Cross Classic Century Black Lacquer Rollerball (AT0085-77)

Haven't owned a fountain pen since primary school (30+ years), so while I was searching for a replacement for my good old Parker ballpoint pen I stumbled upon this while looking at rollerball pens.Since I type 99% of what I have to "write" and use a Note stylus for 99% of the rest it is considerably a "curiosity purchase" to compliment the rollerball I got for mostly signatures and the *very little* handwriting I do daily.That said: I have very little to compare to, but the quality matches up to Cross quality (the one I remember using in the 90s). Even though I am not into things made out of gold, the accents are just a nice compliment to the polished chrome look I grown to appreciate.As for writing: I really don't know. I use ballpoint and rollerball and a keyboard and stylus... I have no way to compare, but what I wrote with it looked very even, clean and nice (minus the handwriting that is of a medical doctor's or maybe a bit better :) ).I would recommend this to anyone as a present or else

I rally enjoy writing with this pen, It's just like writing with a regular pen, I really like the fine nib, I have a bailey, with a medium nib and it runs through the ink really fast, I tried to hone the nib to fine point, It works ok but not like this classic does.I want o another cross with a fine a nib.My only disappointment was I found out that I paid to much for it when I found another seller who has it for sale for about $20.00 cheaper.My real frustration with this product is that Cross does NOT make a CONVERTER for it. And the small dribbles ink cost a fortune.And I haven't even found any of the cartridges for it, That cost a buck a piece. Had I known this, I would have bought something else different.

Lo compre como regalo para mi novio y le encantó.

Long time ago I was a big fan of pens, specially fountain pens. I had the four pieces of Mont Blanc black gold, (fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball and mechanical pencil) and some from Parker and Sheaffer. I finished some years ago to offer all of them to my sons.After some time using cheap rollingballs (those I prefer now) I decided to buy a good one. After some research I decided to buy a Cross which I always liked and admired for the beatiful design. Finally I bought this one.Some reviewers complains about the quality but I don't agree. I find this pen excellent with a very nice writing, well built and as all the Cross pens with a fantastic design.This is doubtless a 5 star pen highly recommended with a high ratio quality/price.

Pros: Solid pen, long and slim yet weighty, old school executive pen look, good clip, lifetime guarantee.Cons: Requires more pressure than I would expect from a quality rollerball; noisy on hard surfaces; cap can come off in pocket.I bought this after buying a cross fountain pen for a friend as a gift. I tried that other pen out before sending it off, and was super impressed. I've been using disposable, not-so-professional-looking pens for ages, and figured it might be time for an upgrade. I decided to go for a rollerball rather than fountain because it's lower maintenance.After getting it, I was initially disappointed. The paper I wrote on did not like the pen, and it wrote with the patchiness in line consistency that you would expect from a run of the mill mass-produced cheap ballpoint pen. I quickly realized two things: (1) you have to hold it at the right angle to get a consistent line, and (2) it has to be on real paper. I use sticky notes excessively to help organize my life throughout the day, and this pen will just not write with consistency on something like that. The paper is an almost waxy, low-friction consistency, so it makes sense I'd have trouble, and on other paper it has provided *very* solid, popping lines. However my trusty Pilot Precise V7's will write on what it can't and more without a single break. I feel like it's reasonable to expect more for my $40 pen than what a dozen disposable pens can provide for less.For those who like thin pens, you'll be happy. It's even more slender than I gathered from the picture, and very long, once you fasten the cap to the end. I'm very happy with the ability to screw the cap into the back end while writing -- I tend to idly mess with pen caps during meetings, and when it's screwed on, it won't accidentally fly across the room or on to the floor embarrassingly. That being said, I was surprised to discover on a couple occasions it somehow (in the closed position) unscrewed itself while clipped to my pocket, and the barrel was loose while only the cap remained clipped. Whether that's my carelessness from not screwing it together hard enough, or a straight up design flaw of the pen, I'm not quite sure.Finally, there is a small amount of play inside the pen, allowing the cartridge to move a little. It is very minor and won't affect your writing. However when writing on a hard surface, you will feel and hear the click of the cartridge moving around as you write. A minor annoyance for sure.In the end, the pen is good for the price. However the aspects I took for granted in a quality pen were the ones that were lacking. I will be still using this daily.

For the medium nib fountain: Super smooth, no skipping, sleek and attractive. This pen is absolutely the best. All Cross pens are, from my experience. Compared to the King pen, which is nice, and the Zenzoi million dollar pen, which is nicer, this pen has a great solid feel and the NICEST, smoothest writing. Some of the other fountain pens are fun to look at and offer flashy cases, for unparalleled ease of writing and unsurpassed quality, Cross beats them all and is worth every dollar for a pen in the "under $100" range. Not having the opportunity to compare with a Waterman or Mont Blanc yet, this has pens in comparable price range beat hands down.

This review is for the Cross Classic Century, Classic Black, Fountain Pen with Stainless Steel Nib - Fine (AT0086-79FF) It is sad that all cross pens are grouped together in this review section. Anyway, for the fountain pen people out there like me, I just want to say this pen writes WET. It is so wet in fact that it is guaranteed to bleed through whatever you write on. Notice the black ink bleed through dots on the sample from where a top sheet was bled through to the next. Also because of how wet it writes the nib may be considered a "fine" but writes "Broad". I like a fine point nib to write a fine point line. Only good for signatures, not everyday writing. It is a beautiful pen to look at and writes very smoothly.