Review: SpiffyLab - Tactical Marker

I back a lot of Kickstarter projects, and sometimes they're just on a whim. I have plenty of tactical pens, I like the metal body construction, and the durability that comes with that, not to mention the ability to increase the tool-bearing nature of an every day item like the common pen, so when the chance to get a tactical pen that is built around a Sharpie permanent marker, I jumped at it.

The Tactical Marker upgrades the Sharpie refill from a simple writing implement into a rugged multi-function writing tool, making it a value-added item for camping, work or using as part of your EDC.

As well as the casing for the Sharpie Refill pen, the Tactical Marker includes 3 tool tips machined from  7075 alloy different to the more lightweight but durable 6061 alloy the barrel is made from. The cap and tip tools are made from super tough 7075 alloy (7075 is even used in the M16 series of rifles), which is useful, given the intended uses.

The smaller "Tapper" is fine great for little tasks such as dislodging items, or tack-driving and other small tasks. The "Hammer" is especially handy when you want to leave the house without dragging your tool box along. Neither are especially weighty, and won't effectively drive nails into timber, but for breaking small things, and dislodging items, defrosting a freezer or the like. If you need a proper hammer, get a proper hammer.

The “Spike" end works for punching leather, plastic and sheet metal or using as an awl, breaking hard ground, breaking and gripping ice, boating, prying, rope work and the like. Even being a hard-wearing alloy, the 7075 is still just aluminium however, and the end will bur and bend under hard use.  Again, if you intend to do hard punching work, get a hardened steel tool.

Without the cap, it measures about 145mm (5.75") in the standard configuration and about 165mm (6.5") with cap in the standard configuration. The "Spike" adds and is about 2.30" making the tool a fairly sizable 215mm (8.5") long. The “Hammer” end puts it at around 195mm (7.75") long. The TM weighs in at about  60g, for the "Tapper" 70g, for the "Spike" and 80g for the "Hammer". 80g isn't much for a hammer, but it's not bad for a tactical pen.
 
The Tactical Marker pen cap attaches with a screw cap requires two hands, but holds very tightly, with o-rings at both cap and tool ends, to ensure the ends stay snug, without putting undue strain on he threads. One problem I had with the tool is that the tool-ends and pen-cap ends are not interchangeable, and their threads are not compatible. It would have been nice if the cap and tool could have been combined into a smaller tool.

The Tactical Marker is also available in 'non-sparking’ Aluminum-Bronze, for use in high risk work environments, which is a nice thought, as well as a carbon-fiber barrel option, for extra fancy flair. I mostly got this tool to help with rope-work and rough and ready hole-punching in sacks and hags and the like when camping, but it's a well thought out tool for what it is. Good for hobby-use and workshop tasks when a light touch is needed. 

Review: Propper 19/67 notebook

 I've been a big fan of digital documentation for quite some time. I was an early adopter of PDA's, with Palm Pilot V and Mitac Mio-168 before settling on iPhones ... Before then I was a firm user of Filofax binders.

Sometimes there is just no substitute for dead-tree edition. Propper were kind enough to send me a set of pocket-sized notebooks in my recent delivery, and I've had one sitting along side my iPhone in my Hazard4 Escape RG harness and beside my passports.

There are times where you just need to be able jot some thoughts down in a way that you can share, or destroy, easily. Take these notes and map: I've got a map, shopping list, a to-do and task management right there. 

I could tear this page out, and take it with me, pass it to a friend, eat, burn or whatever.

The 48 pages are grid printed, and whilst the grids aren't either in fractional cm or inch increments, they are nicely uniform and pleasant to write on. They aren't waterproofed like the pages of a Rite in the Rain notepad, and could even be used as kindling, in a pinch.

Notepads, still not a dead technology, and better yet, they never run our of battery or need software upgrades.

Review: Hardcore Hardware Australia - TWI-02

I signed up for, and was one of four winners in a Hardcore Hardware Australia Facebook competition to take home their new and improved Tactical Writing Implement, the TWI-02. His has been a nice addition to my tactical pen collection. Currently I have the Cybernetic Research labs Tactical pen in my Hazard4 harness, and the Ti2 magnetic pen as part of my daily pocket collection the HHA TWI-02 is a very substantial competitor to what goes in my EDC.

