Cross Pens - What do people think?

[MidnightBlue]

My ATX will never cone out of the box again. Boring!!!!!!!!

Thanks

[bardharlock]

I like the look of the C-series, though they look like they might be heavy, no idea if they are or not since weight isn't listed on the Cross website (perhaps you could look into that).

 

I like the Townsend for its classic looks but the price point is simply too high for a plain pen with gold nib. Look at what your Japanese competition at Sailor is doing for much less: gold nibs, beautiful furniture, and they test each nib for smoothness before it leaves the factory. I don't know if Cross has that level of quality control or not.

 

Finally, the biggest deal breaker for me: Fine, Medium, Broad. I will not purchase a modern pen in anything wider than Extra Fine. Generally speaking, I am willing to send a pen off to a nibmeister to get the very fine line I want, but the pen has to be at a good price point to begin with for me to be willing to eat the extra cost.

 

Having said that, if something new or innovative comes along, I am generally willing to get the nib work done on those as well. I will also shell out for the nib work on vintage pens or on pens that may not be vintage but might be handy to have, like a Lamy 2000 I am considering for notes if I go back to school for a BSN.

[PigRatAndGoat]

Honestly, Cross isn't even on my radar. Their designs just don't seem that interesting to me.

[silverjen]

My Cross Century II in sterling: An incredibly consistent and reliable writer. No hesitation, no skipping, i can let it sit for days and it starts right up. The screw-in converter gives some extra security, i think. The design is understated but elegant--a bit Art Deco-like. Slim and relatively light weight. I have both a medium and a fine nib unit for it, and swap back and forth as my mood dictates. Both do a good job and have a nice feel. I can write comfortably for hours.

 

My Cross Compact: I lusted after this pen for months, but after buying it I found I was unable to use it. A real pity. It's a fairly heavy pen, and I have mild arthritis. When posted, the weight is towards the end, and the imbalance combined with the weight is too uncomfortable to write with for long. Unposted, it is difficult to hold. The clip seems loose--I can wiggle it from side to side without much effort. On the good side, I love it's general solidity, and the design is fun. It posts and caps quite securely. The lacquer has a nice depth to it. I wish i could use it, but I can't.

 

I'm somewhat tempted to try an ATX, but am worried about the weight of that pen being an issue for me as well.

[J English Smith]

Naaaah, not for me, they just don't excite me. I have a number of old Cross ballpoints and selectip pens from the 70s and 80s; I keep them for nostalgic value. The 14k gold selectip one I still haul out occasionally - their rolling balls never seem to dry out. The Townsend is a nice design but the price point always seemed too high to me. Now that they are making pens in China, they are really off my radar.

[bardharlock]

Now that they are making pens in China, they are really off my radar.

 

If they really are making their pens in China then the pens are very overpriced.

[Silvermink]

Finally, the biggest deal breaker for me: Fine, Medium, Broad. I will not purchase a modern pen in anything wider than Extra Fine. Generally speaking, I am willing to send a pen off to a nibmeister to get the very fine line I want, but the pen has to be at a good price point to begin with for me to be willing to eat the extra cost.

 

Cross actually does have XFs, but I'm not sure how easy they are to find.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Silvermink

[metaphora]

I absolutely love the Cross Classic Century. Everything about that pen just "fits" with my writing style. Size, weight (they are heavy for their size) and the feel of the nib all pull together in a very nice and reliable daily writer. I've been on a bit of a buying binge lately trying to find something comparable, but I don't think it exists. When I know I'll be writing for hours, I always reach for the classic century.

 

That being said, I agree that their designs can be a little on the boring and conservative side. Their Sauvage line is probably the most interesting at the moment. I splurged on one of those while browsing in a pen store recently. Something about the feel of the nib and the look of pen was completely irresistible. Posted, it isn't much to look at, but unposted it draws a lot of attention.

 

I've had mixed experiences with their reliability leaning towards more reliable than not. My 10yr old Cross Townsend, which I'll ink every few years then let sit and get clogged always bounces back after a quick flush. The Century IIs seem a little more finicky, but I'm admittedly a little inclined to like those because they replaced my beloved classic centuries. All of my Cross pens lay down a very smooth, wet line. The lifetime warranty on these is a HUGE plus.

[Silvermink]

That being said, I agree that their designs can be a little on the boring and conservative side. Their Sauvage line is probably the most interesting at the moment. I splurged on one of those while browsing in a pen store recently. Something about the feel of the nib and the look of pen was completely irresistible. Posted, it isn't much to look at, but unposted it draws a lot of attention.

 

Richard Clarke at Perks (local B&M where we have our VPC meetings) was saying he's sold a lot of Sauvages recently, so maybe Cross should look into jazzing up their designs a bit more. I like the conservative pens too, though - new finishes for existing pens or new pen lines?

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

I have a 14kt Century Classic I and II, a blue CCII, A Signature, Townsend and an ATX.

 

They are all wonderful wet reliable writers with very nice fit and finish.

 

They are all nicely balanced except for the Townsend with it's 4 1/2 pound cap. I still haven't figured that "design

feature" out yet.

 

I can see that some think their designs are dated and they're all *just* metal pens but some of their shimmering

lacque finishes are absolutely beautiful. The blue shimmer finish on my Townsend is hypnotic.

