metal rods vs defensive pens

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Jake38

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Defensive pens are often easy to legally carry due to their low profile appearance. With this being said, certain shortcomings of defensive pens should be acknowledged when compared to something as simple as a metal rod. This dense rod in the picture below is clearly going to have a much greater impact then a metal pen when it comes to striking. Perhaps objects like this should at least be considered by people if their states concealed carry laws allow the carrying of kubatons.


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Interesting post and pic. Reminds me of a fellow I met at a party that was wearing a kind of mini tool belt with screw driver, pliers, multi tool, etc., claiming that he never left the home without his tools because he felt like he was constantly faced with things to fix. I didn't doubt his intent, but he had many stories involving security guards. His screwdriver could probably be employed similarly to your metal rod.
 
I think the tactical pen's biggest strength is that while they dont exactly hide in plain sight, they are useful items inasmuch as they technically do more than provide defense.

I like the low tech striker pictured though:)
 
That "low tech" striker shown would work just fine - except for the inspection part... Anyone from a poorly trained security guard on up will have no doubt when seeing it - that's it's an improvised weapon. With "no doubt" in play, I'd expect to lose it the moment it's discovered to whatever authority you're engaged with.... and be saying a quiet prayer that additional consequences didn't come along with the simple confiscation....

A tactical pen on the other hand should pass any scrutiny short of an outfit like the folks that are in the high end protection business (government or otherwise...). No, it's not as good a striker - but the fact that it should pass any weapons inspection until you get to the the highest, most skilled level -makes it worth a look...

On the other hand -here's a true story told to me by an NYPD type in 1974 (I'd just married into his family) - he was a supervisor on one of the two Manhattan homicide details back then - a North and a South squad was the setup if memory serves...Me, I was barely out of the academy down in south Florida (my bride was from New Jersey...) and I was green as grass (very naive... my bride soon changed that for me....). That marriage didn't last two years but the memory of talking with that very cynical cop is still with me today.... He told of encountering three very bad Italian type gangsters -each dressed in an expensive tailored suit with all the appropriate accessories - and each had a brand new baseball bat - with the price sticker still attached. They were coming out of a high end sporting goods store in Manhattan with their purchases when he stopped them for a bit of conversation (they knew him well since they'd been "persons of interest" in more than one investigation where someone had not survived the encounter...) handled by his squad...

Their only response when asked about the bats was "We're going to play a little baseball"... With nothing other than that to go on they were allowed to go on their way. Like the "low tech" striker, though, there was absolutely no doubt what those bats were intended for.... Looking back on it, I guess I got pretty cynical myself over the years on the job. Glad I'm long out of that world....
 
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The advantage to a pen is that it serves a purpose other than as an improvised stabbing or striking tool (writing). That 'Striker' looks like an unsharpened shank.

Some of those 'tactical' pens are less than $10 on amazondotcom. A few less than that. I have three right now. All write fairly well. Some also have window breakers on them. I tried one out on a window of a scrap vehicle that the Fire Dept had brought in for us to train on using the cutters and working on pt's while that's going on. It worked, but took a couple whacks. I would also expect that it might slip around a bit and that the glass might cut my hand if I wasn't wearing gloves (which I used).

I'm pretty sure you'd get someone's attention using either end of that pen as an improvised weapon if you had to.

With that thing there's no playing it off.
 
I also find the grips on pens designed for self-defense to be much less ergonomic than the rod shown in my first post. The rods grip is much larger than the defensive pens I have viewed. I would consider purchasing a pen that has a similar sized grip to the metal rod.
 
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Seriously? That looks like something made in a prison workshop,

What's next, a plastic toothbrush with a piece of razor blade melted into it? lol

Simple possession of that might garner a LEO's attention as a per se weapon.
 
Seriously? That looks like something made in a prison workshop,

What's next, a plastic toothbrush with a piece of razor blade melted into it? lol

Simple possession of that might garner a LEO's attention as a per se weapon.

It does look like something from prison. That doesn't take anything away from its superior striking impact. I don't need to worry about law enforcement getting on my case. As a Florida concealed carry permit holder, I'm legally allowed to carry this and an array of other non-firearm deadly weapons that are able to be concealed. This includes fixed blade knives, expandable batons, etc.
 
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I dig it. Used to keep an 18" long 1" stainless rod in my backseat for similar reasons.

I have a boker pocket knife that's shaped like a click pen on top. In the shirt pocket, it looks just like one.
 
It does look like something from prison. That doesn't take anything away from its superior striking impact. I don't need to worry about law enforcement getting on my case. As a Florida concealed carry permit holder, I'm legally allowed to carry this and an array of other non-firearm deadly weapons that are able to be concealed. This includes fixed blade knives, expandable batons, strikers, etc.

