Take Monosashi Bamboo Ruler / KYOEI PLASTIC

• Material: Domestic bamboo (Madake and Moso bamboo)
• Scale marking method: Laser engraving
• Start point: Zero-start (markings begin from the very end of the body)
• 10cm model dimensions: W100 × H13 × D2.0mm
• 15cm model dimensions: W150 × H13 × D2.0mm
• Packaging: Individual packaging
• Made in: Japan

This ruler is the result of a collaboration between ORIONS and a bamboo ruler workshop that has been operating for over 60 years. Bamboo rulers were once common in Japan, but the material requires skill and time to work with, and most manufacturers shifted to resin decades ago. This workshop never did.

Only domestic Moso bamboo (Madake and Mosochiku varieties) is used, selected carefully for quality. Each ruler is shaped by hand by artisans who have spent years learning the material. Bamboo has naturally low thermal expansion, which means the scale stays accurate across temperatures in a way that plastic cannot always guarantee. The laser-engraved markings sit deep in the surface rather than printed on top, so they resist the wear that normally makes older rulers unreliable.

The zero-start design, with measurements beginning at the absolute tip of the body, makes it easy to measure into corners, along edges, and into slots where a standard ruler with a blank leading edge becomes awkward. At 2mm thick and narrow enough to fit in a pencil case, it carries without adding bulk.