
A TRIANGULAR-shaped barrel, stated to prevent the tool rolling away. This shelf's introduction says a flat carpenter pencil does not roll off a beam and that this is one of its two virtues; a triangle keeps that property in a mechanical body, which a round barrel does not. It is one of two anti-roll designs on this shelf
Supplied
A TEN-PACK of assorted color replacement leads in a carrying case — Klein cat. no. 86503 — alongside the marking tool itself, cat. no. 86501. Ten is the largest lead count on this shelf, where the others ship four, six or seven, and a case rather than a loose sleeve is what stops 2.8 mm (0.11 in) leads snapping in a bag
Functions
A 2.8 mm (0.11 in) lead, stated to create long-lasting marks, with a built-in sharpener to keep it sharp for precision marking. Two point eight millimeters is the common mechanical carpenter lead and one of two diameters published on this shelf
Also stated
Tough enough for OSB, wood, concrete and metal, stated. OSB is the useful one on that list: a chipped, resinous, uneven face is where a soft lead skates and a hard one gouges, and it is the surface a framing pencil actually meets
Material
Not published. No barrel material, no tip dimensions and no lead HARDNESS appears — and the leads are described only as assorted color, with not one color named. This shelf's introduction says graphite disappears on dark stone where white or red shows; this listing gives you ten leads and no way to know which is which before opening the case
Reference and mounting
Two Klein catalog numbers inside one product reference: the 80189 kit is the 86501 marking tool plus the 86503 lead pack. No belt clip is stated, where two markers on this shelf publish one
Amazon reference
B0F9HBC845
EAN
0092644801891
A triangular barrel: it stays where you put it
Ten replacement leads, the most on this shelf
"Assorted color" leads, with no color named
Best for: A pencil that will be put down on a joist forty times a day and still be there
The only marker here that is not a lead — it sprays chalk two inches down a hole, and it works on grease.
Functions
It SHOOTS chalk up to 2 INCHES DEEP, stated, for marking where to drill through a hole that standard marking pens and deep-hole markers cannot reach. This shelf's introduction describes two geometries — a flat carpenter pencil and a thin lead in a long sleeve — and this is a third: nothing touches the surface at all, so there is no tip length to run out and no lead to snap
Supplied
250 BURSTS per cartridge, stated. It is the only count of MARKS on this shelf: every other marker publishes a lead count, which tells you how many leads and not how many marks. Two hundred and fifty is a day of bracket positions or a week of occasional ones
Also stated
Works on CLEAN, DIRTY, RUSTY OR GREASY surfaces, stated, and will mark at any angle. No lead does that: graphite skates off grease and will not take on loose rust, which is exactly the surface a steel fixing position sits on
Material
Bright GREEN chalk, stated high-visibility on any surface and easily removable, leaving no permanent marks. Green is unusual — the chalk shelf on this site deals in blue, white, red and black — and removability is the claim that lets it be used on a finished face
Stated dimension or range
Two inches of reach. No cartridge dimensions, no nozzle diameter and no hole size minimum appears — so which hole it will enter is not published, where one marker on this shelf publishes a 6 mm (0.24 in) tip
Reference and mounting
Named for drywall, concrete, brick, metal and wood, and for carpenters, masons and electricians. Refills: the chalk shelf on this site carries one-ounce bottles sold specifically for this kind of cartridge marker
Amazon reference
B0D1H6NH4N
EAN
9341231060649
Two inches of reach with nothing touching the surface
250 bursts published — a count of marks, not of leads
A burst is a blob, not a line: no scribing with this
Best for: Transferring a fixing position from a bracket onto the wall behind it, through the hole
The heaviest bob here, and the only one with bumpers to stop it marking the wall it hangs against.
Stated dimension or range
21 oz / 600 g — the heaviest bob on this shelf, where the lightest is 5 oz: a factor of four. This shelf's introduction says weight sets how quickly a bob settles and how little it swings in a draft, which makes this the bob for an open site, a stairwell or a long drop
Measuring mode
Quick-stabilizing: stops wobble AND SPIN within 6 seconds, stated. The same figure as the maker's 10-ounce bob on this shelf, which is the interesting part — doubling the weight does not halve the time, because the design rather than the mass is doing the work. Spin is the half nobody else mentions: a bob that has stopped swinging can still be rotating, and a rotating bob with an off-center tip traces a circle
Body and fittings
EMBEDDED SIDE BUMPERS, stated to protect both the bob and the work surfaces. Nobody else on this shelf has them, and they solve a real problem twice: a 600 g (21.2 oz) steel bob swinging into a finished wall marks it, and the same impact chips the bob's own plating
Functions
A thick ELASTOMER TIP GUARD, stated to keep the tip safe and secure. The tip is what a bob dies of — one drop rolls the point over — and a guard is the other answer to that problem; the brass kit on this shelf answers it with four spare tips instead
Material
Chrome plated to resist rust and corrosion, stated. Chrome is harder than nickel and resists the chip that starts the rust — which matters more on a 600 g (21.2 oz) bob, because a heavier bob hits harder when it is dropped
Supplied
A snap ring as standard, to connect and disconnect from a plumb line, stated. A snap ring rather than a knot means the same bob moves between a short line and a long one in seconds. NO LINE IS SUPPLIED — this is a bob, not a kit, and the shelf carries 250 ft of braided mason's line for under nine dollars
Amazon reference
B00023S4SK
EAN
0049296054267
Twenty-one ounces: the steadiest bob on this shelf
Six seconds, and it stops SPIN as well as swing
No line supplied at all
Best for: A long drop outdoors or in a draft, where a light bob never stops swinging
The only bob here that says how long it takes to stop — and the only one you can hammer into a ceiling.
Measuring mode
Quick-stabilizing: the 10-ounce bob steadies WITHIN 6 SECONDS, stated. It is the only settling time published on this shelf. This shelf's introduction says weight sets how quickly a bob settles and the buying tip says to let it stop on its own rather than steadying it by hand — a published six seconds is what makes that instruction bearable, because the alternative is standing there not knowing whether to wait longer
Reference and mounting
THREE fixings in one head, stated: a setting pin for wood and drywall, a strong magnet for steel surfaces, and a hook for nails or studs. No other bob on this shelf offers more than two, and most offer none at all — a bare bob is tied to a nail somebody else put in
Functions
An AUTO-RETRACTING PIN STRIKER, stated for use with a hammer for overhead setting. That is the unusual one: you hold the setter against a ceiling and strike it, the pin drives in, and the striker retracts out of the way — so a plumb line can be dropped from a ceiling without first fitting a nail with a free hand you do not have
Stated dimension or range
10 oz / 300 g, published in both units, with a 14.5 ft self-retracting line. Ten ounces is the middle of this shelf, which runs from 5 oz to 21 oz
Body and fittings
A self-retracting line, stated for quick easy storage. Two bobs on this shelf retract; the rest use a hand reel, a card or nothing. The line construction is not stated — four listings on this shelf state braided, and this is not one of them
Also stated
Commercial grade for long-lasting durability, and described in the maker's own text as a compact and light-duty version. No tip material, no tip guard and no replaceable tip is published
Amazon reference
B001S2QNNW
EAN
0049296055066
Six seconds to steady, the only settling time here
A setting pin, a magnet AND a hook in one head
The line construction is not stated
Best for: Overhead setting from a ceiling or a steel beam, where the fixing is the hard part
