Ballpoint pen knife

A common ballpoint pen knife with a concealed blade (top), and an unsheathed blade (bottom).

A ballpoint pen knife is a multi-tool pocket knife consisting of a blade concealed inside an ordinary ballpoint pen. The blade, typically 2 to 5 inches (51 to 127 mm) in length, is usually hidden. They first appeared as custom-made pens from various custom knife makers before being mass-produced by production companies.

Uses

Pen knives such as these are designed for self-defense due to their ease of concealment. Their small size renders them impractical as weapons in elaborate combat, but their slim profile allows them to cause great harm in close-range combat with an element of surprise.

A knife of this type can also be used as a standard letter or package opener. Pens crafted with survival type blades can also be used for peeling fruit and vegetables, cutting meat, and carving or shaping wood. They come in many versions, including variants with special purpose razors for shaving.^[1]

Kinds of blades

All ballpoint pen knives come with straight blades, which are easier to conceal than curved blades. These 2-to-5-inch (51 to 127 mm) blades are fixed to the topmost part of the pen, hidden inside a hollow cap, serving as both the pen's end and the knife's sheath. Common blades may be the single-edged thrusting type or the double-edged stiletto type. Blades can be razor-sharp or deeply serrated for use in a range of situations. Swiss Army Spectrum Series released their S.A.S.S. Ballpoints, which look and function like regular ballpoint pens. They come with an array of foldaway blades and tools including knife, scissors, file, opener, screwdriver and battery-powered light.^[2]

Legality

Ballpoint pen knives are not available for sale in California.^[3] Shipment to Canada is also prohibited.^[4]

References

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Rondel dagger Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids Swiss Army TEKNA Thiers Issard Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey, Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Walter Doane "Bo" Randall, Jr. Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

Pens

Types

Markers	Dry erase Highlighter Paint Permanent UV

Parts and tools

Pen inks

Other

List of pen types, brands and companies