SMOOTHERPRO Stainless Steel Bolt Action Pen, Black

Ok, let’s start with the pro’s of this tactical pen. 1st off it is extremely lightweight, comfortable to use, well built, easily available replacement cartridges and writes well. Cons: none. Though with this particular tactical pen I received did have a defective ink cartridge that stopped working a couple of days after I began to use it. NowI did not list the ink cartridge as a con for a very simple reason. This tactical pen uses the G2 gel ink replacement cartridge, which I am extremely familiar with as I have used numerous pens over the past few decades. As such, I have also purchased numerous ink cartridge refills as well, in which I have had an occasional defective ink cartridge when I replaced my empty one. Now this does not happen often, so no worries there as G2 gel ink cartridges are a great product! However, as with all thinks in life, sometimes something glitches. I am positive that every single one of you have experienced numerous types of glitches in products. And if you never have, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…… write your reviews on EVERYTHING you purchase because eI am positive that I would not be the only person wanting information like that!! Heck I would even invest in stocks for that company!! But alas, because all companies along with the workers or the people who build the devices in which assemble the products are all human. And we all know that their has only been ONE perfect man to walk this earth. So as for everyone else…… we are not perfect and as such we all make mistakes, which is why people come across glitches with a product or your order not being correct, you notice as you have already driven away from the restaurant! I know EVERYONE has had THAT happen to them, some like myself far more than others!! Thankfully I do not experience that as much as I used to!! OVERALL IMPRESSION: As I have used numerous tactical pens both in a professional setting and in personal settings, this is a really great tactical pen! It is WORTH every penny! So you will not go wrong purchasing this tactical pen! Another reason I consider this a great tactical pen is because many of the “tactical pens” sold not only on Amazon but at flea markets, stores and other websites, this is a simple item to use, there are NO UNNECESSARY “extra” items attached in which could potentially get a person in trouble! Such as knife blades or other “tactical extras” which many other companies add to try to entice people to purchase their product. I personally would never purchase one of those types of “tactical” pens and here is the reason why. First, I can take my purchased tactical pen with me through TSA security check points when I travel by plane. However the most important reason why I would not chose any other type of tactical pen other than the one I just purchased is because those tactical pens with the “extra” items take up room and when you finally do get the the section where the pen portion is, you will not that you have a very small ink cartridge that A. doesn’t really write the best and B. replacement cartridges are dry difficult to locate. As stated further up on my review, you will note that THIS TACTICAL PEN uses an extremely common ink cartridge which not only writes really great (as when you write you are using ink similar to a fountain pen) as the ink is extremely smooth while writing (and also is still wet until dried or you use a roller as you would with a fountain pen. But while writing with this type of cartridge it is both pleasing to use as it is comfortable! Adding the fact that numerous local stores where groceries are sold along with places like Office Depot, WalMart, Target and not to forget the convenience of just reordering from Amazon is such a simple process. This makes this tactical pen both extremely lightweight, comfortable and well made with an extremely easy to locate replacement cartridges the absolutely best tactical pen you can purchase.

I've carried this pen *every day* for five years now. (Seriously!) It came excellent, but I've modded it to absolute perfection. It's lightweight, slim, good indexing, excellent grip, robust as hell, and has NO plastic parts. First thing's first, the older versions of this pen needed a touch of loctite in the bolt knob or it would fall off. Did that once when I first got it, hasn't moved since. Bought a second one recently (just for gigs) and I haven't had an issue with it. Second: get yourself an even better insert. The one that comes with it is okay, but upgrade to a pilot G2 insert and spring and you'll have an epic pen. Third: early on I SMASHED this pen into the ground and the tip had a very small dent that wouldn't allow the pen cartridge to open up. I took an ultra tiny diamond file and re-rounded out the tip; literally better than new. It's soft metal, a monkey can work with this stuff. (Update: 3 months into year 5 the tip of the pen became wobbly from over-use. I was at a loss. I almost retired my pen. But then I wacked the pen on a metal table to try correcting the low spot in the tip. And it once again, writes even better now. Truly a monkey can work with this stuff.) Fourth: get irritated that G2's explode when above room temperature; Splurge on a Fisher Space pen cartridge (the pen demands it), cannibalize another junk pen and fabricate a spacer made from the junk pen's flesh so your fisher space pen cartridge seats perfectly in its aluminum throne. Then cut to length a longer spring, you may need to cannibalize a second junk pen for this. Fret not, it's worth the sacrifice; congratulations, you now own a truly unique, soul-tethering pen. This pen can now survive a nuclear blast. It can write upside down, under water, in a fire, and even at the edges of the cosmos. Your pen is an immortal being, an heirloom capable of spanning milennium. Fifth: Carry the pen for several years. Dear Lord the paint looks rough. This pen has seen 'Nam. Sand-blast it! Oh my god the finish! It's coarse and soft at the same time! This used to be painted black, now it's matte silver and looks back at you with poise, brovado, and demeanor. Congratulations. You now own a LEGENDARY item. Where will your pen take you next? P.S. Are you afraid of legendary pens? Do you want to keep your pen for years like me? Heed this wisdom: NEVER. EVER. SET THIS PEN DOWN ANYWHERE. IT WILL BE STOLEN and YOU will be to blame! Leave this unattended and the gods of Olympus themselves will tear open the veil of reality, notice you've misplaced a mystical item too powerful for mortal flesh, and they'll steal your pen. Don't let those ancient aliens snatch up your pen, this pen goes in your pocket or in your hand. Never EVER set it down anywhere. Sleep with it clenched tight in your fist. Dream of the pen. Become a eunuch, a chariot of the pen. Become the harbinger of the Smootherpro, this is your utmost highest purpose.