The shaft of the pen is constructed from 6000 series, non-reflective, black anodized aluminium for extreme longevity and wearability, and features a recessed crown for positive thumb control with integrated steel pocket clip. The crown recession is via a series of stepped rings, which gives a very nicely textured grip, without leaving sharp edges to catch on anything. It is 147mm (5.78") long and 14mm (0.55") at its widest, and weighs in at
51g (1.8oz).

At the opposing end of the capped pen, they have incorporated a 46-48 HRC steel ‘ball’ tip for emergency glass breaking and impact applications. 

I've pounded a few things with this, and so far it's held up very well to my tentative testing, with no damage to either the ball, or the housing on the body of the pen. The cap screws down onto the body of the pen at the writing end, giving a very secure connection for when you want to deal out some percussive or pressure point based persuasion, but HHA avoid putting machined threads on the "outside" of the pen, by having a "clip-on" connection when you use the writing end.

There is an O-ring at the writing end to give a full seal making it completely waterproof when the cap is screwed down.

Knurling at key points along the pen aids a positive grip, as does the differing profile through the piece. Coupled with the recessed crown, you can get some really good gripping angles from this, whether you are writing or using the glass-breaker.

A steel clip fixed onto the side around the crown end of the pen is well sculpted and gives a really positive grip to a pocket notepad or wherever you stash your pen.

When it comes time to replace the refill the TWI-02, it will accept standard Parker and Fisher Space Pen refills, but for the life of me I haven't yet worked out how to do this. I think it must be the very tight tolerances that it is put together with, and I'll have to get in touch with the HHA guys when I run out of ink. 

Putting the TWI-02 up against a couple of my other "tactical" pens, the Cybernetic Research Labs pen
and the Ti2 Techliner pen the TWI-02 certainly comes up on top when it comes to imposing presence and size.

I had one attentive reader noted in my Sneak Peak post that the TWI-02 looks considerably like one of the Boker tactical pens and whilst they are very similar I don't think the resemblance is anything other than coincidental, the Tactical Pen world isn't very big.

I really like the feel of it as a pen, and also as an impact tool.

Sneak Peek: HHA PEN and knife

Last week I became the proud owner of two new pieces from knife and tool manufactures  Hardcore Hardware Australia. 

My mother broke a 39year old rule of hers and bought me the very first knife, this lovely LFK05.

I was also one of five winners of a competition HHA ran, and received a TWI02 in the mail. 

Stay tuned for reviews in the next little while. 

Home Front: Impact testing

I wanted to do a bit of a demonstration on the effects of some of the impact tools I have been covering of late, and throughout my reviews.

Here's the lineup:
1)Cybernetic Research Labs Tactical Pen
2)Ti2 Techliner pen
3)RaidOps MF Delta
4)RaidOps TM Joe
5)Sharp Shooter keychain




I asked a group of my hitting and hacking peers and came up with "pumpkin" as as good a target for testing as any.

I wanted a good solid target, which would offer a fleshy impact simulation, not be pulped, but also not shatter on impact. I happened to have a butternut pumpkin handy and it being winter here, wanted some with dinner.

For good repeatability of the tests, I chose a downwards punch from about chest height for each strike. I didn't put any hip into the strike, nor follow through, just a static jab type punch. For the pen type tools I used a downward stab, from the heel of the fist. I braced the pumpkin with a pencil, just to stop it rolling, and turned it for each strike to hit a fresh surface 

The CRL. Tactical Pen sunk in only to the depth of the tool tip, stopping at the body of the pen. It collected a lot of material on the way out. In fact, my pen still has pumpkin wedged into the fluting.

The Ti2 TechLiner pen sunk in further than I would have expected for a blunt tool, but it's sleek lining offered little resistance. It also cored some pumpkin, but not nearly as aggressively as the CRL pen.

The MF -Delta had a fairly shallow penetration, with the flat head giving a regular indentation and the bottle opener head giving a shallower, but jagged indentation. I wasn't surprised that the Delta didn't dig in more, but it did feel very comfortable in the hand. 

The TM -Joe dug in a surprising amount, all the way to the "jaw" of the tool, which upon reflection, shouldn't have been surprising, given the chisel-wedge shape of the teeth of this tool.  

