https://wtop.com/life-style/2018/04/the-surprising-50-year-history-of-the-government-pen/slide/1/
"The next time you’re at the post office, take a look at the pen you’re handed to sign for your package. Or if you work in a government office or at the Pentagon, crack open practically any desk drawer.
That slightly smaller-than-average pen, encased in a black tube, with the words “SKILCRAFT – U.S. GOVERNMENT” engraved across the side, may look like your basic ballpoint. But appearances can be deceiving.
Meet the “government pen.”
First 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. (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).
Skilcraft pens are notable for another reason. 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.
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The trusty Skilcraft “government pen,” was originally designed to meet stringent government and military standards. Under those initial specs, it was designed to write without fail from the North Pole to Death Valley. (Courtesy National Industries for the Blind)
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The pen barrels had to withstand temperatures as extreme as a North Pole winter and a Death Valley summer — from negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 160 degrees.The pens had to write for nearly a linear mile — about 5,000 feet of paper — before the ink cartridge needed to be refilled. The ink had to dry within five seconds and be guaranteed not to smear or blot. Printed on paper, the ink had to withstand being submerged underwater for 48 hours and two doses of chemical bleach.Many of the specifications stem from their planned use in the military. For example, the pen’s unusually slight size — 5 and 1/8 inches long — meant they were small enough to fit completely into the pockets of most military uniforms, Oliver said, without the metal clip sticking out and potentially reflecting the sun, which could expose a soldier’s position to the enemy.
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The pen’s length equates to 150 nautical miles on most maps, so Navy sailor can easily use it to measure distances.The bottom part of the barrel is also reportedly the exact length of a 2-minute fuse.Female sailors have used the tip of the pen to make sure their fingernails stay within the 1-quarter-inch regulations, according to a 2010 letter to the editor in the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.And, yes, according to the lore, Navy medics have used the pen barrels to perform emergency tracheotomies.
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Each year, several dozen workers crank out about 8 million pens, Lynch said. The pens are sold to the government under the AbilityOne program, which helps ensure some federal contracting dollars go toward companies that employ the disabled.
You can score your own box, too. The pens retail for $6.87 a dozen — about 57 cents per pen — on the AbilityOne website. While the site is primarily geared toward government buyers, private citizens who create a login can make purchases, too, Lynch assured."....(more)
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