Cross Ballpoint Twist Mechanism Too Stiff: Advice

[tonydent84]

Every now and then I get the itch to buy a vintage Cross Classic Century on eBay. It's usually a coin flip whether I'm happy with my purchase or not, and the main culprit behind the experiences where I'm not happy is an over stiff twist mechanism which I'm uncertain is the result of years of use (or non-use) or whether this was how Cross built their twist mechanisms in the 80s and 90s.

So my question is, how do I go about loosening the twist mechanism? Is it even possible? Or do I send it back to Cross? Did anyone have a similar problem and found a resolution?

I have a few pens with such problems and I want to get them fixed. Any advice?

[mikerph]

I’ve had several old Cross ballpoints do this. I believe the brass internals oxidize and freeze the mechanism. If it is not too pronounced, you can repeatedly twist till frees up. If severe or totally frozen, mechanism must be replaced. Cross still has a lifetime mechanical defect warranty and should repair pen with new mechanism. I’ve sent a couple of my old ones back because of this and they were repaired. All I had to pay was postage.

[WriteAway]

A search of the Cross sub-forum will bring up older threads discussing the sticking Cross BP mechanisms and various solutions offered by many. My belief is that the lubricant (grease?) used in some years dries up without frequent use and causes the stickiness. I have a few Century BP pens afflicted with this, and twisting the mechanism has worked almost every time to free them at least somewhat.

[pajaro]

A search of the Cross sub-forum will bring up older threads discussing the sticking Cross BP mechanisms and various solutions offered by many. My belief is that the lubricant (grease?) used in some years dries up without frequent use and causes the stickiness. I have a few Century BP pens afflicted with this, and twisting the mechanism has worked almost every time to free them at least somewhat.

 

I have found this to be true, and I still use some of these ballpoints bought in the 1960s and 1970s. All of mine freed up from working them. It sometimes took a while of working.

[landrover]

Small squirt of WD40 into mechanism?

[Fabio7371]

I have three with the hard to twist condition.

 

They are 40 years old and by reading the old postings I used the following process and it works. 1. Dip them in alcohol for 2 hrs. ( remove the cap and the ink cartridge. 2. Then dry it and use a hair dryer to heat the pen in particular where the twist mechanism is usually in the middle.  3. Use 3-In-One oil or any thin lubricant like lithium, etc. (try to get the oil between the body and the mechanism.

 

I had a black body cross and it was frozen shut. The heat fixed it. What I have not done is to figure out how to split the outside from the outside to clean the old grease. I saw a how YouTube video, but I could not make it work. Maybe a special tool is required, but not needed unless the above steps don't yield results. Sending them back to Cross is an option, but I am holding until my pens reach 50 years.