The best way to write about a product we stock – apart from wining and dining it and getting it to spill all its secrets - is to look at a fact sheet sent by the manufacturer. It'll give you all sorts of useful information about the product's history, its best features and so on.
So, now that I'm writing about the Pilot G207 retractable gel pen, I can tell you that, apparently, shortly after its launch in 1997, it became the most popular retractable gel pen in the UK. (And it's still a world best seller today.)
It's got a transparent barrel so you can see how much ink is left and its 'advanced gel ink glides smoothly across the page with bright colours and clean, non-skip lines'. The fact sheet even says the 'retracting mechanism operates with a smooth satisfying click'. (A statement to which I can attest.)
However, the fact sheet doesn't mention that the pen is also a deadly weapon. Sort of.
Search for 'Pilot G2' on YouTube and you'll find lots of videos of kids teaching you how to turn your Pilot G2 retractable pen into, what they rather optimistically call, a gun. Yes, as with most technology, hand it to a child and they'll violent-it-up.
Here's the nicest video I found, with a well-adjusted kid explaining how to modify the pen. (I suggest you don't look for videos yourself, otherwise you'll find yourself a stranger in a land where children rule and come armed. )
If you're anything like me, one of your first thoughts when watching this video will be 'Bloody hell, that's quite dangerous'. As a kid, one feels immortal and that life will never end. As an adult, one deals with back-pain, stiff knees and the realisation that, although one's eyesight is bad, one really doesn't want to lose it thanks to an errant pen shot through the air.
Though, to be honest, if you look at how long it takes to build a pen gun – and given that it really does look dangerous – then it'd be quicker to throw something at someone.
Talking of which, we have a rather nice range of plastic cups for sale, as well as many other office supplies that can be modified into lethal weapons....