I love KS... lax gun and knife laws.

We can carry a fixed blade up to I believe a 4" blade and/or a pistol concealed, without permit. You just can't have a loaded firearm on your person while driving, unless you have a ccw. I've often carried my full size ka-bar into gas stations getting camping supplies without a peep. No gun zones are still valid here though, and their restrictions must be upheld (think banks, hospitals, schools, etc).
 
It does look like something from prison. That doesn't take anything away from its superior striking impact. I don't need to worry about law enforcement getting on my case. As a Florida concealed carry permit holder, I'm legally allowed to carry this and an array of other non-firearm deadly weapons that are able to be concealed. This includes fixed blade knives, expandable batons, etc.

Well, sure, but, I mean, if you can carry all those other things, why bother with the improvised kubaton? Just carry an actual kubaton. And a gun. Or ten guns. And a machete. And four knives, and a 26" ASP baton.
 
It does look like something from prison. That doesn't take anything away from its superior striking impact.
But it also cancels out any sense that its just a normal tool and not a homemade weapon that's stored in ones rectum.:thumbup:
There are a number of everyday items that are superior in striking impact to your metal rod with masking tape and they don't look like they were on an episode of Orange Is The New Black.


I don't need to worry about law enforcement getting on my case. As a Florida concealed carry permit holder, I'm legally allowed to carry this and an array of other non-firearm deadly weapons that are able to be concealed. This includes fixed blade knives, expandable batons, etc.
Then why not compare a tactical pen to a fixed blade knife, expandable baton, 16" of 1/2" rebar or a baseball bat?
The reason for carrying a "tactical pen" is when you can't carry or possess any other tool or item BECAUSE they appear to be a weapon.
I know a number of teachers who carry tactical pens because other self defense items are prohibited.
 
I've come across a lot of people that rave about tactical pens and how they carry them as striking weapons everywhere they go. I'm aware of the purpose of tactical pens, but I dont think a lot of the popular ones on the market are anything to write home about.

There are a number of everyday items that are superior in striking impact to your metal rod with masking tape
.

Can you be more specific? What concealable everyday items are superior to a metal rod when it comes to blunt impact?
 
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I've come across a lot of people that rave about tactical pens and how they carry them as striking weapons everywhere they go. I'm aware of the purpose of tactical pens, but I dont think a lot of the popular ones on the market are anything to write home about.

They work fairly well (as pens). Actually the less expensive of the two types that I have is the one that writes better. The Take Flight pen wrote like a cheap ball point pen. The tungsten pen wrote like a thin gel pen.

With the tungsten pen though you have to take off the cap in order to write and you can't twist it on the end. So you have to pocket it to make sure that it doesn't get lost.

The Take Flight pen twist deploys, but it's like writing with a large crayon.

I tried out the cheaper one as a window breaker. It worked.

IMG_7516.JPG IMG_7517.JPG IMG_7519.JPG
^^^Tungsten Steel Tactical Pen for Glass Breaker and Self defense Mutifunctional Emergent Tool/Pen - $3.99 (Link)

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^^^Take Flight Pen - $25.97 (Link)

Can you be more specific? What concealable everyday items are superior to a metal rod when it comes to blunt impact?
A hammer?
 
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An unopened 16 oz water bottle can deliver enough force to break bone. And you can drink it in an emergency, or if you're thirsty. A 2 cell flashlight is a more effective striking tool, and as long as you don't have a DNA sampler/strike bezel, you can carry it literally everywhere. And you can use it, in low light conditions- in fact, carrying it in the dark would be perfectly natural.

A normal "sharpie" type permanent marker might be slightly less effective than your prison shank, but a prosecutor or attorney for the plaintiff can't use it to show aggressive intent.
 
They look like high-quality pens Browning. I appreciate your suggestions, but I can't get behind those grips when looking at it through a self-defense perspective.
 
An unopened 16 oz water bottle can deliver enough force to break bone. And you can drink it in an emergency, or if you're thirsty. A 2 cell flashlight is a more effective striking tool, and as long as you don't have a DNA sampler/strike bezel, you can carry it literally everywhere.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree regarding the blunt impact of the objects. I also think the sharpie would be tremendously (rather than slightly) less effective then the metal rod.
 
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They look like high-quality pens Browning. I appreciate your suggestions, but I can't get behind those grips when looking at it through a self-defense perspective.
Actually neither are all that great, but they work as pens, can work as glass breakers and are better than nothing for defense. Most people aren't going to look twice at them either.

The Take Flight one wouldn't be as good as the tungsten one. You can't put your thumb on either end of the Take Flight pen (either the pen side or the glass breaker side) in a reverse grip/"ice pick grip" to stabilize it since both ends of the pen are are sharp and you'd gouge your thumb.