The SharpShooter was an interesting test. I did two, one from the key-end as a flail. Again with my hand held around chest height, and the second as a pen-strike as with the CRL and Ti2 pens. 

The flail end of the SharpShooter left a very shallow, but messy set of intends, one for each key, as well as the shackle, and even one from the ring (which I accidentally had left loose, rather than around my finger as per the instructions).






The pen end of the SharpShooter was fairly disappointing, but not unexpected, mostly because of the combination of the rubber stopper and the paracord knot. It left a bit of a bruise on the skin, but no discernible penetration. 

I then started cutting up my pumpkin, and got to see the trauma dished out by each tool.

The CRT and Ti2 pens showed their depth of penetration and the tissue trauma really nicely.

The MF-Delta's shallow penetration belayed the broad spread of trauma beneath the skin, which was quite pervasive all around the penetration, to a respectable depth

The TM-Joe offered a comparable amount of trauma, but deeper and wider. This is definitely the nastier of the two tools to strike with. I shudder to consider the combined effects of skin and flesh and bone when struck by this titanium tool.


The Sharp Shooter didn't display any significant penetration, nor trauma beneath the rind of the pumpkin (which was delicious, I might add).

All in all I'd say that the RaidOps TM-Joe was the most devastating tool to make a mess of a pumpkin with, and perhaps I will move on to some meat-tests with it, like I did with the SuperHammer and KA-BAR knives ...

Review: Ti2 TechLiner pen

From the makers of the Ti2-PB9 parabiner pulley  the Ti2 Sentinel S4S cache and the most excellent Ti2 Sentinel X cache, comes this fine implement. This was also Kickstarted, but I had missed out, and luckily for me when the good folks at Ti2 sent me replacement Sentinel X's, they also included one of their new item, the Ti2 TechLiner pen.

Here it is lined up against one of my other titanium pens, the Tactical Keychain TKMB. One of the key differences between the two, and in fact, most pens I've encountered, is that the TechLiner was designed to have cap retention without threads.

The Cybernetic Research Labs tool pen is threaded, as is the hefty EDC Pen is also threaded. In fact, all my tactical pens are threaded, except this one. So, how do they do it?

Magnets! (how do they work?)
Using 3 rare earth magnets, built into the cap, the tail end and around the pen with a toroid magnet. The cap is pulled on tip or tail with approximately 900g (2 lbs) of force.  The unique custom ring magnet that fits around the tip of the Signo 207 refill series.Apart from anything else, this is a very nice pen tip to write with, good for precision work as well as note writing.

The three piece body opens up at the tail end and at the tip to let you for replacement ink cartridge. 

Each end is fitted with a machined grip, designed for a tactile grip surface which is comfortable for extended periods of writing.  The machined "grid" pattern offers a non-slip, secure grip without adding any snag points.

I've had this kicking around in my pocket for weeks, and the magnet in the tail has kept it attached to the other tools in my EDC ring. It doesn't have the "hammer through a brick wall" feel of the EDCPen, but it is a serious piece of hardware nonetheless. Dropped, run over, kicked along concrete and it's barely scratched.

One of the things I love about this is it's sleek lines and snag free design. Also, magnets!

Review: EDCpen

As first featured on RecoilWeb.com here: the-ultimate-minimalist-everyday-carry-pen-edcpen

I was very pleased to be contacted by Kris of EDCpen who I've been following for a while, having missed out on his Kickstarter, but also by association with Brad of Tactical KeyChains, who has collaborated with Kris in the past.

Openly professing not being an engineer or product designer by trade, rather, Kris is a guy with a great idea. A former Infantryman and Paratrooper, who like me enjoys having a handful of EDC items which are practical and useful on a daily basis. Kris has gone the extra step, (in more way than one) and has produced a great item which I am pleased to share here.


The Kickstarter project that was produced to fund the production of these, and offered them in aluminium, brass and stainless steel. A later stretch goal brought forth a titanium option, which is what I was sent.

Fitted with a Fisher Space Pen cartridge the EDCpen gives a smooth writing action, and fits the hand snugly, even for a small pen, when unscrewed. You can see the threading and o-ring where the lid fits to the pen end, and the machined rings for grip towards the nib end. I found as a pen, this was a great fit, and haven't had any trouble using it. The ends feature similar fluted groves as those seen on the Ti2 Sentinel cache that Mike Bond puts out. I have a feeling there is a lot of collaboration between these guys, which is excellent, as it means there are awesome products coming our way.

