Hi, I was wondering:

Who makes Cross' FP nib ?
Is it Bock or Namiki ?
thanks

The Verve nib unit is made by Namiki. Others are made by other makers. Namiki is one of the primes.

So we can get a Namiki nib quality when buying a Cross FP.
Do you know what are the other manufacturers for the entry or mid-level Cross FP ?

I can check - it may be Namiki across the board, but don't quote me on it. Cross has made changes over the last three years. It will probably be a week or so before I have the answer.

Thanks
You mean that the writing quality and feelings of same models of Cross FP changed over years because they changed many time nib manufacturer ?

Actually, I haven't found any great difference. Cross is not a small company, so I imagine they have very specific writing quality they want and get the nib maker to match that.

As I'm seeing a lot of positive reviews on Cross, I'm curious how you find the steel nibs. I actually liked the steel nib of the Sensa Meridian. But I"m new to this, and I get the sense that gold nibs are preferable. Is there much of a difference in how the Cross ATX or Townsend write, since both have steel nibs? thanks.

John

Dear John,

I use a Cross Townsend Medalist, which has a gold plated stainless steel medium nib, almost every day, and it is a really smooth, wet sweet writer. I personally have not found the gold or steel nibs better or worse than each other.

I have a Cross Century (broad - 14K gold) and it was a revelation when I bought it. Now at last I knew how smooth a FP could be and realised how awful my past experiences with some pens had been.

This was followed by a Cross Townsend (medium - 14K two-tone gold). Also beautifully smooth, though a firmer nib.

Chris

The Cross Townsend seems to have some models with a steel nib, and some with a gold nib. Is there any reason to pick the gold over the steel, as I like the appearance of the black laquer/rhodium model, which is the steel nib? thanks.

John

If the nib does not say 14K or 18K, it's stainless steel. Basically, if the pen is above $170 retail, it has a solid gold nib.

The Black Lacquer / Rhodium Trim pen has a stainless steel nib.

Hi,

The only reason why you would choose gold is for the corrosion-proofness. Anyway, I have not seen any corrosion problems with steel nibs.

Jim, by the way, who makes the nib of the ATX?

Dillon

Hi,

Cross make their own nibs from start to finish except for the Verve and Townsend. They have extremely consistent quality.

I have seen the people in Cross crank out the nibs from start to finish, checking on each other's work, writing with each nib...

Dillon

My first Townsend I got really cheap. I thought it had a gold nib. I was impressed by it as a smooth, rigid, high-grade nib. I then discovered that the particular model Townsend I had used a gold-plated steel nib.

Michael

who *used* to think he could, sometimes, tell the difference between gold and steel

The late, great Frank Dubiel, a highly-respected fountain pen repair expert and author of "Da Book," (Fountain Pens: The Complete Guide to Repair & Restoration) had this to say about gold versus non-gold (mainly steel alloys) nibs:

"Indeed, some of the non-gold nibs made...since the 1950s are in many ways superior than their more expensive gold versions (sic). The gold never touches the paper since such nibs have iridium or some other hard metal fused to their tip to prevent wear."

He goes on to say:

"...most collectors and the public want gold nibs but you may be just as happy writing with an alloy nib." And,

"A nib could be fashioned out of a watch spring to be the most flexible ever with no gold content at all. The only purpose of 18k is an attempt to make the pen appear more valuable..."

I heartily agree. The smoothest writing pen I currently own is a Cross Townsend Medalist. I've got a number of gold-nibed (nibbed?) pens, but the Cross with its steel nib is at least the equal of any of them, including the Pelikan 250 I use from time to time. It all boils down to the quality built in by the maker and, of course, the personal preference of the user.