New Cross Peerless

[Aysedasi]

My only disappointment with mine is the medium nib. Too thin for me, I need a broad. But they're difficult to source and expensive to buy, more than I paid for the pen second hand. I asked Cross and at first they denied having any broad nibs, then relented and said they would sell me one - for a lot more than I could buy one on eBay. Not a sniff of a swap, which, bearing in mind the pen is second hand (but mint), I guess I'm not surprised.

[AL01]

 

The nib on the Townsend comes from Pelikan - or at least they used to (mine did).

 

Earlier Cross pens had nibs from Pilot.

 

So, Cross have been buying their nibs from different manufacturers over time.

 

That's not a complaint though, the Townsend nib and feed are the most tolerant for inks in my collection.

 

My birthday is coming up soon and I'm weighing up the Peerless or the Parker Prestige. my heart says Parker - but my head is saying the Peerless - as I have not been disappointed with the Century II and Townsend - and the Sailor nib sounds like much more fun that the Parker - and the Peerless is at least £100 cheaper (street price) than the Parker.

 

While I can't seem to remember the model(s), I am sure that Cross has been using Sailor nibs for at least 25 years.

 

Some were Stainless Steel, while others were gold.

[Tseg]

 

It was a pleasure reading this review. I just placed an order for one in Fine this morning and should be a few weeks to travel across the Atlantic to me. Funny you mention "blingy". I have so many boring looking black pens I decided to go bold or go home and will be getting the Thick Gold Plated 125. Talk about BLING. I may also have to get an accompanying grill for my mouth. I recently got a gold-capped Aurora 88 and am pretty smitten by the look/feel of a high quality gold metal pen.

 

Even though I only recently learned of this pen, with my locked-in status I've had the time to go through dozens of reviews and all seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Most point out they were surprised to the upside, which usually does not happen with pricier pens. It will be interesting to see how it compares to my Sailor Pro Gear King of Pens in Broad, which is nearly double the price.

 

I'm kind of excited as this seems a bit of a dark horse. What pushed me over the edge is the Cross website only offers the black lacquer in fountain pen any more, so assuming these are being discontinued? With all that is going on in the world this pen, US design, Japanese nib, made in China, flagship quality at a reasonable price, may never exist again, at least not in my lifetime.

 

I don't usually quote myself, but when I do, it is about a Flagship Cross pen...

 

Here is how bizzaro the world has become... I ordered a Sailor 1911 Large from Japan the 3rd week of March and it still has not left Japan. But I have an itch for a wonderful Sailor nib, but with a Sailor pen to arrive I don't want a duplicate pen. So I stumble across an American brand and pen, with a Sailor nib with rave reviews, and the best deal I can find is out of the UK. So I order online yesterday, on a Sunday, from a store 3800 miles away, tonight find my pen is already on a plane, and in about 36 hours will be at my front door - and I got "free shipping". Even Amazon Prime is not delivering that quickly any more. Go figure.

 

Its crazy that it appears Cross is no longer making this pen, based on the diminished listings in their web store. The reviews from anyone that has owned this pen have been stellar. I think this pen will become a cult classic.

[Tseg]

I. LOVE. THIS. PEN.

 

 

[sandy101]

Where did you order it from?

[Tseg]

Where did you order it from?

 

Cult.

 

By the way, I just noticed this pocket clip has the plain engraved Cross, vs. that with a black (enamel?) background I've seen in other pictures of this pen. For this particular model I like this look better as it is a bit more clean.

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Tseg

[sandy101]

Yes, the Cross Peerless London (limited edition) has the black enamel background.

 

Just ordered the same as you, but with a medium nib. It's my "birthday pen" this year.

[Karmachanic]

International converter?

[Tseg]

International converter?

 

Cross proprietary... @ .9ml vs. Sailor .6ml. so that is a nice bonus.

 

sandy101, hope you enjoy as much as I have!

Edited May 1, 2020 by Tseg

[sandy101]

It arrived today - oddly with the black enamel on the clip.

 

It is a lovely nib - not buttery smooth - but more like writing with a soft (2b) pencil. It's on the finer side of medium - pretty much identical to the other 14K Sailor nib I have. (I'm not saying it is unpleasant - just if folk want a buttery smooth writing experience then the broad nib is probably a better bet).

 

Taking a bit of time getting used to the screw cap - all my other Cross pens are slip caps.

 

However, a Sailor nib, with the larger ink capacity of the Cross makes for a tidy package.

 

Give it a couple of weeks to bed in, and I'll write a review.

 

Three hours later -That nib - feathertouch springs to mind - effortless.

Edited May 3, 2020 by sandy101

[Paul-in-SF]

It's especially hard to get used to the screw cap if you post it, because it posts and unposts with a slight snap, just like a snap cap. So when I unpost it with a snap I then want to try to re-cap it with a snap, until I remember that I have to screw it on. A minor, if definite, annoyance.

 

I got the F nib, which feels very much to me like a Japanese Fine, and also seems to write a bit dry. I may have to fiddle with it to increase the ink flow. Otherwise no serious complaints.

