Smoother writing cross refill?

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CHARLES STOPCZYNSKI

CHARLES STOPCZYNSKI

Passed Away Aug 21, 2024
In Memoriam
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
419
Location
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Does anyone know of a Cross refill that writes smoother or easier, more like a roller ball than their standard ballpoint?

I've gotten to like the roller balls so much, I'd love to put a refill in pens that use Cross refills so that they would write equally nice.

Maybe I've missed some big improvement along the way.

Charlie
30043
 
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I don't have any personal experience with this, I've only made two pens... but I was looking for the same information. I found a lot of people seem to like the Fisher Space Pen Cross style refills. I have a couple of tactical pens with fisher refills that I like very much, I would assume the Cross style refills are no different.
 
I previously went on the same quest for a nicer Cross-sized refill. This is what I found so far based on my preferences, which include a smooth feel to the point moving across the paper and a nice continuous line of ink without skipping or splotching:

Best - Private Reserve both the medium and fine point

Not as Good but adequate - Fisher Space Pen, Dynacom supplied refills, Cross Broad point

Poor - Foray (Office Depot house brand), some (but not all) of the kit refills

Nothing compares to the Parker-sized EasyFlow 9000 or Private Reserve P900 Gel. That's why I prefer making pens that can take a Parker-sized refill.
 
The screw in cap can be pulled off of a Cross refill and put on something else.

I've been toying with the idea of making a kitlless twist -a longer front ended one than a standard kit to accommodate the additional length- using an InkJoy refill.

Love how these write for a ball point, but I haven't quite figured out how to do it yet and still have a pen that anyone could just change the refill without having to tinker with it or follow special instructions. The little spring holder **** on the end of the refill won't go through the twist mechanism so it would have to be loaded from the front (nib) end.

Might just be able to leave the refill cap io tthe mechanism and let it just push against the InkJoy refill end with the spring making it return when retracted. Those refills are cerainly cheap enough and of a very good quality in my experience.
 
Better refills

A local Woodcraft store employee told me that he discards the cheap refills included with pen kits. Good refills may be found at Staples or Office Max stores and probably on line. I've had the miseries with the cheap ones. Several have leaked in the kit packaging making a total mess. One spalted maple pen I really valued was nearly ruined by leaking ink. Fortunately I was able to salvage the wood and clean up the ink. I think the Woodcraft fellow was correct in discarding the cheap refills. Of course folks who sell pens (I'm not one of them. I just give them away as gifts.) will have to up their prices a little bit. Quality ain't cheap!
 
Thank you all...

Gentleman,

Thank you all.

Ed (parklandturner) put me on a good track the other evening, Exotics. "You want to hide something, put it in plain sight."

I very much appreciate all the other responses. I too have much preferred making pens with the better Parker refills. It's how well a pen writes as much as how it looks and feels!

All the best,

Charlie 30043
 
I've probably made my last Cross-style pen. Berea has come out with a kit called the Tetra. Size wise it's between a Slimline and a Streamline, but it uses an 8.2 mm tube and takes a Parker refill. Writes great, feels great and has a new style stylus that's accurate and sensitive. I get mine from Bear Tooth Woods, but Arizona Silhouettes has them too.
 
Give the Monteverde refills for Cross a try. Colorado Pens carries all the Monteverde refills.

For the Parker style pen kits, I use the Visconti gel refills and they are exceedingly smooth writers.
 
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