Best Inexpensive Self-Defense Pen

You should look at the Pilot Dr. Grip pen. It is not metal but sure seems sturdy enough and is easy to grip. The price is under ten dollars. Just Google Dr. Grip pens.

 

Zebra F701's. At 5.00 each, you can a knurled aluminum self-defense pen for every bag, kit, and BOB.

Dollar for dollar, an excellent find.

 

Parker IM Rollerball. Available at Walmart for under $13.

 

Just found these Mujis last night on the MOMA site: brass for $12?! That sounds pretty reasonable to me... and look at the taper on that thing....

 

Keep in mind, the "defense pen" is a highly engineered chunk of metal - there are some excellent photos of the amount of abuse a Tuffwriter can take because it was designed to.

I have a Zebra 701 and as a solid chunk of metal, it can take a beating. But how well it will function after being abused is another matter.

Just food for thought - sufficient motivation can make anything a weapon.

-Trevor

 

Maybe the stainless sharpie that comes out in a couple weeks.
Many have high hopes that it will be a good choice. :woohoo:

 

None of the inexpensive metal / alloy barreled pens mentioned will work as a piercing implement more than once (try em). These pens start unscrewing apart after one or two hard blows with some risk to yourself. So if you need more than a couple of sticks to take care of a problem then you need to invest in something built to hold together while you dig into clothing, flesh and possibly bone on a target that is trying to parry.

A Tuffwriter or a Benchmade pen will go through the tops of industrial grade metal cans (like the 5 gallon ones that cooking oil comes in) again and again without disassembling or breaking themselves from the impact.

 

I just received a Cold Steel Pocket Shark (got it for free for submitting a joke to their website). Its big, but its tough as hell. I keep it in my back pocket next to my wallet and barely notice it there. I have no doubt it'd hold up in a "tactical" situation and the marker part is pretty nice too.

 

I read that the 701 has a plastic internal insert and the metal is just covering it.

 

I wasn't clear - the Zebra 701 probably could be abused repeatedly. It wasn't, however, designed for the same level of abuse a Tuffwriter (or similar "defense" pen) can take.

Which still makes it tougher than a plastic Bic.

-Trevor

 

The pen thats in your hand or pocket at the time of need for self defense. :slap:

 

sharpie professionals are large and clear metal detectors and good impact tools ! Not aware of what a G2 will fit that meets your needs shy of maybe a zebra 701 modified.

so I will just bump this thread to the top !

 

Well, I like Fred Perrin's SD pen for around 20 bucks. Looks cool also,
and it actually looks like a pen.

Reminds me of the pen desk sets of the 1960s with pointed tips. Don't
see those around much anymore.

 

Tactical pens are fun, but if your are going to use and abuse your pen frequently for defense, perhaps it is time to give up pens for real weapons no ?

 

Ahhh, Rule #12: "If you have to field-expedient the same solution more than three times, one should carry a task-specific tool for that problem."

-Trevor

 

This ignores the limitation to carry so called "real weapons".

You take a knife or a gun, ill take a pen or a flashlight, and ill meet you in the nearest courthouse, airport or basically anywhere in the UK and we shall compare who has the "best" self defense tool then.

By that same token however, thats why im really against the major SD pens and even stuff like the sharkie. It defeats the entire object of a SD weapon like that if the thing is obviously a weapon and would be treated as such. The ideal SD pen would be as strong as the current market leader (the Surefire i assume) but look like a normal pen and isnt marketed as a SD weapon.

My current tool is the Rite in the Rain tactical black pen (which i won in the EDCF draw in Jan as it happens). Its all metal, looks like a normal pen (is a normal pen, lol) and ive never seen Rite advertise it as being anything but a pen. But that said im sure there are better options out there.

 

Living just outside of Washington D.C. and traveling around in the city, real weapons won't get you to far. About as far as the local jail. I can't get into any Federal buildings with "real" weapons, let alone the Smithsonion museums, National Gallery Of Art, or many other places. But they don't even give my AA minimag, blackthorn walking stick, or Cross pen a second look. Nor does TSA when I fly someplace like New York, London, or some other places I go sometimes.

 

Contact lcranston here on the forums.
He makes(or at least he used to) Ti Bic pens.
Its basically a regular Bic stick pen ink thingy pulled out of the plastic tube and shoved into a Ti tube.
One of mine was run over by a forklift not long after receiving it and the thing barely has a scratch on it.

 

My point was : "if your are going to use and abuse your pen frequently for defense". Ie if you need to defend yourself with a pen again and again, then it is perhaps that something has to be changed in your equipment, or your life ? Sorry if I was not clear enough. Of course, pens are a very low profile weapon, and I do think that having one on your person may be very relevant in case of emergency.