Hard use pen

I picked up a United Cutlery Tactical Defense Pen last month and it's been great so far. Has the twisty mechanism and uses Parker refills. Got 2 from ebay seller lizardarrow25 in California, one for me and one for my dad. Cost about $23US each.
 
CWL said:
I would hazard to guess that if you had to work in 250 degree conditions, you wouldn't be wanting to be holding a metal pen, not that the ink or ball point could work properly.
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Absolutely... You mentioned that the clip must be very strong, and not break if snagged. I don't know what you do, but having a clip the DOES break might be a good thing.
 
Hinderer investigator pen in your choice of material! Aluminium, Titanium, Brass, Copper, and Stainless Steel!
 
I have a tan Surefire 01 and love it.I am really wanting a Surefire 04.
 
I have a Maxmadco pen that is awesome. Machined stainless steel (in the U.S.A.) with a clip (also stainless steel) that you would have and extremely hard time breaking.
I had been looking for a good pen for some time. I just wasn't all that impressed with the tacticool pens. I just needed a pen that was well made, not plastic, and that preferably didn't use Fisher refills (I have not had good luck with the writing quality with Fisher refills).
This is the pen I found that fits my needs perfectly.
 
wade11a said:
I have a Maxmadco pen that is awesome. Machined stainless steel (in the U.S.A.) with a clip (also stainless steel) that you would have and extremely hard time breaking.
I had been looking for a good pen for some time. I just wasn't all that impressed with the tacticool pens. I just needed a pen that was well made, not plastic, and that preferably didn't use Fisher refills (I have not had good luck with the writing quality with Fisher refills).
This is the pen I found that fits my needs perfectly.
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Nice. Reminds me of a pen project I saw another forum member designing/working on last year, but I can't remember which forum it was in, or what his name was.
 
It really is a nice pen. Simple and functional and very well built. What more could you want out of a pen?
 
There is a pen made by boker called the cid cal .45 pen.
The clip is actually machined out of the actual pen. No clip to break or fall off or get loose. I want one but can't find one in stock anywhere!
 
Phydeaux said:
The Parker Jotters in SS are pretty nice. The standard ball point ink cartridges last along time, the only person I know to use all the ink out of a Parker pen was my dad.

Ric
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I agree^^^^ I bought two of the Parker Jotters in SS and swapped out the parker ink cartridges for Fischer (space pen) cartridges. It is rugged and writes in any conditions. Wet, oily paper, upside down.
 
If you want to go super cheap, UZI tactical pen is right at $20 with a strong clip and a twist body. You won't have to worry about loosing a $100 pen.

You can get a Zebra Click pen with the SS body from Staples at $4. I carry that in areas where a tactical anything is frowned upon. Still def strong enough to piece flesh.

I have the CRKT Tao pen which I prefer because of the deep pocket clip and long body, but it has a twist cap so that doesn't work for you.
 
Yeah, well. I don't know if it actually was 250F. It was damn hot, that's for sure. The machinery we were working on, and even the railings on the catwalks were too hot to touch without gloves.

When we work in conditions like these, we rotate out at regular intervals, usually ten minutes or less.

Yes, you can work in that kind of heat, although not for very long. Those of you who are lucky enough to be successful at careers which include air conditioned offices may doubt it, but those of you who fight fires have no doubt gotten hotter than this.

I did finally buy something, made by Tom Anderson, or his Chinese subsidiary. It's full name is the Tom Anderson Elite Tactical Pen. I have no intention of evaluating the "Elite Tactical" part, but it does have a massive pocket clip, and uses Parker refills. I went with a cap style, because at $20, it met most of my other requirements. Been carrying it for about three weeks, and that's usually long enough for me to decide whether or not I still like it. I still like it.

You'd be surprised what you can adapt to if you need to feed your family. It's not glamorous, but it pays the grocery bills.
 
Good to hear you got one that works for you. I was going to suggest the Zebra 701 modded for all stainless, but the only thing lacking is the clip. I have sprung mine snagging it on pallets of product, but it didn't break. I am thinking of making one out of Ti to make it better. Like you I carry mine in my pants pocket so a strong clip is essential. I make due, but it gets used for 40-50 signatures a day, not including my usual paperwork of a couple dozen pages a day. Please do give your comments of the ruggedness of this pen as I am interested in it now.


-Xander
 
All right.

Informal review:

The Tom Anderson Elite Tactical Pen measures just over 5 1/8" long with the cap in place, and 5 3/8" long with the cap on the tail, for writing.

The barrel diameter is just over half an inch, although including the pocket clip takes the width of the pen to 3/4".

I was looking for a twist-body pen at first, but this one fulfilled enough of my other requirements that I decided to give it a try.

I would have a lot of trouble paying the prices that some "tactical" pens on the market command, especially since this one is intended for using in my workplace. I also take the viewpoint that any item in my EDC may get lost, and this possibility has a big impact on what I'm willing to pay. At $20 online, this one was priced right.

The pocket clip is massive as pocket clips go, and in a few brush-by encounters with concrete constructions, it has held firm where other pens I've had suffered lost or bent clips. I have noticed that the single hex screw holding the clip works itself loose after about a week and a half, and it has a date with some Loc-tite in the near future. This hex screw also seems to be metric, and it was just luck that I had the right allen wrench.

As pens go, it's all-steel construction makes this one quite heavy. I don't notice it, but those of you who don't schlep as much gear as I do may find it overweight. Most of this mass is concentrated in the cap, and without it, the pen feels very evenly balanced. It is not perfect because there is a little side-to-side play between the ink cartridge and the pen body, but it is quite comfortable to use, with a series of ridges machined into the barrel which add a lot of grip.

Overall fit and finish is what you would expect for twenty dollars. The fit-up of the cap to the body has a little slop in it, and corners are not perfectly sharp, although this is a good thing for something which is going to spend time against your palm. The whole pen is gunmetal-gray, although the clip is slightly darker in color. Mine is developing a subtle patina, which may not be to everybody's taste. I believe the gray color contributes to a "practical, not tactical" perception, especially for sheeple, who may find it odd for someone to carry around a big, black, pen.

The Tom Anderson pen takes Parker refills, an important concern for me when I was looking for another pen.

I have not tested the "glass breaker" on the tail of the cap, nor do I have any intention of using it as a kubotan. I did not buy it for the "tactical" features, and I lack the training to effectively use a kubotan, anyway. Breaking things is what my boots are for....

The Tom Anderson Elite Tactical Pen is not for everybody, and it is important to remember that you get what you pay for. If fit and finish are high on your list of priorities, then you should consider going up-market. If you are looking for a pen that will absorb some mistreatment, and one that you will not have to worry about mistreating, this may be the way to go.
 
The Fisher Bullet pocket Spacepen now comes with a removable pocket clip. If the clip bends, you can take it off the pen, straighten it out, and reinstall it. If the clip breaks, you can order a new clip.
 
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