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I Was About To Buy A Cross Century Classic Black, But...


gammada

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Just before pressing the "buy now" button, I went thru the reviews and found that it is a PLASTIC pen!!

 

Wouldn't mind paying 10, 15 or 20 dollars for a plastic pen, but $50? And, since when the iconic Century has been made out of cheap plastic? All the Century pens I own (made in USA) are metal. Why did Cross thought using plastic was a great idea?

 

I really wanted to get back to the brand, but the more I try, the more disappointed I become.

 

The Century Classic Black pen is just lovely looking. What a waste of design.

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Just before pressing the "buy now" button, I went thru the reviews and found that it is a PLASTIC pen!!

 

Wouldn't mind paying 10, 15 or 20 dollars for a plastic pen, but $50? And, since when the iconic Century has been made out of cheap plastic? All the Century pens I own (made in USA) are metal. Why did Cross thought using plastic was a great idea?

 

I really wanted to get back to the brand, but the more I try, the more disappointed I become.

 

The Century Classic Black pen is just lovely looking. What a waste of design.

 

Is it possible that the pen was a Cross Solo, a plastic pen? Made by Pilot to Cross specs, it is a pretty good pen, but not the black metal you expected. Possibly worth $25 or $30 plus shipping.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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What is wrong with plastic, and why shouldn’t a plastic pen cost more than $50? I guess you don’t work for Montblanc.

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What is wrong with plastic, and why shouldn’t a plastic pen cost more than $50? I guess you don’t work for Montblanc.

:lticaptd:

 

That's why I don't currently own any MB's!

 

What I find wrong is that my other pen alternative before looking at the Century was also a Chinese pen: Hongdian Black Forest that goes for $14 and is all metal!

 

Also, all of my beloved old Century pens are metal. I can't wrap my mind in having a Cross made out of plastic.

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Is it possible that the pen was a Cross Solo, a plastic pen? Made by Pilot to Cross specs, it is a pretty good pen, but not the black metal you expected. Possibly worth $25 or $30 plus shipping.

This is the one I was briefly in love with: https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Classic-Century-Brushed-Fountain/dp/B07NXWJBSK/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=cross+century+classic+black&qid=1598142237&sr=8-7

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Just to distance myself from any accusation of undue prejudices, some of my best pens are plastic.

 

Hongdian Black Forest that goes for $14 and is all metal!

 

Then you're paying too much.

Edited by A Smug Dill

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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  • 1 month later...

Ive never heard of a plastic CROSS pen either.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..."

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I clicked thr OP's link. I see no mention of plastic in the description of the Cross Classic Century,

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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The Cross Solo Classic is plastic and is a lovely pen, particularly due to a very nicely smooth nib.

It's the only Cross I own.

 

fpn_1602440754__cross_001-s.jpg

 

fpn_1602441783__cross_002-2.jpg

 

fpn_1602441867__cross_004-s.jpg

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The Cross Solo/Radiance is a great pen. It's a good size in the hand and, if I understand correctly, it has a nib that was sourced from Pilot.

"What? What's that? WHAT?!!! SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" - Ludwig van Beethoven.

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Youll sometimes pay $50 for a vintage Esterbrook which were made of plastic.

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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The Cross Solo is an excellent pen. Bulletproof, ergonomic and everything else good ...... and plastic.

I have used one for the last 18 years and it has never, not even once, let me down. It has one of the smoothest nibs I have used.

 

In some cases plastic is preferable to steel (slick steel grip sections anyone ?). In pens it's just a matter of taste. I prefer plastic.

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The Cross Solo/Radiance is a great pen. It's a good size in the hand and, if I understand correctly, it has a nib that was sourced from Pilot.

I have two Cross Solos. I don't remember about the blue one, but the Red one actually has "Made in Japan" stamped on the barrel.

Neither one was particularly expensive.

OTOH, gammada, the Pilot Falcon I just got is ALSO plastic, and cost way more than both of the Cross pens, combined (it's one of the new Falcom colors). And my Pelikans, most of which cost a LOT more than the Falcon, are ALSO plastic.... For that matter, the barrels of my vintage Parkers are also, effectively, plastic....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I have two Cross Solos. I don't remember about the blue one, but the Red one actually has "Made in Japan" stamped on the barrel.

Neither one was particularly expensive.