With the tungsten pen you could at least do a halfway decent impression of Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction.

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Luckily I didn't pay $25 something for it. They were far less.

With these if I lose them I won't sob like a lil girl with a skinned knee the way I would if I lost a $123 Benchmade pen or even a $60 Gerber pen.

I might end up getting one of the $31 or $35 Boker pens though. In regards the pens for me they're kind of like sunglasses. If I spend $5 and get sunglasses from a gas station I'll have them for years and they'll keep coming back to me even if I throw them out the window on the freeway. If I spend $125 I'll lose them within 3 hours.
 
Over the counter standard office product that you can carry in your shirt pocket and no one will blink an eye.

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As to "clearly going to have a much greater impact then a metal pen when it comes to striking", I don't see that. I carry a pen of about the same diameter and the force either item generates is based on what the wielder generates. Similar contact area, similar structural rigidity, similar force behind it produces similar results. Furthermore, the Powertac Scholar worn in plane sight on the placket of my shirt is accessible by either hand and draws zero attention going in and out of airports and facilities with security that you'd never try to carry that rod wrapped in tape into. It is also a valuable flashlight that I've used several times at work and at home.


Keep thinking and trying things Jake38, but then try to take your ideas into what can be practically carried every day.
 
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I didnt think any of the tac pens would have gotten thru TSA when we went on vacation. I setteled for a metal zebra pen in my pocket.

Nice pen, would do about as well for a quick jab in a fight. Like 5 bucks.

I remember seeing something on tv (may have been a sitcom or whatnot) where a self defense teacher was dumping ladies purses out to show what could be used as a defense weapon...pointy hair brush, keys between the fingers , even a tootsie pop could be used to improve your odds. Not as good as an Uzi but better than nothing.
 
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... What concealable everyday items are superior to a metal rod when it comes to blunt impact?
First, you are missing the concept of a "tactical pen"...….it doesn't need to be concealed. It looks just like a large overbuilt ink pen.
Second, not just any metal bar, but your masking tape gripped metal bar......that appears to be 4-6" in length
As to concealable everyday items that are superior to your masking tape special?
Claw hammer
Brick
Roll of Quarters
Padlock in a sock
Flashlight
Carabiner with 100 keys
And last but not least.....a handgun.
 
For years, I have either carried a lock and a sturdy belt when flying, or a very sturdy light on a braided lanyard. The lock especially is more than capable of delivering Potentially Lethal Force, can deliver it more than 2 feet further away than your prison shank, and math proves that it can deliver several times as much force as something with virtually no leverage.

John
 
As to concealable everyday items that are superior to your masking tape special?
Claw hammer
Brick
Roll of Quarters
Padlock in a sock
Flashlight
Carabiner with 100 keys
And last but not least.....a handgun.

All of the things you described are either less or equally effective then the rod. Except for the handgun of course

I'm not sure where you're going with the mentioning of a handgun. You said they were a number of everyday items that are superior in terms of striking impact. And next thing you know you're mentioning a handgun... You missed the blunt impact part of my question. I don't see how firearms are remotely relevant to what we are discussing.
 
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Over the counter standard office product that you can carry in your shirt pocket and no one will blink an eye.

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As to "clearly going to have a much greater impact then a metal pen when it comes to striking", I don't see that. I carry a pen of about the same diameter and the force either item generates is based on what the wielder generates. Similar contact area, similar structural rigidity, similar force behind it produces similar results. Furthermore, the Powertac Scholar worn in plane sight on the placket of my shirt is accessible by either hand and draws zero attention going in and out of airports and facilities with security that you'd never try to carry that rod wrapped in tape into. It is also a valuable flashlight that I've used several times at work and at home.


Keep thinking and trying things Jake38, but then try to take your ideas into what can be practically carried every day.

The rod is cleary more dense. Density and weight are the key distinguishing factors here.
 
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All of the things you described are either less or equally effective then the rod.
I'll take a claw hammer over your masking tape gripped prison safe rod any day.


Except for the handgun of course
Of course.
For many a handgun is an everyday item. You asked "What concealable everyday items are superior to a metal rod when it comes to blunt impact".....I can poke or smack you with a Glock 17 slide every bit as hard as your masking tape metal rod. A can of Coke works pretty darn good as well.

I'm not sure where you're going with the mentioning of a handgun. You said they were a number of everyday items that are superior in terms of striking impact. And next thing you know you're mentioning a handgun... I don't see how firearms are remotely relevant to what we are discussing. We are discussing striking based weapons. Not projectile based weapons.
First, you said "blunt impact"....second, who said you had to fire the handgun? See Billy Bob Thornton scene in Tombstone.
 
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