Next EDC Pen...

Macchina

Macchina

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
5,213
I've been using nicer pens lately and have really been liking the new trend. I've not spent more than $20 on a pen, and don't plan on spending much more than that in the near future, but I'm looking for my next fix...
Here's what I have so far:
Fisher Bullet Pen: Really like it. Writes smooth, fits okay in the pants pocket until it turns sideways, fits great in the jacket pocket.
Fisher Military Pen: Really really like it. Writes just a smooth and fits great in my shirt pocket at work. Clicks a bit when writing because the cartridge tip does not fit the barrel perfectly, but I'm getting used to this.
Parker Jotter: Great deal and like it a lot. Writes almost as nicely as the Fisher pens, has a very positive click and is just a nice sturdy pen.

The Military and Jotter are both clickies, and both of them have female plastic threads with male metal threads joining the body together. I don't think they will fail at this point, but the Jotter only has 1.25 rotations of engagement of thin plastic thread. Has anyone heard of a failure at this point?

I'm looking for a new EDC pen for under $30. No specific desires, but I like smooth writing ball points and I like metal pens. Any recommendations?
 
Zebra F701- about $7 and I like it better than my Jotter, but maybe not as well as my Fisher Military. It actually writes nicer, but I like the "writing upside on anything" business.
 
I love my Fisher Military. Cheap (ish, compared to some of the $80+ pens that use the excact same pen cartridge) and very utilitarian. Never had a problem with it either.
 
Just a thought:

It would be cool if they had a switchblade pen (like the combs that my highschool decided were weapons.)
 
If you like quality pens, stick either to the Jotter or the Bullet. I've had three different Fisher retractables--one twist-action and two Cap-O-Matics (same as the Military). The capped Fishers are well-machined and a solid investment. The retractable Fishers had a tendency to unscrew or spontaneously retract while I was writing. The Jotter is a great pen for the money and takes the Fisher refills with the included adapter.
 
I've owned the Bullet space pen (graduation gift several years ago from my uncle) and it is great for EDC. You can slip it in your pocket and forget all about it, and is about the size of a normal SAK.

Here's a few for your viewing pleasure :)

http://www.jsknivesnmore.com/pens-c-20.html

I hope this helps, J.
 
Brules1 said:
The Schrade Tactical pen is pretty decent for the price.
Click to expand...

I popped a fisher insert into mine, and I use it to take notes every day. Good pen, though I was compelled to replace the clip with a different one so it would actually clip to my pocket without chewing the cloth to hell.
 
Zebra Sarasa, cheap but very nice.

Can't remember the last time I had a really nice ball point.
 
The Tombow Object XL is pretty cool, and it collapses down to the size of a Space Pen:

http://www.penwa.com/tombow/objectxl.htm

Being short, the refills don't seem to last very long, though.

I like the Zebra F701 as well. It's very solid, and feels good in the hand. After about a year, the mechanism on mine has started to hang up a bit. I guess I won't complain, since it cost me what, six bucks?

I've had a Tombow Object for a few years now. It's really comfortable, and they've finally started offering it in a ballpoint version. Hard to beat at $15.

http://www.penwa.com/tombow/objectcd.htm
 
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Shame you put the price cap on, because the Surefire Pen II is a great pen. I've been using it for a few months now - it goes everywhere with me.

Very very sturdy and well built, and should last many years. If you divide the price by the number of years - it makes for a reasonable investment.
 
Lamy Safari!!!

LamySafariRBgrey.jpg


Get it in rollerball. Nothing will write smoother for $30.
 
I've had the same Cross pen for 46 years now. About half the chrome is worn off, giving it kind of a brassy look, and it's got a few dents, making the twist action kind of notchy. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's been down the road and over the hill with me. Even wrote letter home from Viet Nam with it.

I love my Cross pen.
 
Parker Jotter, Great pen and really very dependable and tough.
 
I've been using a Fred Perrin "tactical" pen and love it. I just bought a refill for it yesterday. It takes Parker refills. You can get them in the $20-30 range. I gave one to my brother for his birthday and he loves it. You can get them from EDC Knives.
 
Bayoublaster said:
I've been using a Fred Perrin "tactical" pen and love it. I just bought a refill for it yesterday. It takes Parker refills. You can get them in the $20-30 range. I gave one to my brother for his birthday and he loves it. You can get them from EDC Knives.
Click to expand...

Brules1 said:
The Schrade Tactical pen is pretty decent for the price.
Click to expand...


I would choose either one of these ^

http://edcforums.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=8dfd5ad1b9ba45b83162d7d61778dddb&topic=30262.0

Pics of the shrade pen mod.
 
After this thread (and many like it I found in the archives) I decided on a Cross Century Classic. It's an very classic design, and I've heard many people say that they've owned the same one for more than 20 years. I looked online, and could get a black with chrome hardware model for $27 shipped. I liked the more modern chrome hardware instead of the gold in the online pics. I decided to check out Office Max first and was bummed to see that pen was $32. I was about to leave when I saw that for $37 I could get a Cross rollerball (the other pen on my want list) which had a free Classic Century with it! It turns out the gold (which is real 23 carat) looks much better in person and I like it just as much as the chrome. I don't know if I'll use these pens at work yet (I work in a somewhat dirty machine shop), but one of them will be in my pocket when I'm in street clothes. Both pens are very nice writers, the ball point is the first one I've had that is smoother than my Fishers.
Here are some quick pics:
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DSC02817.jpg

DSC02819.jpg

DSC02820.jpg

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