Skilcraft Government Pens

My father was in the Navy and spent a good portion of his career as a recruiter. This meant he was always traveling, setting up booths, giving out free merch, and trying to generate excitement for the Navy. He saw me and my brother as young marketing tools and we were often wearing or using Navy giveaways in school. I had t-shirts, carpenter pencils, bags, notebooks, and even posters on my wall. These random cheap items are not something I think about often, nor do I have any nostalgia for. What I do think about at times is the pens my dad would write with and occasionally I'd get ahold of: the Skilcraft Government pen.

These pens were nothing special. In fact, they were probably the most basic pen you could find. They lacked all of the comforts of pens in the 90s like textured grips or gel ink. But they were reliable and little did I know, they were used throughout the government outside of the Navy.

For me, I just assumed they were some random pen the Navy ordered because I never saw them anywhere else. But a few years ago, I ran across an article discussing these pens and how for over fifty years they have been manufactured the National Indusries for the Blind.

I was reading a post by The Retro Dad about his hunt for a Bic Clic and it reminded me of the Skilcraft pens and how I yearned to try one once more. Unfortunately, finding a single pen was impossible, so I bought a box of twelve on Amazon for $18. It was a bit steep, but the nostalgia pushed me over the edge.

The pens were exactly as I remember. They are sturdy and let off a satisfying click, but they are also a bit thin. Honestly, a little too thin for my liking.

I decided to use one as my daily driver at work the last few days and other than the thinness of the pen, I have no complaints. It’s actually really satisfying to write with. You have to apply more pressure than usual and I think it actually helps my messy handwriting.

Even my wife, who uses all kinds of fancy pens was impressed with how well it works. She even went as far as to ask if she could have one. 😂