Hi, all! About a week ago I bought a Cross Century II sterling FP, 18k F nib. I used the black cartridge it came with to test it out. It wrote beautifully, but not as fine as my old Century FP (that I have lost). I found an old blue-black cartidge and tested that out, just to see if the difference between the pens was due to ink. The ink pretty promptly clogged my pen; it was apparently too old and had solid pieces in it!

I soaked and flushed the nib and filled it via converter w/Noodler's Navajo Turquoise. The Cross wrote okay with this ink, but not as fluid as the black. I tried it on all kinds of paper and the turquoise did fine on some of those.

Lastly, not wanting to give up on my new pen for its budding temperamentality, I bought some new blue-black cartridges. It is writing beautifully now, finer than the Cross black. Now I'm completely addicted to this ink in this pen. Are Cross FPs a little temperamental for anyone besides me? Is there a Cross fine print (that I "forgot" to read) that says any other inks but Cross are a no-no? 'Would love to hear anyone else's experiences. Thanks!

I've written with Cross Cartridges, Parker Quick, and Aurora inks, and have not experienced any clogging with my Century II. I don't believe using different inks should cause a clogging problem, as long as the pen is properly flushed between ink changes.

However, I've heard conflicting views on "old" ink.

Happy writings.

Sharkle,

Just a thought, but as I assume that your Cross was brand new, then maybe some of the problem was that it needed a bit of writing in to perform it's best?

I have now got into the habit of filling a new pen with Quink Washable Blue, for no more reason that I can easily clean it out when I have finished. I then write on some brown craft paper for a page or two, nothing more than figures of '8' and hatch lines in all directions. I finish up by writing on some good quality inkjet paper that I have as a reference. Most pens feel a bit rough at first, but after a while they seem to settle in.

Once I am happy all is OK, I flush the Washable Quink away, then fill it with whatever ink I fancy. Yes there will always be differences from ink to ink and some pens do favour certain brands and the nib width and flow can change the way the ink looks on paper.

I have a Century II that I bought s/h from a fellow FPNer a while back and that writes with just about any ink I have put in it. As to cartridges I must admit to not being a great fan. I always prefer to fill from a bottle, but use cartridges for convenience when travelling. I would think that your clogging was a result of a bad cartridge.

Jim

Thanks for your replies! I was thinking that this pen might need a breaking in period. And good advice on the first ink--I'll try that with my next pen. I too prefer filling a pen from a bottle, but the Cross blue-black ink I like is not available in one, that I know of. Sigh. That's the way it goes sometimes. As long as the cartridges work, I'll use them for this color and use my bottled ink when I want to switch.

According to Pendemonium, the manufacturer of Cross ink is Pelikan (I don't know for how long now). If you want the same blue-black ink as in your cartridges but in a bottle, just buy a bottle of Pelikan blue-black.

To be sure of this, swab some of your cartridge ink onto paper and hold it up to The Writing Desk's ink comparison tool. They really worked hard to make the digital colors as close as possible to the real paper colors. You can also compare inks using Pendemonium's two-page ink comparison chart, but that chart's non-Noodler's page is much better than its Noodler's page.

Noodler's Blue-Black, which is not available for viewing on The Writing Desk's comparison tool (The Writing Desk doesn't stock all Noodler's colors) but is visible in a good swabbed sample on this page at Swisher Pens, behaves well in my steel medium nib Cross ATX.

Enjoy, whichever ink you choose!

Thanks, Steve, for the suggestions. I have Pelikan blue-black, but unfortunately it appears lighter than the Cross cartridges. However, I haven't used this ink in the Cross pen yet, having bought it before I got this pen. Maybe it would look darker, who knows? It's worth a try. And I'll definitely check out the Nooder's blue-black. Thanks again.

I have a century II in "classic" (matte) black, with the steel 23K gold-plated F nib.

It is a beautiful, simple pen and the feed is incredible. No skipping or clogging. I think it would write upside-down for hours...

On the other hand, the nib is really toothy. I am quite disappointed by this aspect. I popped into a Cross store just after I bought it, and tested a few others that, it turns out, were also quite toothy. Now I really wish I had gotten the medium nib, and I may still try to have cross exchange it or at least smooth it...or I may take the plunge and buy some mylar...or a replacement nib...

Has anyone else had problems with toothy nibs for the steel versions of the Century II nibs?

Is it much better with the mediums (vs. fine)? How about the solid 18k gold versions?

Thanks for any help.

Hi! Yep, my Century II , a solid 18k nib, is toothy as the devil. I can understand why anyone would hate this in a pen, especially a brand new one that you're all excited to use, but that bit of tooth is exactly what I was missing from an older Century FP pen of mine. Guess I got set in my ways with the tooth. I certainly appreciate a smooth nib, too. I have never owned a medium pt, so I don't know whether it's a fine pt problem or not. Anyway, Cross should fix it for you for free, as far as I know. Good luck with your pen!

I have an old Century with a broad nib (14ct solid) and it is smooth as silk with all inks except Quink (sorry, personal thing, love the smell, hate the ink). I have used Penman Sapphire almost exclusively in it now for more than ten years - no problems except when nearly empty than flow gets sluggish (not surprisingly).

My Cross Townsend (medium 18ct solid) is also silky smooth and has no flow problems at all.

I do tend to find a new pen takes a fill or two to get to settle down and I hear that could be because of oil or something left inside the works following manufacture.

Chris

I have two century II pens.
One of them is Matte Black, gold plated nib, F. It is loaded (since I acquired it) with Sheaffer black ink. It is very toothy. I can hear it scratching the paper, which is not as fun. Otherwise, writes beautifully.

The other one is a matte grey, steel nib, XF. It was toothy at the begining, when I was using cross black ink cartridge. Maybe after a few weeks it smoothed out, or maybe it is because I switched it to cross blue-black ink from cross. It is less toothy and a lot more enyouable now.

I love both pens.

Me again!

I hope this is not a thread hi-jack but I bought a new Century II on Saturday (only £25 - can't go wrong). It is the chrome one with the silver-coloured nib.

First it wrote perfectly straight from the box, though the nib is very firm (in the manner of a nail), but with almost the smoothness of my two other Cross pens with gold nibs.

Second, I find the convertor now screws into place whereas on my other two Cross pens it is a push fit. I think this is a real improvement but am I right that I cannot convert my older pens to the new convertor?

Third, the nib is steel? I ask the question because I assume it is plain steel (or is it stainless?) and not some other great metal like the palladium silver from Sheaffer.

Now, what ink?

Chris

Correct that not all Cross FP's will take the screw in converter, take a peek inside the adaptor, if you see threads inside then you can use the screw-in type. As far as the nib material it is 316L Stainless Steel.

Thanks Refillczar, no threads in the older Cross.

With a stainless nib in the CenturyII, I think I shall be happier to use a wider range of experimental inks and not worry about pH etc.

Chris