Cross Ballpoint Pens

[jkingrph]

Most of my Cross pens, including the first dad gave me are from the early 1960's. Mechanism is excellent, refill quality great. During my military service I gravitated to the click operated Parker Jotter and have never had a problem with them, and later to the twist operated Sonnet which I use today. I like the feel of the Parker in my hand better than the ultra slim Cross. Parker refills also last much longer.

[pajaro]

When it comes to ballpoint pens, I think Cross is still the best!

 

Back in 1946 Cross nailed the perfect mechanism with the screw in ball point cartridge and twist propel/repel mechansim in the Century.

 

I can't stand the loose feeling ball point mechanism found in most ball point pens produced by others high end pen companies. Dont get me wrong, Montblanc, Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman etc may make great fountain pens, but when it comes to ball points, give me a Cross any day.

 

 

 

Loose feeling ballpoint mechanisms? I have a few Montblanc, Parker and Waterman ballpoints, and I say they are as good as Cross. Ever had a Century freeze up in the retracted or extended position? I have. I haven't encountered that with the other twist mechanisms. The broad refills from Parker and Waterman have a nicer feel than what I can find from Cross.

 

I have several Century ballpoints, several with desk pens. They are nice. The Montblanc, Pelikan, Parker and Waterman twist action mechanisms are not inferior. I like the click top pens better anyway.

[H1N]

H1N... Can you take the pen apart and upload a photo of the refill that you have in your pen now?

It does look like a fibre tip from your current photo.

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CBNina....Looks like you have a Century 2 on the left, and 4 Classic Centurys, where one could be a pencil.

You can tell more about them if you remove the cap/clip part of each pen and then upload another photo.

To remove the caps just pull the 2 halves apart.

Sure, so soon I will attach a picture for all of its parts

[max dog]

 

Loose feeling ballpoint mechanisms? I have a few Montblanc, Parker and Waterman ballpoints, and I say they are as good as Cross. Ever had a Century freeze up in the retracted or extended position? I have. I haven't encountered that with the other twist mechanisms. The broad refills from Parker and Waterman have a nicer feel than what I can find from Cross.

 

I have several Century ballpoints, several with desk pens. They are nice. The Montblanc, Pelikan, Parker and Waterman twist action mechanisms are not inferior. I like the click top pens better anyway.

After a couple decades of using my Cross ballpoint exclusively, the wiggly feel of the ballpoint tip of other brand much more expensive ballpoints just drove me crazy I guess. They all just felt like I was writing with a $5 Parker jotter. I guess the Cross ballpoints spoiled me.

[max dog]

I like the feel of the Parker in my hand better than the ultra slim Cross.

The girthier Cross Townsend or substantial Apogee ballpoints feel pretty nice if you haven't tried one.

Edited November 25, 2014 by max dog

[Mike 59]

"Wandering man", the Cross ballpoint refills are being made today by Cross and several other companies who make compatible refills. No problem to find them for sale in shops (or online.)

My favorite Cross ballpoint is the 'Stratford', very comfortable to use, solidly made and the matt black finish gives a good grip too.

 

[Wandering Man]

"Wandering man", the Cross ballpoint refills are being made today by Cross and several other companies who make compatible refills. No problem to find them for sale in shops (or online.)

My favorite Cross ballpoint is the 'Stratford', very comfortable to use, solidly made and the matt black finish gives a good grip too.

 

Thanks! I made the mistake of dropping by the pen section of Office Depot yesterday and saw refills that looked like they fit. I also saw a Cross Bailey for $20.

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[H1N]

H1N... Can you take the pen apart and upload a photo of the refill that you have in your pen now?

It does look like a fibre tip from your current photo.

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Done, I took the pen apart and new images are now available with all the details, here is the link

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/270191-cross-sterling-silver-made-in-ireland-fine-point/

Edited November 27, 2014 by H1N

[Mike 59]

H1N, From your photo, I believe that's what Cross now call a porous point refill.

I don't have any of those, they are available from many dealers though.

It also might be possible to fit a Jumbo ballpoint refill also, they appear to be the same size, others would know more than I do about that though.

http://www.cultpens.com/i/q/CR41152/cross-selectip-porous-point-fineliner-refill

* Or try Cross.com and the refills section , or Amazon and search porous point refill.

[Liquidmetal490]

Well I never thought I'd talk about ballpoint pens on the FPN

 

Ditto to the dislike of ballpoint pens that are loose and move around inside the pen when writing. I also like that Cross twist action pens are silent when deploying the pen tip. I find myself using a Cross Countour when the need for a ballpoint pen arises. Its a pretty good pen and actually rather cheap on Amazon, only around $20. I especially like the wider grip section, which for some reason prevents me from squeezing the pen and leading to hand cramps and bad handwriting.

[highlander1307]

Just tried out the Cross Ballpoint refill in Broad Blue. Incredibly smooth. Puts a lot of ink on the paper, so I guess it will not last long. Now my favorite Ballpoint refill and putting the Rollerball aside (at least for this week). Mostly use fountain pens, but will use the this for a while.