THE EMPIRE
As reviewed: Cross Calais fountain & ballpoint pen set – black finish – $100, $120 with converter
Seeing as the first one of these was quite well received – I’m going to write up a few more and see if you lovely people continue to enjoy them.
This week, I’m taking a look at the Cross Calais. It’s actually a bit of a cheat, as it’s a pen set, not just the fountain pen. It’s got an RRP of $100, and for that, you get a fountain pen, a ball point, and a couple of ink cartridges for the fountain pen. If you pick up a converter for the fountain pen in order to draw ink from an inkwell, you’ll be spending close to $120 to get one of these in your hands. Like all my pens, I found myself staring into the pen cabinet in my local Whitcoulls until my impulse control failed and I walked out with it.
I picked up the black finished set, but they also come in a polished metal finish if you like shiny over matte finishes. The cap and barrel of the pen are brass, with polished steel accents and clip providing a nice contrast to the lacquered finish. They are, however quite thin. There’s a plastic insert in the barrel which is threaded, and you’ll screw the section of the pen into this. I like that this is plastic on plastic, unlike the previously reviewed Pilot, which has a plastic section screwing into a brass thread. It feels like the thread will be more durable over use and has a softer feel when you’re securing the section.
Writing wise, the Cross is quite comfortable. I had a medium nib, which is steel and it writes with a satisfyingly chunky line. I found that the balance of the pen was pretty good, with the pen being long enough in the hand to be able to write without posting the cap, which is actually a good thing because I found that you really had to push the cap onto the back of the barrel hard in order to keep it in place whilst writing. Generally speaking, the ink flowed well from the pen, but I did have some spots where I had to push quite firmly to encourage ink flow from the nib, but using the pen was comfortable enough for me to be able to do this without inducing hand cramps. Still, not quite ideal. If you don’t invest in a converter, you should also know that the cartridges for the Cross pens run out quite quickly – you’ll be replacing them every few pages of A4, so it’s worth spending that extra $20 if you’re picking one of these up.
Scores:
Price – 3/5 with a $100 RRP without a converter, there’s a lot of competition. This is somewhat alleviated due to this being a set however.
Construction – 3/5 Both pens have a nice finish with metal on the bulk of the pen. Having the section screw into a plastic insert is a nice touch, but the cap will not post well unless you use a lot of force.
Ease-of-use – 3/5 A surprising lightness in the pen when it’s together means that the metal is quite thin, and there’s a bit of play in the cap when it’s covering the section and nib. Proprietary cartridges don’t have a lot of ink, making a converter a wise add-on for this one.
Writing – 3/5 A steel, medium thickness nib produces a satisfying line, and the ink flows well for the most part. A solid balance in the pen with or without the cap being posted is good given the amount of force required to securely post the cap.
Overall Score – 12/20 The Cross Calais is an attractive, reasonably well made pen with a nice writing feel to it. It’s really a $50 pen which you have to buy in a set, doubling the price and putting it into territory where there’s a lot of competition. If you’re taken with the look of it, don’t forget to purchase a converter or else you’ll be changing cartridges all the time.
– Dave
Dave
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