I love Cross pens, and I think they don’t get anywhere near as much love as they deserve, or at least the ones from 1980s-2010s or so; I haven’t tried the newer ones. Since I adore my trusty Townsends, and I love henna art, I leapt at this beauty. This first run model has a 18K nib, and is esentially a top of the line Century II with a jaw-dropping finish. It’s a hefty but slender pen, and it writes as I would expect from a high-end Cross. My only quibble is the converter is not the same as my Townsend, but that’s minor. Overall, I adore this pen. Now discontinued, and the later run with steel nibs are just not as impressive, but if you find one of the first run with the 18K nibs, pounce on it!

And another fantastic Townsend. Like the Cardinal, the Sienna lacquer is gorgeous; the photos I have just don’t do it justice.

I am slightly less fond of the bright chrome; it seems a little brash. I don’t know why; just the deep, rich black, red & brown lacquers seem so much more elegant. Still, like all my Townsends, this is a superb instrument.

Another wonderful Townsend pen. This was probably the first X-fine nib I ever really came to love. The Cardinal red lacquer is gorgeous; no photo I have seen does this pen justice.

(B nib shown) Both of these are fantastic! In fact, all my Cross Townsends are great writers, smooth and elegant. They are big and weighty, but I like a pen with a substantial feel. They work beautifully posted (cap posts with a very satisfying ‘snap’), or unposted is one prefers a lighter pen. The M was one of the first new, top-end pens I ever got, in fact. It took me through much of my undergrad career, and once I started collecting seriously, it got siblings very quickly.

A very slim but elegant pen from Cross. Much like the Classic Century, it takes proprietary slim cartridges. Cross doesn’t offer a converter for these, but I managed to gerry-rig a ‘squeeze’ converter from a cartridge and a pen sac. LIke a true cross, it writes beautifully, but it’s a bit slender for my preferences.