Cross Pens - What do people think?

[crosspens]

Hi All

I have been thinking what you Pen experts think of the current and past ranges of Pens from Cross

 

Please be honest as i can take the good and bad comments.

 

Do you have a Cross Fountain Pen?

If so what do you have?

What have you heard about Cross Pens?

Did you know Cross don't just make pens?

[nicholasyeo]

Hi All

I have been thinking what you Pen experts think of the current and past ranges of Pens from Cross

 

Please be honest as i can take the good and bad comments.

 

Do you have a Cross Fountain Pen?

If so what do you have?

What have you heard about Cross Pens?

Did you know Cross don't just make pens?

Cross is a incredible brand. They were willing to replace my broken clip for free. So far the only company that has done so and without any charge whatsoever. The design and functionality are great, although sometimes people wonder if the manufacturing quality has gone down.

[jbn10161]

I had a Cross Solo many years ago. It was a very inexpensive pen, but it wrote reliably, smoothly, and precisely. I haven't bought Cross in years primarily because the styling is not to my taste.

[Russ]

I have had a Century I FP, a Century II FP, a Townsend, an Apogee, and a Verve. They have all been very well made. Warranty service, as noted above, is impeccable.

 

My favorites have been the Townsend and Apogee for overall quality and performance.

 

My least favorite was the Verve, which had a poorly-designed clip and a thin wall at the cap lip.

 

I recommend Cross highly.

[jar]

I've owned many Cross pens over the years and they are the favorite of my brother-in-law. In fact I just gave him a Classic FP, one other fp in green and a first generation Townsend. He seems to be enjoying them.

 

Personally I have decided that there just doesn't seem to be a place for Cross in my accumulation. They are fine pens but just not something that excites me at all and there are too many other brands out there I find more exciting.

[dee]

I have recently bought the Century 2 FP. I love it, the nib is nice and smooth and the grip is comfortable (something that I think is very important if you write alot at one time). I have to say I'm not very impressed with the ATX or Verve. The chrome grip on the ATX is very slippery and it is imposible to write with for extended periods. The clips on the Verve always come loose.

 

And I have to agree with some of the others about the after sales service, It is brilliant!

 

dee

 

 

[crosspens]

Hi All

I have been thinking what you Pen experts think of the current and past ranges of Pens from Cross

 

Please be honest as i can take the good and bad comments.

 

Do you have a Cross Fountain Pen?

If so what do you have?

What have you heard about Cross Pens?

Did you know Cross don't just make pens?

Cross is a incredible brand. They were willing to replace my broken clip for free. So far the only company that has done so and without any charge whatsoever. The design and functionality are great, although sometimes people wonder if the manufacturing quality has gone down.

 

 

I'm glad you experienced our service to it's normal high level.

 

Cross EMEA

[crosspens]

I've owned many Cross pens over the years and they are the favorite of my brother-in-law. In fact I just gave him a Classic FP, one other fp in green and a first generation Townsend. He seems to be enjoying them.

 

Personally I have decided that there just doesn't seem to be a place for Cross in my accumulation. They are fine pens but just not something that excites me at all and there are too many other brands out there I find more exciting.

 

Keep your eyes on the site then as there are some new additions in the pipeline this year that may bring back the spark of excitement

[ArchiMark]

FWIW, I've had several Cross pens over the eyes, starting back in the late 60's with a gold colored pen and pencil set I got as a present....

 

In fact I got a bluish colored ATX fountain pen with steel tip about 2 years ago as a gift and it works very well.

 

Pretty much agree with all the previous posts, Cross makes excellent products, good value, and has very good service. Probably the weakest aspect is that for a long time, the basic Cross pen design all looked kind of the same to me. But in the past few years some look very good...

 

 

[sirksael]

I love cross pens and have many of them.

What I don't like is the fact that there are people who paid in excess of €300 retail for a verve platinum or verve merlot, while now you can get them for €80 or less...

Luckily I'm one of those who got them at the cheap price, but it still doesn't feel right.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I have a Century II fountain pen in medalist, an ATX fountain pen in basalt black, a 10k gold filled Classic Century ballpoint and pencil, a chrome Classic Century ballpoint and pencil, a Century II pencil in medalist, and some other pencil that I think is discontinued.