The whole pen has been machined from solid titanium, with the cap having its lanyard loop cut deeply enough that there is no doubt that your cord would break before the loop, and the pen body itself seats the ink cartridge by having a countersunk threaded plug which screws in tightly behind the cartridge.

I can't imagine the situation in which this would come loose of its own accord in my use(perhaps being stuck in an engine casing) but it certainly didn't give me any worries. This thing really is designed to last a lifetime.I shudder to think what it would take to break this thing, and I'm confident that my body would go first.

I've covered a couple of "tactical pens" in the past, namely the S&W pen, and the CRL modular pen. The EDCpen is substantially heftier and hardier feeling than both.

It's solid construction, especially in titanium, give it a mass of 50g, ( 1 3/4oz) (53g with the included paracord loop), which outweighs the aluminium version of the CRL pen (at 42g) but as I said earlier, it sits nicely in the hand. The smooth finish of the pen lends again to it's heft and I found that the four fluted groves had just enough bite to their edges to give a good grip, without cutting in.


Why is this relevant? Because I always like to look at how I can use what I carry to combative purpose.

Having a 113mm x 12mm cylinder of titanium on hand just made me want to hit things, and I found that it most certainly does make an impression. These two divots were from one-inch-punch type strikes on a painted concrete wall. The pen didn't take even a smudge, the wall took two fairly impressive dents.

This was a great pen, and certainly worth adding to my EDC. It certainly lives up to its name. My only worry would be losing it, and with the included paracord lanyard, I've been able to have it looped through PALS/MOLLE, my belt loops and the like. This is a great example of someone taking a simple need, producing an elegant product and having a complete solution.

Review: Tactical KeyChain - TKMB

Here is another addition to my EDC out of my pal Brad's workshop. I have a couple of other fancy pens in my collection, with the S&W Tactical Pen, and the Cybernetic Research Labs Tactical Pen. (I also have one of the very fine EDCPen's reviewed, pending release on another site .. .watch this space...). This is a great addition to my collection of titanium tools from Tactial KeyChains, such as the indespensible WTF tool, the very nifty TiPiK lockpicks and the eminently practical TiKey key holder.

This is the TKMB: Precision Machined, which is a small, comfortable, well-balanced, lightweight, strong milled titanium pen.

The TKMB is just 12.5cm (4.9") long and is milled from titanium rod. The tip is milled as well, and press-fitted into the barrel. I tried for ages to dislodge mine, and could not. Brad finally smacked me up-side-the-head and reminded me that the back-cap unscrews to gain access to the insides to refill the pen.
 
Empty, the pen weighs a slight 12g (2.14 US Quarters in weight), and with a refill a mere 17.5grams (3.12 US Quarters in weight).

The working end and tail are machined with threads to take a similarly highly engineered cap, (with or without a magnet, guess which I chose?).


Interestingly, Brad designed these pens to be as slim as possible (thanks to the tremendous machining available to us in the modern equipped world) and to be able to take the "Fineliner" and "Rollerball" refills perfectly, along with Parker, Fisher, Schmidt, Monteverde, Mont Blanc, Caran D'Ache, Cross. I bought and fitted a Parker "Space Pen" refill to mine,along with the included rubber tubing spacer, and the additional 8 mini-magnets.

What's with all the magnets, you might ask?

Between the magnet in the end cap, and the internal magnets, which can be placed in a couple of different configurations, you have the ability to both pick up ferrous materials (dropped screws anyone?) and also being able to place stow and store the pen. I also found that I could retain the clip on the side with the magnet.

Magnets are awesome, and I love it when I can add some to my kit. Another great element of these pens are the groves milled into the sides of both the working end and along the caps. Using the included o-rings, you can customise the grip and balance of the pen. Brilliant for those of us with big hands, and giving you a better fit, in case you are stowing yours in PALS/MOLLE like I do.

 

I have been really pleased with this as both an easily carryable pen, and also the added utility of the magnets, both for picking up items and as a means of placement.

As with all of Brad's work, its highly engineered, thoroughly tested and fir for purpose, and in this case, came with a killer custom anodizing job, (thanks for that!). I even got a second one to give to my partner, because having a reliable pen, is essential, and the titanium body, Parker Space Pen combination was too good not to share!

