This morning I picked up a Townsend FP in Titanium Herringbone pattern. Regular retail was 243 CDN. I got it for 117 tax incl CDN. I was reading some of the posts on whether these nibs were 18 kt or not. The description on Jim M.'s website and the price point would indicate it is rhodium over gold.

However in a previous Townsend post Jim said any Townsend above 170 US has the 18 kt nib. What confuses me is that there is no stamp on the nib that says 18kt.

Could I have bought a high priced pen with a regular nib? No issue with the nib though as it is the smoothest of all my pens (well maybe the exception would be my Balance II with the 14kt nib).

Another reason I ask is the chain retailer it came from has prices all over the place sometimes on the same pen from store to store. If it was listed for 243.00 then one would think it would be 18kt.

Any thoughts appreciated in advance.

Txs folks

Rowdy

I don't know the answer, but when I looked at Cross Townsends a few years ago, I noticed 3 nib choices. They were steel, 14K gold, and 18K gold. If the nib is not marked, my usual guess would be steel.

However, at cross.com , the Townsend titanium herringbone pen has an 18 K gold nib, which is partly or wholly plated with rhodium: http://www.cross.com/catalog/pendetail.asp...ens&id=AT0046-3

I have the Tuxedo townsend with a steel nib. It is one of my favorite nibs. It is very reliable and very smooth with just a little drag that I like.

Just because the nib is not gold does not mean it is an inferior nib, except maybe aesthetically.

Matt C

I am pretty sure that the Townsend nib will either be marked for 18K, 14K, or no mark for steel. I was looking at a 14k nib, through a 22x loupe, and it had a tiny "14K" below the C in Cross and "585" below the last S.

My Townsend Sienna came with a 22K nib, thought I have a job to read it on the nib itself.

If it is 22K, it may be a steel nib which is gold plated.

I don't believe it would be a gold plated steel nib if marked 22K. To be marked in that way it should indeed be solid 22K gold (whether white gold or the more common yellow).

My own Townsend has a two-tone white/yellow 18K gold nib - very nice to write with but too good to risk carrying around in my jacket pocket every day (shame really).

Any marking on the nib might be very small and would need a lope or magnifying glass to spot in amongst the decoration on the nib.

Chris

I agree. I do not believe that Ballboy's nib is marked "22K". (I wonder what magnification Rowdy used ?) My father's Townsend has a nib which is marked "14K" and "585". The markings are small. At the cross.com web site, I can see 6 types of nibs for the Townsend:
http://www.cross.com/Catalog/RefillListing...eplacement+Nibs

(1) steel . (2) steel plated with rhodium . (3) steel plated with 23K gold . (4) 14K gold . (5) 18K gold . (6) 18K gold, partially plated with rhodium .
There are two versions of nib (6). One version has a steel ring, and the other version has a gold plated ring.

Further to this one, it may be marked:

22 K
Gold plated

or some such, and the "Gold plated" is obscured by the section. I don't believe Cross would mark a nib like this deceptively, but a lot of the less scrupulous manufacturers in the Golden Age were careful that the "Gold plated" part got obscured.

If it is 22K solid gold, this is certainly news. But the Cross steel nibs are so nice, that they are news, also.

Best

Michael

I believe I understand, although cross.com indicated that their nibs were plated with 23K gold, not 22K gold. I pushed some of my nibs in far enough to unintentionally obscure useful information which was written on the nib.

Sorry folks! it's a 14K after all: the ebay seller stated it as being 22k, which I thought was nice, but not essential to my enjoyment of the pen and its nib. :doh: