

That meant reams of exacting government requirements: 16 pages’ worth, in fact, for the simple “standard-issue government pen.”

The Skilcraft pen was born in a bygone age, largely before the government bought commercial products to stock its office supply closets. Like what? Let’s just say the pens have been rumored to serve as emergency in-field medical equipment at times. I’ve done lots of things with that pen.’” “And we come by the pen machines where we’re producing these pens and … they say: ‘I know that pen. “We have vets come and tour our facility in Greensboro often,” he told WTOP. Over the years, the pens have also been the subject of some interesting bits of military folklore, according to Richard Oliver, the company’s director of community relations who works out of its Greensboro, North Carolina, manufacturing facility. The company recently marked 50 years since the first pens rolled off the production line. “There is lots of history in this particular pen,” said Kevin Lynch, CEO of the National Industries for the Blind, the Alexandria, Virginia-based company that oversees production of the pen. For the past 50 years, they have been produced by sight-impaired workers under an 80-year-old program dating to the New Deal to employ blind Americans. Skilcraft pens are notable for another reason. (An example of those specs: A single pen was required to be able to write a linear mile before needing an ink refill and had to be able to withstand extreme temperatures). But appearances can be deceiving.įirst manufactured in the 1960s, according to highly detailed government and military specifications, the pen was designed to write without fail in office cubicles and war zones, alike. GOVERNMENT” engraved across the side, may look like your basic ballpoint. That slightly smaller-than-average pen, encased in a black tube, with the words “SKILCRAFT – U.S.
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Or if you work in a government office or at the Pentagon, crack open practically any desk drawer. WASHINGTON - The next time you’re at the post office, take a look at the pen you’re handed to sign for your package. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.