Review: Cybernetic Research Labs - Tactical Pen

I've had a few good occasions to make use of this particular item, and thought I should give it a review.I covered the Tactical Pen a while back. I misplaced that pen but 2 is 1 and 1 is none ...

This was another Kickstarter item from the folks at Cybernetic Research Laboratories who previously produced the Tactical Whistle and the Tactical Cache. I wanted to "collect the set" of their products, because that's how I like to test not only the items, but the brand itself. More on that later.

This is a modular pen / hex-tool / stylus / glass-breaker with aggressive knurling and grips.

Machined from aircraft aluminium (with stainless steel and titanium options, too), I had my pen anodised in their "OD green" which matched the OD green their Whistle and Cache, which I must say, is a long way off what I expected Olive Drab to be. This could just be due to the sheen of it, (rather than being a matte finish). I think I should have gotten black.

The pen itself comes in four parts; The end cap, with a lanyard hole and a titanium clip. The main body, which is threaded internally, with three deep gripping groves. It is bored to accept a Fisher Space Pen cartridge from one end only.

Either end of the body can accept one of the various heads, in my case I have; the stylus end, the pen end, the tungsten carbide glass-breaker and the hex-bit driver (which I opted to get in titanium for additional resistance to wear).

Each of the heads have two different threads, one for attaching the head to the body, and the other for securing the cap to the head.

Interestingly, the cap can also take the tool-tips, including the pen with its cartridge.

This modularity makes this tool quite appealing, I tend to keep the glass breaker tip out and exposed, both for potential escape requirements I might have in punching out a window, but also for being a rather unpleasant pointy end to make my displeasure known. I've also used the carbide tip to scribe things onto metal.

The stylus tip is not very effective on my iPhone and iPad, but they did state this would be the case during the Kickstarter.

It's a functional tool, it makes senses as a backup item.

Review: S&W Tactical Pen

This is the first of my birthday-present posts, and I wanted to start them off with a bang: A Smith & Wesson bang. I'll even jump right in with the anticipated "pen is mightier than the sword" comment here, because you can indeed achieve more with a pen than you can with a sword, but it can be a lot more satisfying to do so with a sword.

Then again there are times in all of our lives when carrying around your favourite piece of live steel, say for tree-chopping or perhaps laying waste to anything in sight is not what the authorities, or your workmates, have in mind.


I understand their fears. I don't agree, but I understand.

For those times, however, you can always fall back on your pen. Especially if that pen is machined out of 6061 aircraft aluminium and designed by the likes of Smith & Wesson. This is the S&W Tactical Pen  and one of my lovely girlfriends imported it for me (with all the trouble you might imagine of Australian Customs) but it was so worth it!

The machining and finish are a delight. The groves along the body lend themselves to a very positive grip in a variety of holds, as well as affording a very comfortable writing grip.

As well as a series of grooves machined along its circumference, there is a broad, raised, cross-hatched region which reinforces the achievable grip. The bullet-headed tip is pointy enough to be an aggressive tool for control or compliance, as well as being sizable enough to present a realistic force multiplier in defensive situations. I would not like to be on the receiving end of one of these in even unskilled but motivated hands. That said, it is also rounded and subdued enough that I have no fear of Tactical baby hurting herself with it if I leave it laying around. It's fairly innocuous until wielded. Which is mostly the point.

The pen part is a regular ballpoint ink cartridge, housed in the reverse end, again, all well machined and anodized. The pen end is capped by pressing the cap on directly, the cap has a nylon liner which accepts both pen and pointy end equally securely and firmly. The butt-cap and the retaining clip both feature the
with the Smith & Wesson logo and name which are laser engraved. Two hex screws affix the spring retaining clip without jutting out overly.

There is even a lanyard hole in the butt-cap, so you don't loose your prized writing implement in some ravenous mutie's head, or if you share a workspace, pens seem to go walking.

This is my first piece by Smith & Wesson, and so far I am very impressed, both by the elegant functionality, the ruggedness and the simplicity of this delightful tool. So, when I'm writing up my next set of notes at work, taking a order list at a cafe or signing my next piece of licensing documentation, you'll have to ask yourself: "do you feel lucky, punk?"