kbuzbee wrote:Nice Blake! I need a new pen one of these days. I'd go for copper as well.
Ken
Thanks Ken :) . Yea the copper was a bit more and they have a few left at EDC. I guess the distressed was a run they requested. On Rick's site many, including copper, are sold out.
My brother just ordered a brass one for $60. Same price as SS.
defenestrate wrote:Those investigator pens looks nice and at the price point I appreciate the modular design. I have a Schrade with the changeable fountain or ballpoint tips, chunky aluminum but not super heavy for its size.. And pretty stout - I used it as a floor jack handle once when I couldn't find the regular one and it got a couple of nicks, but using my full weight to press the pen-as-lever only nicked where the pen didn't fit tightly onto the handle mount doohicky. I also have one of the CRKT Tao pens, and I think it is quite beautiful (mine is the black with raw aluminum routed/milled relief for style and grippiness) - a bit more than the $20 Schrade but it doesn't look very tactical, more techy I guess. I'd like to design and make my own one day.
Yea they really are impressive given the work. I'm not a huge jimping fan on knives but the milling really helps keep your fingers in the right place. The copper pen has a nice weight to it at 1.5oz and I expect the SS and brass does as well. I expect the Alum one is half that.
That's a serious statement to the Schrade and CRKT, I'll check em out. :)
Owl45 wrote:After spending a few months messing with the "Tactical" pens last year, I've found a couple I kept and traded off the others.
A few observations from my limited evaluations:
1) A lot of them are way to odd or aggressive looking, while not being more useful than many more normal pointy things they do little more than draw unwanted attention.....likely the point for many folks.
2) The clips on many are so loose they provide no retention or are so stiff they are near impossible to slide in or remove from a shirt pocket.
3) The majority are also too long to put in most shirt pockets.
IMHO, the cheaper ones (under ~$40) aren't worth having. The best bang-for-buck I found was the CRKT TAO at around $40. The black with chrome accents is attractive, functional and still looks mostly like a normal pen.
There are a lot of interesting options in the higher end, but I couldn't justify $200+ for one...I'd rather get a knife I "need".
I did get a great deal at the 2012 Blade on a Tufwriter Frontline Executive with Robar NP3 finish.
Great write-up and I concur. The Investigator has a very small clip but nice tension and fitting for the overall size. I do like the fact that it's removable via hex in the event it bends.
The standard "bullet" tip is fairly aggressive but not uncomfortable. The cap screws on to cover it and I don't know if it would give officers any second looks due to the overall pen size. I'm sure the TSA would cause a fuss.
I attached the "flat" cap which was purchased separate on Rick's site. This one is titanium "bronze" finish. The SS satin is $6 cheaper.