I only peek in here from time to time, but don't see much about Cross. I have no FP (yet; I'm about to receive Tepp's PIF box) but Cross are my go-to ballpoint. Never clogging, skipping, etc. Are the FP any good?
Thoughts on Cross?
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I have a Cross ATX and love it.
It's a great writer, fits perfectly in the pocket and looks snazzy.
It's a great writer, fits perfectly in the pocket and looks snazzy.
I know next to nothing about FPs, but impulse picked up a Cross Aventura at Staples. Now it is my only FP and any other experience I have came in jr high in the 70s, but I really like this pen so far. Uses only Cross refills that are rather small, and Cross has a converter that I haven't run down yet.
I have a few Cross gift FPs. None are spectacular but all are good solid trouble-free pens.
I think I have mentioned this before but I am a big fan of Cross. It may be a little nostalgic childhood bias for a couple of reasons. First, I grew up not far from their headquarters. Second, my father always carried a gold century ballpoint. He was never without it. He grew up with fountain pens and was of the generation of relief that he didn't have to mess with an ink bottle anymore.
Anyway - to the original question. I feel like Cross has been divided into two companies. There is the part that makes the "office store" pens. These are pens like the Bailey, Dubai, Aventura, etc. . . These are the pens you sometimes find at StaplesDepotMax in the $25-$40 range. The nibs on these pens - which I think are common to all of them - are nails, but incredibly smooth. The bodies, however, leave a lot to be desired. They feel cheap and unbalanced. I think these pens would be fine in the $10-$15 range (and can be certainly had for that much with a coupon) but in the $25-$40 range, I think there are better options available.
The "other" Cross is the one that sells the better pens on their website or authorized dealer. These are pens like the century, ATX, Townsend, Peerless, etc. . . These pens, in my opinion, are excellent. The Townsend is amazing and is one of a handful of pens I would keep if I could only keep a handful of pens. Ditto the 2013 Year of the Snake special edition. The 18k nib on that pen is one of my favorites. So soft and smooth and springy. It's a pen that sees every day use. I have a century classic that I carry with me all the time in my Field Notes cover. It's a thin pen and only takes their special thin cartridges, but a real joy to write with. The ATX is a perfectly balanced pen, especially when posted. I've tried the Peerless and while very nice with a great nib, it's a LARGE pen. Too big for me, but certainly a quality instrument.
So I think if you stick with what is offered on the website and not so much with the lower end big box pens, I don't think you will be disappointed. Additionally they have a lifetime warranty and they are fantastic about it. If you have a problem, send them the pen and they will repair or replace it.
Sorry for for the long post but hopefully my opinions will help. Keeping in mind they are just my opinions.
Anyway - to the original question. I feel like Cross has been divided into two companies. There is the part that makes the "office store" pens. These are pens like the Bailey, Dubai, Aventura, etc. . . These are the pens you sometimes find at StaplesDepotMax in the $25-$40 range. The nibs on these pens - which I think are common to all of them - are nails, but incredibly smooth. The bodies, however, leave a lot to be desired. They feel cheap and unbalanced. I think these pens would be fine in the $10-$15 range (and can be certainly had for that much with a coupon) but in the $25-$40 range, I think there are better options available.
The "other" Cross is the one that sells the better pens on their website or authorized dealer. These are pens like the century, ATX, Townsend, Peerless, etc. . . These pens, in my opinion, are excellent. The Townsend is amazing and is one of a handful of pens I would keep if I could only keep a handful of pens. Ditto the 2013 Year of the Snake special edition. The 18k nib on that pen is one of my favorites. So soft and smooth and springy. It's a pen that sees every day use. I have a century classic that I carry with me all the time in my Field Notes cover. It's a thin pen and only takes their special thin cartridges, but a real joy to write with. The ATX is a perfectly balanced pen, especially when posted. I've tried the Peerless and while very nice with a great nib, it's a LARGE pen. Too big for me, but certainly a quality instrument.
So I think if you stick with what is offered on the website and not so much with the lower end big box pens, I don't think you will be disappointed. Additionally they have a lifetime warranty and they are fantastic about it. If you have a problem, send them the pen and they will repair or replace it.
Sorry for for the long post but hopefully my opinions will help. Keeping in mind they are just my opinions.
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The former USA made fountain pens (the Century and Townsend) were very well made, in my opinion, but not really comfortable for me. The Century was too slim, and the Townsend was too heavy for me.
Since Cross outsourced production to Asia, I have read very mixed reviews. No personal experience though.
If I were in the market for a Cross pen, I would go for a used "Made in USA" fountain pen, to enjoy the reall Cross quality.
Since Cross outsourced production to Asia, I have read very mixed reviews. No personal experience though.
If I were in the market for a Cross pen, I would go for a used "Made in USA" fountain pen, to enjoy the reall Cross quality.
