Will Cross ink explode my fountain pens? - weird shop experience

[Jolltax]

I shambled into Paperchase today, I am away on business and need some FP ink. For some reason I have all my pens and no ink, duh.

Anyway, I had a quick look round and they had a few Lamy and Cross pens and not much else and I asked if they had any bottled ink. The assistant handed me a bottle of black Cross ink and I said fine and reached for my wallet. She then said "Is your fountain pen a Cross pen?", I answered "No" and she then politely lectured me about "we don't recommend using Cross ink in any other pens" and tried to take it back. She didn't want to sell it to me .........

I (a bit grumpily) replied "I'll take it anyway" and bought it for £4.25, she looked at me disapprovingly. Now either Cross pens run on special dangerous ink or sales assistance was over-doing it a bit, is there something I need to know? A quick google suggests that it actually made by Pelikan anyway, lol - the bottle looks just like a Pelkan one.

Anyway I feel better now having shared, my knackered old Sheaffer hasn't exploded yet - is it likely to? Perhaps I inadvertantly ran into a member of the SFPP (Secret Fountain Pen Police)



That's quite enough excitement for today .....

Jolltax

[hunnymonster]

No, that's just one of those people who swallows the "for best results only use BRAND ink in BRAND pens" line without challenging it...

[Jolltax]

Something remotely useful actually might come out of this as I have noticed that Cross ink appears to be cheaper than Pelikan ink, and if it is the same stuff in the same size bottle ........

[ardgedee]

Yep, that's the standard bottle used for Pelikan's 4001-series inks. I have an bottle each from the 1980s and from last year, and they are exactly the same.

[mrcharlie]

Cross ink is made by Pelikan. It is the same. Buy whichever is cheaper.

FWIW, I have used Cross ink in a Parker 45 without exploding it, and I'm sure I used it in something else too but I don't remember what. I'm sure because I had a packet of Cross Slim carts and no Cross pens.

[Silverbreeze]

There are a few inks that creep out of nibs, cross isn't one. In my experience cross has been a steady boring ink. Which is what you want most of the time

[00Photo]

Oh you'll be sorry enough soon, you'll be sorry.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

I don't care for Cross ink (or Pelikan ink for that matter), but it's not dangerous. A lot of pen manufacturers recommend only their own brand of ink, but it really doesn't matter.

But, this woman likely wasn't familiar with fountain pens, so she may not have known that.

[Jolltax]

Oh you'll be sorry enough soon, you'll be sorry.

Hahaha, my peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeens ...............BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

<smoke on the horizon followed by mournful violin music and maybe voice over by Morgan Freedman>

In other news : incoming Pelikan Ink at cheaper than Pelikan prices, whoohoo!

J

[Wile E Coyote]

The salesperson was mistaken, using Cross ink in another pen will not cause it to explode. What the salesperson meant was not to use any other ink in a Cross pen, that causes spontaneous combustion not an explosion.

[Jolltax]

Double irony ...I actually have a Cross fountain pen, but I never use it, its not very nice.

J

[AndyT]

Aah, Paperchase. I boycotted them in perpetuity following an unfortunate incident with one of their 12-year-old sales prevention people. You might consider investing in one of these if you're going back.

[alc3261]

I bought some MB ink........does that mean I NEED a pen??

[Silverbreeze]

I bought some MB ink........does that mean I NEED a pen??

Nope I buy their Limited Edition ink.
Rather spend on an Edison pen though