Tactical Sharpie "shankie" How To

by Joshua Porter

13K6410

Intro: Tactical Sharpie "shankie" How To

Today I am going to teach you how to make a tactical Sharpie deemed the "Shankie" by my good friend Jason On the EDCwerks facebook group. This is to be made with minimal tools and cost to you, no fancy lathes or anything that most people do not have. This is not going to be the most professional but I tried my best, this is mostly done by "eye-balling." Take note, I am not responsible for any harm or injury that may befall you or other with this tool, this is merely for novelty and to be made and used at your own discretion, I am not liable, and please check local laws before carrying and or making this item. Have fun!

Take note, this is my first instructable :P.

STEP 1: Tools and What Is Needed

1, A drill and a drill bit slightly smaller than your rod your using to make this tool

2, A 3/8 inch paddle bit for longer shanked points

3, A grinder with thick metal grinding wheel and metal cut-off wheel

4, A course hand file

5, A sharp knife, anything will work

6, Sandpaper for finishing

7, A measuring tape is very useful

8, A glue of some sort, epoxy will be best, but I just used hot glue

9, The metal rod you will use to make the point, these can vary in size, an old drill bit works best, I just used a scrap metal rod off a piece of trash for this one. Just make sure it is smaller than the body can hold, and not much larger than the original tip of the sharpie.

STEP 2: Optional But Recommended Tools

1, Water, as it does get hot in florida

2, Safety gear, goggles, gloves, and something to cover your face for grinding.

3, A bench vice

4, Some awesome super hero pajamas

STEP 3: Take Apart the Sharpie

Use whatever way works best to take off the cap and rid the marker of the ink tube, however gripping it with a cloth in the vice and pulling while twisting worked best for me.

STEP 4: Cut the Tip Off the Cap and Clear the Insides

Next you must cut the tip off the cap and clear the insides. I suggest to use your knife and press firmly till you get all the way through, then poke the felt out of the tip with your knife.

STEP 5: File the Tip Down

Next you must use your hand file, and while going slow, file down the tip slightly up to your personal preference of when you want the metal tip of your "Shankie" to start.

STEP 6: Cut Your Metal Rod to Size

Depending on how long you want this to be, cut on your discretion. Usually somewhere around 4 inches is good, but can be fixed later on the final few steps. "Where I cut is shown by the red mark in the first picture."

STEP 7: Grind the Ends Flat and Mark Your Tip Start Point

For the most uniform tip and length, file both ends as flat as possible with the grinder. Then mark, with your sharpie body and tip along side for reference, where you want the metal tip to start, this is best done with the knife or edge of your file. I just marked from where it looks like the metal would start protruding.

STEP 8: Time to Tip!

This is the hardest step in my opinion, and I will try to detail this as much as possible.

1, Affix the rod in your drill

2, With your grinder, find the most appropriate angle to meet the center of the rod from where you marked in the last step.

3, Hold both the drill and grinder firmly.

4, Start the drill and once it reaches full speed, start grinding the metal at the angle you found.

5, Remove the grinder when the tip is made, then turn off the drill

6, Wait for the tip to cool, as it will be hot.

TIP: Never stop the drill while grinding, as it will make an edge flat.

STEP 9: Sand Your Tip

Using a sanding sponge or sandpaper, sand the tip to make it shiny and clean up the metal. Please try not to stab yourself however.

STEP 10: Place Your "shank" in the Body and Cut Down If Needed

Place your shank inside the body of the Sharpie and depending how long you want your tip, cut that much off the backside. The first image shows how much I decided to cut off, I eyeballed the amount, and my final piece ended up being roughly 3.75".

STEP 11: Drill Out the Tip to Fit the Metal Shank

Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the shank, "to make the fit tighter," drill out the tip of your sharpie all the way through to fit the metal portion.

STEP 12: Glue the Metal Portion Into the Body

Using epoxy or hot glue in my case, glue the metal portion into the body of your sharpie.

STEP 13: Fit the Tip Back On

This may take a great deal of pressure, but using the same method to take the tip off I placed it back on with the metal portion on the inside, it will be very tight!

STEP 14: Optional: Drill Out the Cap to Fit the Metal Portion

There may be a plastic portion in the cap you need to remove to fit the metal tip, use a drill and a 3/8" paddle bit to do so.

STEP 15: Optional: Color the Tip

Using another sharpie, color the tip to match the color of the body of your marker.

STEP 16: Enjoy!!!

You have now made your own "Shankie!"

Have fun and go poke something (not someone please)!!!

10 Comments

Kiteman 9 years ago

Creative though this is (and I am genuinely impressed by your creativity), you need to remind readers that, in most countries where this site is used, simply walking out of your house with one of these would automatically be a criminal offense, and in some countries/states it is illegal even to own one.

Joshua Porter 9 years ago

I thought that would have been a given, but I should have been more specific. I have since edited my instructions, thank you!

Kiteman 9 years ago

You'd think, but there are kids who think as far as "this is cool" and no further.

Andycapt 8 years ago

tactical pens are in high use. They are worthless unless you are trained in the use of them and are more likely to get hurt yourself. If you learn how to use a tactical pen, it can be one of the most effective ways of protecting yourself it hour having to draw a weapon. Women especially or handicapped people like me will find a tactical pen invaluable when trained how to use it. It will stop an attacker in his tracks and you can choose the severity of your reply. That's about as far as I'll carry this.

Brianhutchinson 8 years ago

I can't find any sort of practical means for a tool like this. Might be a cool stylus or engraver if made of the right metal, however, divergent and interesting. Hoping not to see any of these in the hands of an unstable depressed artist attending public school.

avocadostains 9 years ago

That's funny. I was a little dissapointed that it wasn't a regular sharpie with a sharpened tip. However, you have come up with a good name.

Joshua Porter 9 years ago

Thanks :). I suppose you could use a dual tipped one and leave one of the marker tips, but that wasn't as strong as id like, nor did i want to expel that much effort :P.

avocadostains 9 years ago

Yea, better to just carry two sharpies, one to write with and one to shank people with.