Believe it or not, I am interested in a Cross Townsend FP with the gold nib. I do not like pens that are too slim and small. I like pens with a bit of girth to it. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the larger cross pens. How would you compare this pen in size and diameter with other fountain pens on the market? What would be its competetor with like dimentions?

Thanks

TNS

Hey TNS,

The Cross Townsend is a bit of an unusual pen in terms of its size and weight. It's a fairly heavy pen overalll, but much of that weight is in the cap. If you write with the pen unposted, it balances very nicely. I find it to be a bit unwieldly when posted.

The barrel and section are reasonably narrow, being comparable to my Parker Sonnet. I don't have my calipers handy at this moment, but it definitely look narrower in the hand than some of my fatter pens, such as my Pelikakn m605. I'll pull out the calipers later.

It's a great writer, though. It is easily my smoothest writing pen.

TMann

Great, I would really appreciate it.

quick measurements:

5 7/8" Capped
5 1/8" Uncapped
6 1/4" Posted

Section is tapered from about 3/8" to 5/16" diameter


Compare to M800:

5 1/2" Capped
5" Uncapped
6 1/2" Posted

Section is fairly consistent 3/8" diameter. (some taper but not nearly as pronounced.)

Hope this helps
Tom

Hi NS, I took some pictures of my Townsend Medalist to show comparative sizes

The Townsend is about 3/8" longer than a Sailor 1911(full sized model) and quite a bit heavier:



The section is smaller than than either the 1911 or P215 at the nib:




The Cross pens I have are all good writers, I'm just turned off a little by the styling. The Townsend is my favorite Cross. I have the Medalist with 18k fine nib, and a Tuxedo with a rhodium plated steel fine nib. Both are terrific writers with good flow, and they work EVERY time I pick them up. One of them is always in my rotation.

Larry

The Townsend is unususal in that it is a heavy pen, that is also long and slender. It seems that most pens that are as heavy as the Cross are also a bit thicker; thus they more easily fit the hands of someone who wants a "large" pen. The only pen that I can think of that fits the profile of the Townsend is the modern Sheaffer Crest, another long, slender, and heavy pen. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that.)

TMann

I am looking in to a few different models of the Townsend but I know that I am going to require a Broad nib. How are the nibs? Are they pretty stiff or so they have some spring to it? Also are the nib sizes comprable to the western nib sizes? Or are they like Asia style that are a half to full size finer?

Thanks in advance


TNS

But if you discount the screw cap threads as being part of the section, then the Cross has actually the longest useable section.

Stylo, you are right. I tend to hold a pen high on the section, and threads sometimes get in the way. The Townsend is very comfortable to use unposted. Posting the cap spoils the balance for me.

Larry

I have one of the Townsend pens with a medium nib. It is a firm nib (the Cross Century nib is softer even in broad) but very smooth.

Although a heavy pen (solid silver), it is easy to write with for long periods (hours rather than minutes) because it is well balanced in my hand. The cap clicks firmly in place for posting, but then it is top-heavy I think.

Chris

Yes Chris, definitely top heavy when posted, but it makes for a swinging writing experience.

Since I have one now (in Tuxedo), I can say that it is not a large pen at all in the sense of girth, but it is long..

Hi there
As of now I have 6 Townsends: 4 with 14K med nibs, 1 with 14K broad nib and 1 with the newer 18K med nib.
All of them are reliable writers right out of the box and will lay down a line somewhat thicker than a comparable Aisian nib and very similar to my comparable Shaeffers. As far as stiffness goes I would say the nibs are stiffer than my Auroras and Shaeffers but not as stiff as any of my steel nibs.
hope this helps.

Hello.
I bought a Townsend early this year wiht a Medium nib. I liked it but the paper I am using could not handle it well it enough ... the ink was bleeding through.
I have bought a Fine nib now and the problem is gone.

Compared to my ATX from Cross. The Medium nib from the ATX has roughly the same width as the fine nib from my Townsend. So I find it difficult to compare the nibs from different models.

Somewhere on the Web I have read that all of the nibs are hand made and that therefore the widths can be slightly different. Not sure if this is true but it seems like it.

Regards
Marcus