 

That's interesting. I don't recall if mine have any stampings on the barrel. I quite enjoy my Solo/Radiances. Unless I'm wrong the Solo has the plain cap band and the Radiance is the same pen with a cap band that resembles that of the Townsend. (I've actually swapped out the cap bands on occasion)

 

I don't think enough is commonly known about Cross's outsourcing of nibs - Pilot and Pelikan (for at least the Townsend) as far as I know. Perhaps the brand wouldn't be so denigrated. (There are brands with much worse styling in my opinion.)

"What? What's that? WHAT?!!! SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" - Ludwig van Beethoven.

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Well, the first Solo I bought from the estate of a friend, after getting a heads up that there was a tent set up at something I was at. I had to go home and do research because I didn't know enough about the brand to know even which converter to get for it. There were some other things I was also interested in, but before I got back up to the event on Sunday, someone had come along and bought the remaining contents of the tent entirely. But the people running the sale had put the pen aside for me. The second one I got a couple of years ago at the Ohio Pen Show, from a vendor in the hallway who had a bunch of other colors. When I went back on Sunday morning, only the blue one with the B nib was left, but it had a converter already in the pen. I liked the first one, and it was just a matter of trying to figure out what color to get for the second one (and then the decision got made for me... :rolleyes:).

Oh, forgot I also have a Cross Verve (which, IIRC, also has a B nib). I picked it up for a buck at a local thrift shop which specializes in arts and crafts stuff, on my way to a pen club meeting, where someone gave me a converter for it (the Verve takes the screw-in style converters).

I keep thinking that I should pull out the Verve and make another stab at trying to use it, but that two piece nib is just weird and I got ink all over my fingers the first time I used it. I'd have to see if I could hold it high enough on the hood for that not to happen and still have the pen be easy to handle when writing.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Cross Bailey light is plastic

 

I should have qualified that as I've never heard of a plastic CROSS CENTURY.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..."

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Just before pressing the "buy now" button, I went thru the reviews and found that it is a PLASTIC pen!!

 

Wouldn't mind paying 10, 15 or 20 dollars for a plastic pen, but $50? And, since when the iconic Century has been made out of cheap plastic? All the Century pens I own (made in USA) are metal. Why did Cross thought using plastic was a great idea?

 

I really wanted to get back to the brand, but the more I try, the more disappointed I become.

 

The Century Classic Black pen is just lovely looking. What a waste of design.

I have a Cross Century Classic black PVD and it's not plastic. Only the grip is plastic but rest is aluminum with a lovely matt PVD finish. It looks and feels fantastic and, it's very well balanced.

 

First generation Century (the gold ones with Lamy style gold nibs) is a more substantial pen (in terms of build) but, the new one is neither flimsy, nor a bad writer.

 

You're missing out something nice and understated IMHO.

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/21/2020 at 2:48 AM, bayindirh said:

I have a Cross Century Classic black PVD and it's not plastic. Only the grip is plastic but rest is aluminum with a lovely matt PVD finish. It looks and feels fantastic and, it's very well balanced.

 

First generation Century (the gold ones with Lamy style gold nibs) is a more substantial pen (in terms of build) but, the new one is neither flimsy, nor a bad writer.

 

You're missing out something nice and understated IMHO.

I agree, the first gen Century is a much more substantial pen when compared with the new Classic Century. I owned one Century and two Classic Centuries. For the Chrome versions, the Classic Century has the exact same size and shape as the original Century.

 

The Century has metal threads on the section, the Classic Century section has plastic threads (both have brass threads in the barrel, they share the exact same brass insert but pressed to a different depth); the converter on the Century integrates seamlessly into the pen, like the screw-in converter in the Century II, the converter on the Classic Century sticks out like a sore thumb; the Century had a better fit and finish and you could align the lines on cap and barrel, the Classic Century has issues where you cannot align all the lines, they are spaced evenly on the barrel like with the Century, but spaced unevenly on the cap... WHY CROSS WHY? WHY?! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? HOW DID YOU MESS THIS UP?? HOW?! THIS IS ABSURD! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! UN-FREAKING-BELIEAVABLE!!!

 

Personal opinion, the nib and feed unit on the original Century looked great, the nib and feed unit on the Classic Century looks cheap. 

 

Overall, the original Cross Century looked and felt like a premium slim pen, and new Classic Century looks and feels like a cheap pen.

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