ShivWorks

During that time, I finger diddled everything on Barry's table and really liked what I saw. However one tool kept drawing me back and that was Barry's defensive stylus.

Barry's defensive stylus is a bit over 6" long and is made from G-10 with a sharpened titanium core. It's available in different color options with a clip for attaching to the pocket or any where else. There are quite a few defensive stylus designs out there but I think Barry's is particularly noteworthy and the best one I've seen as of yet. First Barry's design doesn't look like a weapon. It's very "happy" looking with the alternating red and blue G-10. Some would probably think that it's downright cheap looking, which is good. It should look like a .98 cent Wal-Mart pen. To me that's a huge part of the appeal, in that it could be easily glanced over if given a cursory look. Look at the next picture and note how Barry's stylus blends in nicely with other writing tools.

The other thing I really like is the flare on the butt. This gives it even more urban camouflage and again reinforces the cheap pen look. It also provides a nice area to perch your thumb and makes access more sure when drawing from a pocket.

As you can see the titanium point is extremely sharp and looks like the nib on a pen.

My personal preference for carrying this tool is clipped into the placket of a polo shirt. Worn just like in this picture it disappears in plain sight. The only thing that you really have to watch is poking yourself inadvertently with it, since there is nothing covering the tip.

The clip can be positioned to the end-user's taste. I like it just below the bulb on the butt for a pinch draw between the thumb and index finger like so.

A pinch grip draw with the thumb and index finger sets one up nicely for a reverse grip application and grip like so. In reverse grip, there is right at three inches of barrel sticking out of the bottom of my hand. Plenty for ECQ work.

The robustness of the tool has already been field tested. An associate of Barry's, who is a correctional officer chose to carry this tool as a last ditch defense item while working in the facility. He saw essentially the same thing that I did, something that no one would pay attention to. He successfully got the stylus through several access control points where officers are normally inspected for anything that they may have inadvertently left on their person, such as a folding knife, or the errant can of OC. Now on this note, one thing I will say is that if anyone in law-enforcement who reads this thinks to themselves that Barry's friend knowingly violated procedure well…he did. As did I, when I carried low-profile defensive tools for the three years that I worked corrections. Everyone makes their own decisions based upon their priorities, and mine, like Barry's friend, has always been my own ass. I knew, and he knows what's done to officer's who are taken hostage by inmates.

Anyway, Barry's friend is at work one day when he is assaulted by an inmate. The guy apparently got a really good choke on him and right as he is beginning to lose consciousness, our unnamed officer draws his stylus from his pocket and buries it in the inmate's thigh affecting a release. Of course our friend took a minor whack in the cods from administration, but that sure beats being murdered or taken hostage. Barry was even nice enough to make him another since the inmate in question was positive for hepatitis.

Overall Barry's stylus is the best of the defensive stabbing pen tools that I've seen, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you give his a look before you buy anything else. The stylus is not a ShivWorks collaboration, but we endorse it completely. It can be ordered from Barry directly from the Jones Brothers' web site.