I have to say that Cross nibs are not my favorite. They're a little scratchy and not as responsive as others. I'm not sure whether this is because mine are steel nibs and not gold, or if all the pens are like this. However, two things that I really like about Cross are the screw-in converters, which make filling a lot easier because they're not twisting around, and the mechanical pencils. My chrome Classic Century pencil is an older one that has .7mm lead that twists out steadily, but my gold Classic Century and Century II pencils are .5mm and use a kind of click-twist system. I like the newer version much better, and Cross pencils are my favorite high-end mechanical pencils. It's a shame that Cross has discontinued some of these pencils, like the sterling silver ones. Most companies ignore mechanical pencils, so the need for good ones is even greater. Also, since most high-end mechanical pencils use wider lead, it's good that Cross has found a niche making .5mm ones. For those of us who like thinner lines but want a nice pencil, Cross is one of the only options out there.

One more thing: it's a little disappointing that Cross has moved so much of its production to China, since Cross used to be considered the great American brand. I'm glad that the quality seems to have remained the same and that Cross is open about this, but I'd personally be willing to pay more for something that was made entirely in America.

[langere]

I have a Citrine Townsend, which for a while had been my "grail" pen (well, that was a while ago). However, the nib or the feed was defective - it skipped. But I eventually sent it for repair and it was well worth it. Great service! The only thing that I don't like about my Townsend is that the slip-on cap takes some hard pulling to take off and that can mean that it sucks ink up to the nib. But I just need to use it more, I think and then I will have broken it in.

 

Glad to hear that there are new models in the works!

 

Erick

[rwilsonedn]

My experience with Cross is very old and probably not relevant to the question. In the 70s I had a Cross BP, as part of a set, and was very proud of it. (In fact I'm still using the pencil from that set.) Based on that, when the fountain pen came out in the 80s (if I remember correctly, Cross returned to the FP market after a long absence about then) I purchased one. It was quite useless, never writing for more than about an inch between cleanings. As I remember I consulted the dealer, who told me that the pens had been problematic and had been replaced by a redesigned model, which he would be happy to sell me at full price. How true any of this was I have no idea. In any case, I think the pen was eventually tossed out, leaving me with no inclination to offer Cross a second large sum of money.

ron

[jar]

I've owned many Cross pens over the years and they are the favorite of my brother-in-law. In fact I just gave him a Classic FP, one other fp in green and a first generation Townsend. He seems to be enjoying them.

 

Personally I have decided that there just doesn't seem to be a place for Cross in my accumulation. They are fine pens but just not something that excites me at all and there are too many other brands out there I find more exciting.

 

Keep your eyes on the site then as there are some new additions in the pipeline this year that may bring back the spark of excitement

 

Will do. FWIW, the only company bringing out new pens that has excited me in the last decade or so is Conway Stewart, and even they seem to have lost the path. While I loved the return of the 58, 100, Duro and even Dinky, the move towards LE d'jour kinda turns me off.

[colormyalphabet]

I think cross pens are girly.

[OnTheBayou]

I had a Cross about two decades ago. It was a slim one but I found it quite heavy, and the styling was boring. I didn't replace it when it went missing.

 

After reading posts from its aficionados about the smoothness of the nibs, I've been considering one but I haven't found a price point, styling, or weight I'd like. I prefer plastic, not metal, pens for the weight. If you made an inexpensive lightweight plastic pen with your good nibs, I'd be interested.

[fpfanatic5]

All I have is an ATX which I bought about six months ago. I think it's a great looking pen. It is a wet writer, which I like. It's nib is not perfectly smooth, but is good. Those who like feedback would enjoy it. I don't have any real complaints. Regarding the "slippery section," I haven't had a problem gripping it, and I have sweaty hands .

[theallblue]

For some reasons (I don't know) - I feel Cross is not 'exciting'

 

However, I think of Cross as a very good gift.

I bought a lot to my friends.(ball point)

People love them when they unwrapped the box.

 

In my opinion - Cross should 'repositioning' its fountain pens.

Maybe new design too.

 

 

[Silvermink]

I like Cross, though your pens do tend to be on the heavy and/or slim side. I have a Townsend Medalist which I quite like (it has an M nib which is really more like a B, and has some slight stublike line variation) and have been mulling over a C-Series (probably in Monaco Blue) or an Apogee (in the titanium herringbone, if I can find it - I really love that finish), though the C-Series is ever-so-slightly on the too-heavy side, imo. I find your Canadian MSRPs are quite reasonable compared to most other manufacturers, which also makes me look upon the brand more kindly.

 

I don't think making things other than pens scores many points with this crowd - in fact, possibly the opposite, since it makes the brand look a little bit more boutique-y and a little bit less focused.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Silvermink

[rpwage]

I have a Townsend Carbonite that lays down a smooth wet line and is well balanced. That said, I think that the barrel is too thin and that the pen is too heavy. Though I have no experience with the customer service, I have heard that it is otstanding.

Edited July 1, 2009 by rpwage