great pen, great refill. built solid and nice weight pen to write with. the carbide tip is very sharp, not anywhere could i find a clear picture of the tip before i got it, the regular 1100 series tips do not compare. they need someone testing out the glass breaking ability on youtube (benchmade, send me one to scratch up other than mine). i really would love to test my pen on some junkyard cars, glass on laminated windshields and side windows! the only problem i have with the pen is the clip, it is not resting on the cap body and will not stay clipped on anything. my buddy has the regular 1100 series and his clip is tight, have not heard from support yet about the issue. the caps snap great on both ends, and feels secure when snapped together. well here are some better pics to check it out!












great with guns!

Good post!

On one of my pens the clip was a little loose so I took out the two screws holding it on, held the top section with padded pliers and bent it in just a touch.

Also, number one better photo tip: Use a tripod (or other support). Pics are good but could be even better.

For a handy way to get smooth light and a camera support for very small item photography take a look at The Hobo Nickel Studio

yeah, pics are from my iphone 3gs. the problem is i broke my smallest torx on a knife clip swapping sides, now i dont have one to take the clip off my pen.....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nhoj_yelbom,

Has anyone ever tried to break glass with an 1100-3 the stainless steel one???
I would think that would have the umpf needed to shatter it.
what do you all think?

I had to break the rear passenger window on my BMW last year.(locked the keys in the boot)

I used a 2 pound Ball peen hammer...Well after nearly knocking myself out with the bounce back..from the first hit..

It took 3 hard hits to do the job..So somebody let me know if this carbide tips does the job...

At BLADE they said they made the carbide tip version because so many people damaged their non-carbide tip pens trying to use them to break glass.

The tempered glass used in car windows is tough stuff - unless you have a way to overcome the temper - then it just falls apart.

As Johnno noted, you can beat on a window with something really hard until it breaks.

or

You can take a tool with the right kind of tip (diamond, carbide, etc.) and just press firmly.

quote:

Originally posted by KCSteve:
At BLADE they said they made the carbide tip version because so many people damaged their non-carbide tip pens trying to use them to break glass.

Wow, thats interesting information! Never thought of that but this definitely makes sense.

Post where you park your BMW and we'll give it a shot and let you know how the carbide tip worked.

quote:

Originally posted by damocles1962:
I had to break the rear passenger window on my BMW last year.(locked the keys in the boot)

I used a 2 pound Ball peen hammer...Well after nearly knocking myself out with the bounce back..from the first hit..

It took 3 hard hits to do the job..So somebody let me know if this carbide tips does the job...

Ever try a automatic center punch?

Maybe they should put one of those on the end?

works great on a mercedes windshield