 

Their service (customer and "repair") is beyond reproach. No where else that I know of can I call in on the

Secret Bat line and speak to the actual person who's paws will be on my pen when it gets there.

 

Unlike so many of the other major pen makers who have moved their production offshore, Cross appears to have

taken the measures necessary to ensure that their trademark high quality hasn't decreased as a result.

 

It's nice to see a Cross representative monitoring FPN again. We used to have a Cross Engineer here a couple

years ago but he must have gotten downsized out. He's been gone for sometime from here.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[RLTodd]

Like the Solo, Classics and the Townsend designs.

 

Later designs are not attractive to me.

 

Appreciate the finest after market support in the industry.

 

Appreciate the fine performance and reliability of the writing instruments.

 

The non writing instrument products in the Cross catalog are uninteresting to me and obviously targeted at other demographics.

 

The enamels on the Classic and Classic IIs are down right girly.

 

Valued the writing instruments more when they were American made. To be specific, if something is made in China, I expect it to be priced accordingly. If something is made in Germany, or Rhode Island, I expect it to be priced accordingly.

 

 

 

 

[Kimo]

I've owned Cross pens, off and on, for a couple of decades. My first ones were the classic Century ball points. Typically I had chrome, but for a while I had a gold plated one. I liked the slim profile, but I would have prefered it to be maybe another half an inch longer. These days I have eight Solo ballpoints that I keep in various places (suit pockets, desk, kitchen, etc.) to have one handy. What I like about these are their translucent plastic bodies (blue, red, green, amber), their high quality fit and finish, their reliability, and their not very expensive price I paid. I think it is too bad you stopped making these - they could be your entry level workhorse pens to get people hooked on your companies products. The translucent bodies are what really sets them apart from other well made moderately priced ballpoints so if you do start to make them again be sure to keep with the translucent plastic and not some boring solid colors.

 

In your new lines, I have not yet bought anything, but I am considering the Townsends that have the transparent laquer over the machined design base - what most people around the world call a guilloche design. If I were the boss of Cross I would take these one step further and make the underlying design a bit more interesting (deco, or nouveau or something more elegant than just crosshatching). I would also add another color or two such as light blue and amber/yellow to make them a bit more exciting. I would also add the treatment to the caps as well as the body. And I would add some decorative banding or such. And, I would come up with a really nice two-tone nib design - the one you now have is pretty boring.

 

For an entire new direction, I would find some really beautiful and colorful celluloid, or even celluloid acetate. A faceted design would be nice also.

 

What I am saying is that I agree with the others that your designs these days are kind of uninspired, and you have too many boring metal pens.

[ebargoum]

I don't own one, primarily because the designs do nothing for me.

[bardharlock]

Finally, the biggest deal breaker for me: Fine, Medium, Broad. I will not purchase a modern pen in anything wider than Extra Fine. Generally speaking, I am willing to send a pen off to a nibmeister to get the very fine line I want, but the pen has to be at a good price point to begin with for me to be willing to eat the extra cost.

 

Cross actually does have XFs, but I'm not sure how easy they are to find.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't see any listed on their website.

[Kimo]

A couple of more thoughts and encouragements since you have asked for advice from people who buy pens:

 

1) Offer an option for a flexible nib. If you read though this forum you will see there is enormous interest in flexible nibs which are found on many vintage pens. Almost no modern makers offer flexible nibs for reasons I can not understand.

 

2) Get yourself an interesting logo and incorporate it into your pens to make them instantly identifyable and interesting (non-boring). For example, Parker has their arrow, Pelikan has their pelican, Sheaffer has their black cat (at least they used to use this and why they do not anymore is a shortcoming on their part if you ask me), Montblanc has their snowflake, etc. Something dramatic, classy, and interesting (not boring) would be helpful to you. You could use it as a design element in your pens, for example, if you had an animal or a bird you could develop a stylized version of it as a design in your nib, or in your clip, or in your body embellishments, or such.

[pjford]

We have just acquired 69 Cross nib units for the Century ll series. Italic medium straight, Italic Broad Straight, Oblique and Double Broad. All 18ct, all sourced from Cross themselves. www.mrpen.co.uk.

[Nikhil]

The Cross pens look superb as you may know already, and I would like to try one out

[HokieGeek]

I've had a Cross Radiance since 2000 and although I don't use it too often as the style is not to my liking (it was a gift), I find it writes extremely well. It is incredibly smooth!

[Joe in Seattle]

A Townsend in gold plate was the constant companion at work for the last 18 - 19 years of my career in heavy daily use. It was a smooth, reliable writer. Dropped to the thinly carpeted floor more times than I could count. It survived all but one fall, then I got a replacement nib from Cross at my expense having freely admitted it was user error, not a warranty issue. The pen has several deep dings to the base from these drops, and it writes as well and reliably as it ever did. They're well designed tanks - with a bit of style.

[sumgaikid]

The only Cross fountain pen that I thought interesting was the original

art deco model made back in `38. It had the three black bands with a

zig-zag pattern on it;also the re-issue model made of it. I have found

the Century models to be too skinny for my hand and the other models

uninspring.

 

John