We have a lot of threads dedicated to pens so I thought I would break down a few of mine in a fancy pictorial, you know, because I'm cool like that. Also, because I have just
listed a few in the MTO Store, and it is a good enough premise for a little bit of spamming.
I'll start with the CRKT Elishewitz designed Tao Pen, largely because I've already done some write ups on it both
here and again
here when I'd forgotten that I'd already done a pictorial on it.
Since I wrote so much about it in previous threads, I'll quickly bang through this one.
It rarely, if ever sees any use. I tried using it a few times in the early days but I find it a bit top heavy, and, since it is more of a collectable than anything else I have just used it as such. It does however come with a Fisher refill, marked specifically for use with CRKT pens, which is pretty cool. I know, it's probably something Fisher does for everyone that orders 10,000 or more cartridges, but I still think it's cool.
All in all, not a bad pen, but I'm not sure it's what I would reach for if someone was trying to mug me.
Next up is a Cross Pen:
I really liked this one at first. I originally got it to replace my trusty old Fisher Bullet that was lost in the line of duty after many years of faithful service. I liked that pen a lot, but I thought I might change it up a bit when getting a replacement, so I grabbed this. At the time I was mostly using pens for making notes in the field, and this is absolutely
not a bad weather, notes in the field type pen. It is a really nice office or desk pen, or even a "keep in your pocket or bag to write quickly on a napkin or business card at a restaurant pen" but it fails greatly as an "in the field" pen. This is because the ink freezes in the cold, runs in the wet and the barrel cannot be twisted while wearing gloves in either situation.
But don't let that stop you- as an indoor pen this Cross model is quite slick and feels very well put together. I think it was around $30 at Staples, and it came with a couple of extra stylus tips, which is good because mine appears to be cracking and I don't expect it to last much longer. Not that I can recall where the extra tips are, but they may be available for purchase from Cross.
It is a very nice pen and, if you aren't planning to use it outdoors in bad weather, it will serve you very well, and is well worth the price tag in my opinion.
Now on to what I consider to be the standard for all pens, the Fisher Bullet.
This is the replacement for the one I lost. I carried it faithfully in my work vest no matter the weather and it was always ready to go. I probably ran through more ink cartridges in that one pen than I have in all the other pens I have owned in my life combined. It was a sad day when I reached for it and it was no longer there. As it was more bother than it was worth to replace the cap every time I used it, I generally just put it away with the ball point extended. Yes, that meant it left little black marks on my vest, but it was a work vest, and was replaced often enough that I really didn't care. Plus I worked in some dirty places, and to be honest, a few black marks from a pen were the least of my worries!
Eventually, after a few years of being exposed to a variety of humidities, weather, temperatures and a number of chemicals, the lid became seized on in the open position, and nothing I could do seemed to be able to dislodge it, but I didn't care. It was as faithful as a sunrise, and when it was gone I tried others, but eventually got the one you see pictured here after being disappointed with everything else.
It is the same color/model/finish as the one that went missing because by the time I got around to getting this one I was sick of experimenting with anything different. At around $30 it was the same price as the Cross above, but I would buy these all day long before getting into just about anything else.
That having been said, this next one is another bit of a rerun as I have talked about it before. It is my
Custom Titanium Pen made by a good friend to promote his company. I won't go into it's details again because it's all in the link above, but I will say that it is about the only pen I have that could take on the Fisher Bullet for carry and use.
The drawbacks to this pen are that it is one of a kind and irreplaceable (at least to me), and that it doesn't have a Fisher cartridge inside, which, as a giveaway/marketing expense for the manufacturer is understandable. I guarantee you that when this cartridge runs dry I will replace it with a Fisher cartridge.
What I like about it, taking the pen at face value and removing the attachment I have because it was a gift, is that it is just as tough, just as solid as any tactical pen I have ever held, and no doubt just as capable, and yet it is a
normal pen, no heavier than a regular pen, and not uncomfortable to use. It is elegant and tough, like if Bentley manufactured a luxury tank.
But then if you read the earlier thread, you know all about this titanium beauty, and you also know that I mentioned another pen from this same friend that I had gotten years earlier, but I don't think I ever posted photos of it.
[jeremy clarkson voice]Until now....[/jeremy clarkson voice]
This one is aluminum and is everything the other pen isn't. The top is anodized in a bright red, although I am told at the time they also did blue and green tops as well. On the far side is the company logo and info laser engraved into it, but in the interest of his privacy I have kept it turned away from the camera.
Unlike the understated elegance of the titanium pen, this one is bold and flashy, and I can't help but think it would be the same even for the blue and green capped ones. The cap, by the way, fits on smoothly and perfectly, as if it was made to go on.... which of course it was.
In fact, the whole thing fits together very snugly and very well, in a way that only master machinists can do, which of course makes it a perfect method to advertise a company that does custom machining. It's a great pen and is also quite comfortable in the hand, but the pen cap doesn't fit on the back of the pen during use, and of course it has a functional but generic cartridge. It will be upgraded too, but this is a pen that is best suited for sitting on a desk, looking great and being used occasionally for signatures and quick notes.
Moving along but keeping with the aluminum theme we come to this one:
It is a gold anodized tactical pen from Smith & Wesson. Like a lot of Smith & Wesson branded products, this one is made by Taylor Cutlery, which is generally (in my opinion and experience at least) a sign that one should either walk away from it quickly, or spit on it and run away even more quickly. However, this is a pen, and doesn't require a decent edge, and there are no moving parts, so really, even Taylor couldn't smurf this one up. This is actually not too bad of a pen for someone looking to get a tactical pen without the typical tactical pen pricing.
And, it actually features a screw off cap like the more expensive tactical pens, although it just wedges on the body for use. A good friend of mine, and former employer used to carry this exact model and color specifically because it looked neat and he figured it would be obvious if someone was to try and steal it form him. It worked for a while, but eventually it was stolen from him, as most pens are. And no, I did not steal his.... I got mine from the same place he got his- Felinevet.
All in all it isn't a bad pen, and cheaper than the Fisher or the Cross pens above. I wouldn't carry it as it is a bit garish for me, but if you have a top selling rap album, it would probably go nicely with your diamond studded teeth and gold plated AK-47.
Along the same lines is the Smith & Wesson Military & Police tactical pen, which I actually much prefer to the gold version.
Mine is Metallic Brown, but it is also available in Grey or Black for nighttime secret op notetaking.
It has all of the good stuff about the gold one (except the screw off cap) but looks more like a normal pen.... except of course for the spike. This was the first S&W tactical pen I got, and probably the first tactical pen of any brand I have owned. I believe it was also marketed with a Schrade badge as well, which makes sense because Taylor
screws up owns the Schrade brand as well. And, as much as it pains me to say this, Taylor has actually made something halfways decent here- at least for the price range.
You can get better tactical pens, and you can get cheaper tactical pens, but you can't get a better tactical pen cheaper than this one, as I recently found out with that
Stealth Angel Tactical Survival Kit and the cheapo pen in there.
Who would have guessed that you could get a product worse than the ones you get from Taylor?
Kidding aside, it's not a bad pen for the money and mine has actually seen a fair bit of use, and will continue to see use, because regardless of the super, ultra smurfty brand name on the side, it's not a bad pen at all. Like I said above, there's no moving parts, nothing that requires heat treating or an edge, there's not much even Taylor could do to screw this one up.
These are the pens that see the most use- I have a few others kicking around that I couldn't find in time for my impromptu photo shoot so I may add to this later, but these are the pens I tend to use most these days. I hope you enjoyed looking at them- now let's see your go-to pens!
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