 

I'm trying to figure out what the base metal is. The pen doesn't seem heavy enough for it to be brass. I thought of aluminum but it seems too heavy for that. I can't find anywhere that says.

[Tseg]

It's especially hard to get used to the screw cap if you post it, because it posts and unposts with a slight snap, just like a snap cap. So when I unpost it with a snap I then want to try to re-cap it with a snap, until I remember that I have to screw it on. A minor, if definite, annoyance.

 

I got the F nib, which feels very much to me like a Japanese Fine, and also seems to write a bit dry. I may have to fiddle with it to increase the ink flow. Otherwise no serious complaints.

 

I'm trying to figure out what the base metal is. The pen doesn't seem heavy enough for it to be brass. I thought of aluminum but it seems too heavy for that. I can't find anywhere that says.

 

Sailor inks tend to be wet and luberous, using a wet ink?

 

I can see the posting confusion, but not something I do regularly.

 

FYI, the Cross is similar in size to my brass base metal Namiki Yukari Royale... Namiki weighs 42.45g and Cross at 46.05g. Without cap the Namiki is 24.7g vs. the Cross at 28.5g. Note: the Namiki has a nearly empty ink cartridge and the Cross has a nearly full converter. I would think Cross would want to tout that brass is used if it was? Being made in China, maybe we are better off not knowing.

[Paul-in-SF]

 

Sailor inks tend to be wet and luberous, using a wet ink?

 

I can see the posting confusion, but not something I do regularly.

 

FYI, the Cross is similar in size to my brass base metal Namiki Yukari Royale... Namiki weighs 42.45g and Cross at 46.05g. Without cap the Namiki is 24.7g vs. the Cross at 28.5g. Note: the Namiki has a nearly empty ink cartridge and the Cross has a nearly full converter. I would think Cross would want to tout that brass is used if it was? Being made in China, maybe we are better off not knowing.

I'm afraid the ink I picked (closest I had to the titanium barrel color) may be a bit on the dry side (Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same). I will certainly try a known wet ink before passing judgment.

 

I might be expecting the pen to weigh more due to that great bulbous cap. I shone my little tiny light inside the cap to see what I could see, in the area that isn't covered by the inner cap, but the color in their is just a sort of grey, certainly not brass colored. It's possible, I suppose, that they lightly lacquered the inside too, for some reason. Would that be normal practice, I wonder, on a pen of this type?

[Tseg]

I'm afraid the ink I picked (closest I had to the titanium barrel color) may be a bit on the dry side (Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same). I will certainly try a known wet ink before passing judgment.

 

I might be expecting the pen to weigh more due to that great bulbous cap. I shone my little tiny light inside the cap to see what I could see, in the area that isn't covered by the inner cap, but the color in their is just a sort of grey, certainly not brass colored. It's possible, I suppose, that they lightly lacquered the inside too, for some reason. Would that be normal practice, I wonder, on a pen of this type?

 

The grey in the cap is plastic that transitions to white plastic which seals the cap against the section. Likewise in the barrel it looks like that grey plastic goes 3/4 of the way back, perhaps to where the barrel/finial section goes solid and then it appears there is a silvery metal way up there. Does not look like brass, but hard to tell. I really need a bore-scope to get a better look. Out of my many pens, at least a dozen are metal, only the lava rock Visconti HS Bronze Age weighs more so for me, the weight of this pen feels appropriate.

 

I'm currently using Sailor Doyou ink (Shikiori) and after trying many papers I always end back with Black n' Red Optik paper. No, my Peerless does not lay an ink rope like my Visconti but the line seems smooth, wet and slick. Hopefully you can get it to your liking. You could try a slight tug on the wings of the nib to see if that helps with flow.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Tseg

[Karmachanic]

I'm quite partial to shading inks. So I should get an M nib? The only F nib I have is a wet Ti. It shows shading.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Karmachanic

[sandy101]

If you want shading, it is probably better to go for the B.

[Karmachanic]

If you want shading, it is probably better to go for the B.

 

This from your experience with the 18k Sailor nib?

[sandy101]

Yes. I have got the M nib - and it is on the fine side. It is a dry writer, so it doesn't lay down a lot of ink - so it is not going to show off the patina you get with shading inks very well. I think a broad nib will probably be better for you.

 

The 18K Sailor nib on the Peerless is not significantly different to other Sailor nibs. The line width is the same as the line width of my 14K Sailor nib.

 

I think what we are seeing is the effect of a beatiful Japansese nib being married to a heavier metal body, rather than the usual plastic body. With the extra weight of the body behind the nib, the nib becomes even more responsive. All you need is a feather touch to get it writing, because the body is already putting the nib under pressure.

[Karmachanic]

Thank you for this valuable insight.

[Honeybadgers]

It drives me just a little nuts that people are so hung up on the pen being made in china.

 

The quality is every bit on par with mont blanc or pelikan. There are some extremely beautiful artisan things that come from China. Pu erh tea, chinese lacquerwork, jade sculpting and beautiful bronze casting, and silk. They have some immensely skilled people there.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Honeybadgers