I had to leave the state for a month and a half, and forgot to empty my pens.

Well, when I got back, I of course found my active pens clogged. Or at least, my 2 Watermans (Hemisphere and Preface) and a Pilot Knight. Nothing a bath in Rapid-o-eze didn't fix, but still a little annoying.

Surprisingly, my 3 Cross pens (a Townsend, a Century II, and a Solo) were still in working condition. In fact, they started writing immedietely as soon as I touched the nib to paper.

All 6 pens were loaded with the same type of ink (Pelikan royal blue, the only ink they sell near where I live).

Now, 1 pen still working I might attribute to fluke luck, but all 3 seems to suggest there's something about Cross' nib construction that makes them more resistant to clogging.

Anyone else notice this with their pens?

I've noticed the feeds on my Cross 2's seem to be more forgiving and less temperamental than just about any other FP I own. They can sit unused for a long time without drying out. Might be great pens for Noodlers ink.

I have pretty good luck with my Crosses. Of course, if you compare the nib and feed on a Townsend with that of a Solo (which is actually made by Pilot), you can see that the construction is different. Maybe Cross inner caps seal better.

-- Brian

Caps that properly prevent drying are very important. Judging by Cross's excellent posting design, they have engineered their caps better than the average fountain pen manufacturer. The pens in my collection that always start up immediately after long periods of non-use are the Sheaffer TM models, which have very tight metal threads; modern Pelikans; Omas; and Cross.

Curiously enough, the Crosses are about the only snap-cap pens that start up very well after sitting idle for a long time. The Lamy 2000 is the only real competitor as far as I've seen (granted, I don't have a lot of snap-caps because I prefer threads). The Targa is all right, but the feed tends to clog fairly easily.

Best,
Summer Greer

The pen that started my collection was a cross - a Townsent Medallist given to me by my dad. I actually asked for it when he changed to a Yard-o-Led, and had stopped using it.

It was awful until I gave it a proper flush through and found horribly dried particles of ink clogging up every feed surface! Now, that was after a lifetime (maybe 5 years) of cartridge use without flushing. I used to think it was a terrible writer, but after getting about a kilogram of icky bits out of it it's now one of the nicest I have, and it has never clogged or failed to start first time, even after a week without writing.

I just grabbed my old, cheap Cross pen that has been sitting in a drawer with PR Shell Pink ink for months and it started up like a charm.

Ah yes, this is just one more reason to love Cross pens! I have five Townsends and they never fail to write even when they have been out of use for a while. The only thing I find annoying about Cross pens is that - for my arthritic joints - the caps are hard to get off. But that's a personal problem - and I think the tight-fitting cap is indeed the reason these pens don't dry out.

Judybug

I've never had clogging problems with my cross solo. However, I use Cross cartridges with it, so I don't exactly use it with temperamental inks.