Cross Townsend Overview

[gbryal]

The Cross Townsend seems to fulfill several roles in the mid to upper range at Cross. Prices range from around $100 for a steel nib model to $450 near the top of the normal production line to $650 or more for limited editions. Though it's available in several finishes, the one I am reviewing has a "Smooth Touch" matte black finish and a steel nib.

I obtained this one on eBay for under $50, and it's certainly been worth that price, and even at higher prices, it compares well to similar looking in pens in my collection. Pens it reminds me of include on the inexpensive end the Parker Frontier in matte finish, and more expensive the Waterman Expert in matte black, which is more similar in terms of performance and functionality.

I measure about 150mm capped, 131mm uncapped, and 158mm posted. I measure 39g capped filled with converter and 21g uncapped.

The design is similar to the Cross Peerless 125 in that it has a truncated cap with a depress in the flattened end, and a sharply bent clip, which on this pen more than the Peerless would lend itself to being clipped to thicker fabrics such as jeans.The finish is smooth, almost rubbery, and is easy to grip. It does retain fingerprints, but they are more likely to be faintly dark spots than actual prints.

On the end of the barrel is a small chrome end, which on my pen is slightly wider than the barrel, and is one of the only features that stands out as perhaps a bit shoddy looking. However, this is a functional decision: the cap posts securely to this piece with a solid snap.

The section on this pen is not the same finish as the rest of the pen, being a somewhat glossy black plastic. It isn't slick and is a smooth slightly tapered transition toward a flared ferrule at the bottom. There are no threads as this is a snap on cap. The snap to cap the pen is very satisfying with a slight cushion followed by a firm but not jarring snap.

The cap as previously mentioned has a simple truncated dome with a small dip in the middle with a black dot. The name CROSS is engraved in the cap, so appears black on black. The cap ends in two rounded ings which appear to be separated by a thin thread of black.

The medium nib on mine is a single tone, and appears to have a rhodium or other nice chrome plating. It is decorated with overlapping arcs atop the word CROSS over a stack of horizontally flattened arcs, and looks nice on this pen. It writes a medium-bold line, which is pretty wet, and very smooth, almost too smooth. It doesn't skip but skates so easily it's a little hard for my to control; I find I write more quickly with it and a little more wildly.

It accepts a Cross friction fit converter. The sleeve which accepts the converter is the only part of the pen I have any problem with: it's a nitpick but it squeaks when I screw the barrel on or off. A very minor thing. I don't actually recall if I bought the converter separately, though I think I probably did. The pen comes in a nice brown clamshell box which says Cross inside.

I like the Townsend and as mentioned above, would consider it against a pen such as the Waterman Expert, also a good pen in its own right. In the $100 price range you'll find a lot of good writers differentiated more by the taste of the buyer. This is a pleasant pen to use and a good writer. The styling is subdued but not exactly like anything else. If you like the matte finish but don't want to pay as much, the Parker Frontier is an option, as is the Jinhao 750. Other pens to consider for a little more or less would be the Faber-Castell Ambition Precious Resin or the Lamy 2000.

TownsendCapped.jpgTownsendCapped2.jpgTownsendNib.jpgTownsendUncapped.jpg