I don’t usually get sentimental about pocket accessories. I treat them as disposable and, when one fails or is lost, I simply replace them. Given this I was a little surprised when I actually found myself saddened by the demise of my Rite Edge Tactical Pen, which served me through the 2020 pandemic and was my constant companion for three years.
I should start by saying that the Rite Edge tactical pen is unremarkable. In fact, it’s not a particularly good pen (which is why I have to retire it). Parts of the pen unscrew themselves, seemingly of their own volition. I have more than once lost the cap for the stylus nub, a metal collar that holds it in place. (This was the part that went missing and prompted the pen’s retirement after three years.) The utility knife blade inside the pen often comes loose and starts to rattle. The pocket clip has to be bent to make it tight enough or the pen leaves the pocket (I have “lost” this pen more times than I can count).
And yet, I’m going to miss it.
Miyamoto Musashi famously said, “You should not have a fondness for any particular weapon.” But in the early days of the pandemic, when the media had us convinced that you couldn’t touch stuff for fear of getting invisible Death Germs on you, I wanted something I could carry that would be both a valuable EDC item and a tool for point-of-sale terminals. No way I wanted strangers germs on me when it came to touching the keypads for the debit and credit card reader.
To its credit, the Rite Edge served well in this capacity. I noticed that the stylus nubs were not terribly durable; I bought a package of cheap stylus “pens” (with no ink, just the nub) and would periodically pop the nub free from one of these to replace the torn stylus tip in my pen. The fit wasn’t perfect, but it worked.
I say this as someone who owns an entire drawer of tactical pens. I started accumulating them when I wrote an article on tactical pens for Tactical Knives magazine.
The Rite Edge pen is quite heavy compared to other, similar tactical pens. I replaced it with an Atomic Bear pen and stylus that, in every way, is a better EDC option: It’s lighter, it’s more readily deployable, and it writes more nicely. I do use my tactical pens as, well, pens, because I carry a paper notebook with me everywhere I go. Many is the grocery store where I’ve used my tactical pen to scratch off items from my grocery list.
I never had to use the tiny utility blade inside the knife. This was obviously not something you’d ever use for self-defense; it was just an added feature to make the pen more of an everyday carry item. It was dull as a butter knife out of the box. I sharpened it, thinking I might need it to cut something if I was ever without my Swiss Army Knife for some reason. I did not use it for the next three years.
I know this wasn’t even a particularly good tool; it was merely adequate. Still, even as mediocre as it was, it was there for me during what was, for the first several months at least, a very scary time. I’ve since become a lot more disillusioned about our government and our public health bureaucracy, but my tactical pen didn’t care about any of that. It simply did its job, and for that, I commend it for years of faithful service.