I was trying to find a metal EDC pen that would be compatible with the Pilot Precise V10 RT ink refills, because I think they're some of the nicest-writing pens out there. It's actually kind of tricky to find an EDC pen that works with these inserts. What you need to do is make sure the pen you're going to buy matches the design of the cartridge; a lot of pen descriptions might say they accept the Pilot inserts, but they actually do not. So, compare the product image to be certain (see my images — they should always have the little staggered steps I've circled in green). I can confirm this pen IS the correct type, if anyone else is specifically looking for that reason. Also, a cool thing I did to customize this pen is use painter's tape to cover up certain sections, and then I dipped the whole thing in black Plasti-Dip. When it dried, I peeled off the painter's tape, and I was left with what you see in the images. It leaves a nice, rubberized grip, and really improves the overall feel of the pen in your hand. I love the writing experience it gives, and if you have the resources available, I would suggest giving it a try. Now, if I were to suggest any changes for future iterations of this pen, I would say to leave the brand logo off of the pocket clip. It's distracting and detracts from the aesthetic appearance of the pen. Also, while the glass-breaker tip is neat, I think it would be good to either offer a version without it, or perhaps machine it so that you can unscrew it and replace it with a flat metal cap instead. It's not super sharp, but it is sharp enough to be annoying and it's not really practical for day-to-day use. But overall, this is definitely a good option to try if you're looking for a solid, heavy-duty EDC pen that accepts Pilot V10 inserts, and has a nice, hefty weight in the hand. If you're on-the-fence, give it a try.

A nicely manufactured pen. I don't see any defects. However, it does not feel premium out of the box. The spring is quite low tension, and there is no lubrication on the metal so it feels rough to open/close. The G2 refill was also of the smaller type, so it doesn't have that luscious feel the thicker ones have. The issues were remedied by adding a second smaller diameter spring from another pen, and squirting silicon lubricant above and below the bolt. This creates a buttery smooth action, and a lively snap into position. The only other fault I can find with it is it's quite slippery out of the box; it was the first thing I noticed about it. I remedied this by putting an old G2 rubber sleeve on it. Overall, a high quality item that can benefit from some tinkering.

Love the pen, heavy but might be useful in my line of work

I really like this pen! I like the shape in my hand when writing, the weight isn't that heavy, and best of all in my book is I can get pen refills very easy for it since it uses pilot G2 refills. I would suggest loosening the tail section of the pen and putting a drop of medium strength thread locker on the threads and tightening while making sure the pocket clip is where you want it before actually using daily but other than that I'm really impressed with the pen so far.

Well made. Very comfortable in the hand. The pen writes smooth, it's tactical and made of metal. What's not to like?!

Out of the box, this pen had some issues. The spring it came with (the one you are compressing when you use the bolt) was too strong. The part inside the pen that slides up and down when you actuate the bolt felt grindy and made terrible sounds. (This was in part due to the overly-strong spring grinding the bolt against the pen's body.) I bought this pen intending to customize it anyhow, so the issues it had didn't bother me. The reason I went this route was that it's difficult to find a bolt action EDC pen that is sized for Pilot G2 style refills. Of those, most are too thick for my liking, and the rest are pretty darn expensive. I replaced the spring with one out of a Pilot G2, opened the pen up (removing the bolt was tough, as it is loctite'd) and used some keyboard switch grease (Krytox GPL205) on the sliding bolt portion. Now it's buttery smooth, and I refresh the grease once in a while to maintain it. I stuck a tiny bit of closed-cell foam above that bolt slide piece, sandwiched between the bolt slide and the end cap. This was to dampen the sound of the bolt slide hitting the cap when clicking the bolt up. Now there is still a clack, but it doesn't sound like two pieces of metal trying to break each other. I swapped the bolt and clip for ones from another pen from the same manufacturer (TP156). Now the bolt is silver and slightly larger, and the clip doesn't have a goofy stripe on it. I added a rubber grip from a Pentel Energel. I cut it in such a way that I can still open up the pen. I sanded the black paint off of the pen in the area where it has all the 'ribbing' in the middle and then polished it - so now it has shiny stripes. I dislike the glass breaker, as I keep this pen clipped in my pocket a lot, and it scratches things. I am going to try to figure out the thread size it uses and replace it with a small bolt or similar. I am using Pentel Energel refills at the moment, and I trim them down about 1/8". I also like using Pilot G2 refills in here.

Bonne prise, glisse bien sûr le papier et ne fait pas de bavures.

Excelente custo benefício!

I love the bolt action mechanism, it works very nicely. All aluminium made except the glass breaking tip of course. It does not write incredibly well compared to other pens I have but it's not it's main purpose anyways. Could be usefull one day on a trip or in town.

The bolt action is nice and for my first bolt-action, I have no complaints. I never experienced any issue with the bolt coming apart however, the pocket clip was ALWAYS coming loose. The pen would constantly come apart in my pocket resulting in losing the clip several times, thankfully always at work. After clamping the pen down and using a screwdriver through the top hole, I was able to tighten the clip down enough to a point where it wouldn't come undone. In the end, while the clip is very robust, it eventually snapped catching on a package at my job. It had been bent back into shape several times and even then, still needed pliers to bend back. This is a nice carry over the F-701 and even without the clip, I'll still carry it. If there was a way to buy spare clips, I'd buy a set or two.

The presentation and the item itself are STELLAR! T wasn't expecting it to be so wonderful in every way. I'm a pen guy with hundreds of different pens in every price range and This one has become my new go to! Kudos Smotherpro 💥