How come we don't hear very much about Cross pens? Anyone have any experience with the Townsend? What about more modestly priced pens like the Baily or the Calais?
Cross fountain pens
- Thread starter bach_rocks
- Start date
I had some good luck with older US made Cross Townsends, gold nibs and all. Good writers. I sold them to a collector who was willing to give me more than I thought they were worth back in 2008, maybe 2007. I wasn't all that impressed with mine though, kinda heavy and I didn't like the balance. The new Townsends seem rather pricey for cartridge pens. I did keep one little slender ball point I received for a graduation gift.
Some years ago Cross took their pen manufacturing offshore to China and I haven't bothered with these. There may be some older USA and Ireland made pens still about if you can find them ... there's quite a demand for the vintage ones.
Some years ago Cross took their pen manufacturing offshore to China and I haven't bothered with these. There may be some older USA and Ireland made pens still about if you can find them ... there's quite a demand for the vintage ones.
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I researched Cross before I bought my first fountain pen and in general the reviews were poor. You can get an entry level Lamy for the same price and they’re great. Even some of the cheap Chinese clones get pretty good reviews and you can get them for about $15 shipped.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
I've been following the fountain pen hobby pretty closely for the past couple of months and it seems to me that Cross, as brand, has a couple of big problems. First, it has a reputation for making boring corporate gift pens sold at big box stores to buyers who aren't fountain pen aficionados and don't know any better. The trendsetters and influencers on blogs and social media just aren't into that sort of thing. The energy in the hobby, such as it is, is really with smaller, innovative companies making colorful resin pens with customizable nibs. Secondly, Cross isn't really positioned as either a value leader, like TWISBI, or a luxury brand, like Mont Blanc. Its trying to occupy kind of a middle ground, but there's just better options at pretty every price point. As has already been noted, why spend $20 on a Chinese-made Cross Bailey when you can get a Japanese or German pen for the same or less. Why spend three figures on a Townsend, when you could get a Sailor or Pelikan? Or the latest Franklin-Cristoph? Or a custom Edison? Even Cross' nostalgia factor isn't quite on the same level as Parker, Waterman, or Shaeffer. Or even Esterbrook, for that matter. Although Cross gets some cache as the supplier to US Presidents, or whatever, I don't think that carries as much weight as it used to.
Now having said all that, one man's "boring" is another man's "classic", and I'm sure that Crosses appeal many people on that level. I've even read quite glowing reviews of various models. So the fact that Cross pens are often overlooked doesn't mean they are bad necessarily. I think if the design appeals to you, go for it. Screw the social media influencers. Plus, Cross ink is made by Pelikan; pretty good stuff.
Now having said all that, one man's "boring" is another man's "classic", and I'm sure that Crosses appeal many people on that level. I've even read quite glowing reviews of various models. So the fact that Cross pens are often overlooked doesn't mean they are bad necessarily. I think if the design appeals to you, go for it. Screw the social media influencers. Plus, Cross ink is made by Pelikan; pretty good stuff.
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I think before in the past before the internet most people would go into a big box store and see a cross pen and buy it as a gift. Now with the internet and more sharing of information and the ability to buy online there are a lot of better options out there for the price. Take the Pilot Metropolitan that can be bought for about 12 dollars online. That pen gets way better reviews and is considered one of the best entry level pens to buy. I think that once you get further than that into the hobby you might end up picking up a Cross pen but you will more than likely want a made in Japan pen or Made in Germany pen over a made in China pen. Another issue is that if you are willing to purchase a made in China pen you can pick up a Jinhao x750 that is styled the same for about 5 dollars including shipping. Its just hard to justify when you have so many better options.
I owned quite a few Cross pens and pencils but my Brother-in-law really likes Cross so I gave them all to him. There were several Townsends but I think my favorite was called a Century II. It was one with the steel body but a gold nib.
My wife bought me a Cross Aventura last weekend. I actually quite like the pen. It has a proprietary cartridge so I will need to pick up a converter but I really enjoy the pen. At sub 20 I think the Nib is really good. I personally like the only experience I've had with cross so far.
I have a Bailey, which was an impulse buy at Staples, when they were on sale for $20 a few years ago. I didn't have any from this brand, and was curious. Ordered a converter for it separately on Amazon. Out of the box, the nib was quite noticeably misaligned, which I fixed, and it wrote smoothly after that. It's not a bad pen, and the nib may have just been a QC fluke, which could happen with any brand. Nothing about it particularly stands out, though, and I have quite a few other pens which I prefer. One thing I don't like is that the cap doesn't post very securely. It will post, but tends to start coming off, and of course jamming it on there too hard could damage the finish. So I satisfied my curiosity, and may use it on rare occasions, but could do very well without it. The "list price" of $54 would definitely be a bit much for this pen, but you can usually find them for a lot less.
Of course, this is toward the low end of their line, and doesn't necessarily tell you anything about their more upscale pens, but I haven't been tempted.
Of course, this is toward the low end of their line, and doesn't necessarily tell you anything about their more upscale pens, but I haven't been tempted.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Cross pen s usually vary on a thin barrel design thats just not for me the townsend line is slightly bigger but not by much. They had an impressive life time guarantee. back in the 80s i sent several gold pens that were my dads and were badly scratched back and the sent new ones something i regret doing now. moving all manufacturing overseas did it for me with cross
that being said i got my hands on the 150 anniversary fp in stirling. The gold nib is beautiful and its an amazing fp. I haven't used it in forever its a safe queen. The vintage look and black stripes are beautiful to me. Makes me think of how great the company was.
that being said i got my hands on the 150 anniversary fp in stirling. The gold nib is beautiful and its an amazing fp. I haven't used it in forever its a safe queen. The vintage look and black stripes are beautiful to me. Makes me think of how great the company was.
OfficeMax has the Aventura on sale for $15.
- Thread starter
- #11
Thank you, friends, for your replies. I learned a lot from you.
Thought I'd share this YouTube on the Cross Peerless FP
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Azizah does some great reviews.
I received a Cross Townsend back in 2001 as a work gift for completing a project. It has grown on me over the years. Yes it is a bit heavy but the writing experience is really nice. It's best feature is a very secure closing cap which prevents the pen from drying out. I used to keep it inked on my desktop for signing documents at work and there was never an issue getting it to start (it's actually better than my Parker 51 in that regard).
I also have 5 of those Cross Century fountain pens from the 1980's which are all nice pens if you like thinner pens (the Townsend is quite a bit more rotund). They were the classic salesman's pen back in the go go 80's. Usually you can find them very inexpensively on Ebay but I would stick to the matte finish pens (I have this in black, maroon and grey). The Chrome and the Gold versions are huge fingerprint magnets. The matte finish is pretty durable and hides fingerprints.
Avoid the Bailey if you like to post your pens. The cap pops right off the end of the barrel very easily.
I also have 5 of those Cross Century fountain pens from the 1980's which are all nice pens if you like thinner pens (the Townsend is quite a bit more rotund). They were the classic salesman's pen back in the go go 80's. Usually you can find them very inexpensively on Ebay but I would stick to the matte finish pens (I have this in black, maroon and grey). The Chrome and the Gold versions are huge fingerprint magnets. The matte finish is pretty durable and hides fingerprints.
Avoid the Bailey if you like to post your pens. The cap pops right off the end of the barrel very easily.
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