There are a number of really nice Cross fountain pens. I like the Townsend. For the most part the fountain pens are of good quality.
I used to love Cross pens and pencils. They were my favorites, probably because I grew up thinking that if you wanted a good pen, you bought a Cross or maybe a Quill. When I was a kid, my Father's good pen and pencil sets were always Cross. Now that they've shut down all of their Rhode Island based manufacturing and shipped all production off to China, I doubt I'd ever buy one again, especially when there are so many other good pens out there now. If I want a Chinese made pen, I don't have to pay Cross prices to get one, and like Eeyore, I've also heard many mixed reviews on the newer pens. I remember reading in the Providence Journal newspaper how A.T. Cross was figuring out how many pens they could fit into a shipping container when they were contemplating the offshoring and doing their cost/benefit analysis. It was all so cold hearted, or at least it was portrayed that way in the local media, that I doubt I could ever bring myself to buy one of their pens again.
The Cross pens work fine. My only problem with them is that the ones that are priced OK are too slim for my hands and the Peerless 125 pens which fit nicely are expensive ($450 to $550).
It's (likely) Chinese, but I've been using a Cross daily since Christmas and it's a good writer.
It's got Noodler's Baystate Blue in it and never fails to be a consistent performer.
In rotation are better pens: two Nemosines, and some other Chinese ... Jinhao x750 and the tiger ones. Just never a problem with that dumb Cross FP.
AA
It's got Noodler's Baystate Blue in it and never fails to be a consistent performer.
In rotation are better pens: two Nemosines, and some other Chinese ... Jinhao x750 and the tiger ones. Just never a problem with that dumb Cross FP.
AA
You're closer than you think. At the end-ish (September) of 2013, A.T. Cross divested itself of its "accessory division" (which included fine writing) and the Cross name, selling it to a private equity investment group named Clarion Capital Partners. They then changed their name to Costa, Inc. (after the sunglasses brand they own, Costa Del Mar) and at the end of 2013, were purchased by French eyewear maker Essilor and no longer exist. This was all engineered by the then CEO David Whalen (who came started in 1999), a former executive at Ray-Ban. It was under him that Cross really got into the sunglasses business, buying Costa Del Mar and Native eyewear.
The A.T. Cross that is still around is the former "accessories division" that was sold off two years ago. They also got the name and have continued using it. That is the company that has made something of a push lately by releasing a new flagship pen (the Peerless 125), moving some very popular previously BP-only designs to FP as well (the Botanicals series, which is a companion to the BP-only Masquerade series), continuing the Chinese zodiac-based "Year Of" series, and even branching into high quality journals and notepads. But the biggest move they've made so far is something of a game changer in the world of FPs- they bought Sheaffer from Bic in October of last year.
Imo, one of the best Cross pens of the last 20 years is the Verve. Definitely my favorite Cross pen, it was only produced for probably around 4-6 years, but it is really one of the most stylish pens I know of. It has an inset nib produced by Namiki and a very sleek design, including the clip, which is almost (but not quite) flush with the barrel.
When new the Verve sold for $130. On Ebay now they go for $500. Don't know why they gave up on it. The Pilot nib was really a nice nib.
Ikr? I actually have 3 of them, but I only use 2 of them most of the time (Merlot and Golden Shimmer, my Selenium Blue is the one that gets kind of left out). I keep thinking I need to just sell it, especially with it being discontinued, but it is hard to let go, lol.
They're nice. Use mine periodically, and have no complaints. I have too many pens for a "regular" rotation, but then I prefer to keep only 1-2 inked at a time.
I had a jade Townsend, but I wasn't in love with it. Nice gold nib.
I couldn't believe how much I got for it on eBay when I sold it!
I couldn't believe how much I got for it on eBay when I sold it!
While I like some of their fountain pens the quality on the ball points have gone way done. On the Century Classic you can tell the difference between the older made in the USA pens and the newer made in China pens easily. Better materials and workmanship on the older USA models.
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There's a lot of good information in here, thanks for all of it! It's even making me wonder if I should replace my ballpoint now that it's all Chinese-made, but I do love the way their refills work for me. I had this thought of a matching BP/FP set for Christmas. Who knows, it might happen, but I'm not even sure I want an FP yet!
One thing to keep in mind- there are no major pen companies that make their pens in the US. Bexley and Edison would be the only two, but they are really small brands. Everything else is made somewhere else like in Europe for some of the German companies (MB, Pelikan) or China anyway. It's just how the market is now.
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- #20
Good to note since I got the impression that the "Other Cross" and Bubbles put it were still U.S. made, but in reality it's just a higher quality pen. I actually am not against a Chinese-made product, but to trade on the "Made in USA" price and reputation without doing it irks me. It wouldn't doesn't stop me if I like the product, but irks me. Maybe one day I'll try one in Scottsdale if they have a tester.
