Tactical Fountain Pens

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

I bought a strange fountain pen. It's a Schrade Tactical Fountain pen. My plan was to open the review on my YouTube channel by filming in my basement in front of a shelf of canned goods that look semi-survivalist (or else in my shed?). I'll film it after school lets out so I can grow out my facial hair, and I plan to do it uncombed and unshowered. I have a voice I use to make my students laugh that I'll probably use for my review...or maybe just the intro: it's hard to keep up.

But, it occurred to me that I may be unfairly stereotyping. I've done some research on "tactical" design. This fountain pen could supposedly be used in self defense. But, then again, if I'm that close, I'll use the pointy end on my Visconti Homo Sapiens or else knee them in the nether regions. If it comes to self defense, I have no problem fighting dirty.

So, I'm curious about tactical design. Apparently it's a thing. One of my students even asked me if it was a tactical fountain pen. He makes and sells knives in his free time (it's southwest North Dakota) and apparently was asked to make one that was tactical. Now, I think knives are tactical by nature, but what do I know. So, I'm curious what all of you have to say about "tactical" and whether opening my review in the role of a survivalist (who writes poetry) would be an unfair stereotype.

[top pen]

If you start searching EDC you'll find a group of people who have created a whole movement/ hobby out of the things they carry on daily basis. I think it probably would be found down that neck of the woods.

[stonerman33]

I dunno, I have had a couple of "tactical" pens over the years. The only FP was the schrade you mentioned. I appreciated the "indestructible" aspect of the pens more than anything. These days, my heavy duty fountain pens are of the KarasKustoms variety, and I wouldn't consider them to be tactical.

As far as stereotyping the survivalist, I'd suggest treading lightly. While I don't consider myself a survivalist or a prepper, I can understand why some do what they do and I practice some aspects of the culture. My house isn't a bunker with a 10 year supply of food, but I do appreciate having gear/supplies/knowledge on hand or available for emergencies or other unpredictable situations. We had a power outage that lasted a bit over a day due to some downed lines nearby, and having a camp stove to cook food and a portable solar panel in my camping gear to keep my cell phone charged up made life easy.

Most of them SHOULD be able to take a tongue in cheek joke, but just be careful not to push it too far into the crazy where you'll be offending a whole big group of people. Just remember, us fountain pen folk can be a goofy and quirky group of people in our own right.


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[Jon Szanto]

I second the thought on being veeeery careful in this area. Look, the net is full of... people. And some are awfully serious about what they do. When it involves implements that can do harm, I give wide berth.

As mentioned, maybe you can focus on how tough the thing is and work your way into the EDC area. As mentioned, it is a popular topic, often asking people to show "what's in your go bag". All the essentials they need on a daily basis, which (these days) includes a lot of tech gear, but can vary in interesting ways depending on their work/career/studies.

I did a search on the "Lifehacker" blog (where I see some of these) for "EDC" and here you go, a big assortment of writeups! I hope this gives food for thought, and best of luck!

[lsmith42]

It's only creepy when the pen is designed to capture DNA evidence.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

The EDC link is useful. Before I film this review I really want to understand what "tactical" means in terms of the fountain pen, and how the fountain pen fits into the larger tactical world.

I don't plan to make fun of the survivalist/tactical group, just poke some light fun. My idea was to open in semi-survivalist mode and talk about writing poetry with my Schrade Tactical fountain pen, and then when I see supper, I can use the same pen to kill it. Then I would switch over to regular me to film the actual review.

And, yes, I'm not a survivalist, but there is food stored in my basement, hence the easy backdrop if I do this. I'm not ready to survive a zombie apocalypse, but I do have supplies if the power goes out for a few days (or we get a blizzard).

[jar]

I bought a strange fountain pen. It's a Schrade Tactical Fountain pen. My plan was to open the review on my YouTube channel by filming in my basement in front of a shelf of canned goods that look semi-survivalist (or else in my shed?). I'll film it after school lets out so I can grow out my facial hair, and I plan to do it uncombed and unshowered. I have a voice I use to make my students laugh that I'll probably use for my review...or maybe just the intro: it's hard to keep up.

But, it occurred to me that I may be unfairly stereotyping. I've done some research on "tactical" design. This fountain pen could supposedly be used in self defense. But, then again, if I'm that close, I'll use the pointy end on my Visconti Homo Sapiens or else knee them in the nether regions. If it comes to self defense, I have no problem fighting dirty.

So, I'm curious about tactical design. Apparently it's a thing. One of my students even asked me if it was a tactical fountain pen. He makes and sells knives in his free time (it's southwest North Dakota) and apparently was asked to make one that was tactical. Now, I think knives are tactical by nature, but what do I know. So, I'm curious what all of you have to say about "tactical" and whether opening my review in the role of a survivalist (who writes poetry) would be an unfair stereotype.

One of my favorite fixed blades is a Dress Tactical that was made by Terry Primos.