Shameless pandering pen set

[Roger Feeley]

My recently acquired son-in-law does a lot of traveling and speaking. I've been toying with making him a set of pens that shamelessly pander to his audience. The inspiration came from the bolt-action pen from Penn State. Sadly, there seem to be more pens suited to gun and military enthusiasts than others. Below is the list I have so far.

NRA - Bolt action pen (the best) or antler or bullet (so many choices)
Techies - circuit board pen
Patriotic - American Flag (he will be sworn in as a citizen this summer)
Breast Cancer - a pink pen
Military - camo

After that, I'm kind of stuck. I think I need a dozen pens for the gag to work. I'm having a problem with the...ahem...left wing. I'm looking for pens that would work with as wide a variety of audiences as possible. The comedy is not to mock. For instance if he shows up to a NRA event with a bolt-action pen, he is not mocking the NRA. He is pandering to them. So what pen might he use to pander to other groups without insulting them?

If it's of any use to you, you can see him here (http://www.cato.org/people/ilya-shapiro). He represents the Cato Institute so he would be of the Libertarian persuasion. He's pretty handy to have around any time I have a question about the Constitution.

[Dale Gillaspy]

I guess I would need to know what other groups you are talking about. Try Penn State's catalog, they have a ton listed. Also Kalleshaan (sp?) does hundreds of laser cut designs for pens. You might find something in their repertoire that would work..

[John Keeton]

Roger, your SIL has an impressive resume!! Making pens for him is a good plan - just don't try to out think him. Looks like a very sharp guy.

[Scott Hackler]

Personally, I find the bolt action and bullet parts pens to be pretty odd. I wouldn't ever carry one of those and would think that making up the American flag pens would be more appropriate and would appeal to almost everyone on the list. I have seen these flag pens in person and they are pretty cool. Having done a few of the kits from Kallenshaan, they take a little more time to assemble the parts but the results are pretty impressive in pen form.

[Roger Feeley]

Roger, your SIL has an impressive resume!! Making pens for him is a good plan - just don't try to out think him. Looks like a very sharp guy.

Yeah, he has me on legal issues. We tend not to agree on things but he's a good sport.

I can out-build him though.

[Roger Feeley]

I deliberately left the other groups blank because it's hard to think of more of them.

Thanks for the Kallenshaan hint. I've never seen that site or heard of them. there's some good stuff there.

Some state flags. Doctor stuff. It might be nice to find a pot one. The Libertarians favor legalization of drugs.

[Guy Belleman]

Several of the sources have different pocket clips you can use with the pens: golf club, baseball bat, football, tennis racket, medical, rifle, etc. For example, with the European Pen at Woodcraft where the cap screws on, the pocket clip can be changed out. Craft Supplies USA also has several clips. The clips seem to me to be more mild than the bolt action or bullet pens.

[Sid Matheny]

Sadly, there seem to be more pens suited to gun and military enthusiasts than others.

I could really get off topic with that statement.


Sid

[Ed Loudermilk]

So could I Sid

[Stephen Musial]

Go with something simple like the Graduate magnetic and show off he wood. If he's going to be in Ohio, it could be Buckeye Burl, California: redwood burl, Vermont: birdseye maple (maple syrup), etc. Maybe see if you can get your hands on some historic woods - I have original teak decking from the USS Missouri, a piece of wood from Mt. Vernon (sworn to secrecy on that one), 4500 year old bog oak from County Roscommon, etc.