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The Fountain Pen Community -> Ball Points/Roller-balls -> Cross Century "Click" ballpoint
Post Info TOPIC: Cross Century "Click" ballpoint
Chthulhu


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Cross Century "Click" ballpoint
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WriteAway reviewed this pen last year "elsewhere" and I just found it a few days ago; I'd missed hearing about this pen previously. He mentioned that he felt the clicker was weak, and that made me a trifle hesitant to order one, but I had other reasons to trek across town, so ...

They're currently $25 at my local Staples (or $15 in a gift box with two refills and a pouch via Staples.com with free shipping to the store), but the new Cross display let me discover that a) it's made of metal, something I could find mentioned absolutely nowhere, and B) the clicker seems about average. Since the store isn't really conveniently located for me, I wenty home and coughed up another $3 and ordered one (black) from Amazon, grabbing a DVD to make the "Super Saver" postage minimum.

My "Click" pen arrived today, in a pretty slide-out case with instructions. The clicker on this one seems substantial enough when extending the refill, but does feel quite "soft" in the take-up spring. I don't think this will be an issue, though. The included refill writes very well, and very black, even on thermal receipt paper.

One point of annoyance: the refill appears to be an all-new proprietary type. In spite of its appearance, it's slimmer and of a different length than any of the various refills I have on hand; none of the RB refills will fit into the barrel at all, and most of the BP refills are too short, too fat, or are too long at the tip end to work with the spring in the barrel. A Sheaffer "K" ballpoint refill would fit if it were about 1 cm longer.



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Mike Hungerford
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Chthulhu


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It should be noted that this pen does *not* work well with Rite-In-The-Rain paper.

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Mike Hungerford
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WriteAway


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Mike,

Great to see that you are enjoying a Click too! Since I got mine last Fall, thefountainpencommunity.activeboard.com/t51419209/impressions-of-the-cross-click-gel-pen/, it has lived up to my expectations as well!

The click mechanism has worked well, with no other hangups happening since those initial glitches. My original black refill writes well on many different papers I use, except on some really cheap foreign papers with glossy finish. Still have not used up the first refill yet, but I alternate between pens so much, I would not expect to. I agree that a new proprietary refill is not a great idea.

Overall, the biggest flaw I can see with the Click now is the fact that it comes in few colors that really appeal. Once I get a silver model, none of the other colors really incite purchase. Oh well, with the sale of Cross Pens, who knows what will happen in the future?

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My shirt came to me, wrapped up all in black, something funny told me, I'd have to send it back.

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penmanent


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I was very happy to see a Cross with a "click" BP, so I grabbed one half a year ago. Though I really love the click feature, I think the gel refill is just terrible. I wish they had a RB refill instead.

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Chthulhu


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The gel refill worked well enough for me until I tried it on the Rite-In-The-Rain pad. I wish there was a ballpoint refill for the pen, or that they had designed it to use the standard Cross BP refills, perhaps by removing the threaded bit.

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Mike Hungerford
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Chthulhu


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Hah! A little ingenuity and patience, and I've made a Sheaffer ballpoint refill work in this pen. First step is to carefully shave the OD of the refill's end plug so that it's no larger in diameter than the refill's body. This allows it to move freely in the pen's barrel without hanging up on the edges inside.

Next, two small pieces of material are required:

     .125" OD x ~.520" long rigid tubing (plastic, brass, whatever) or rod (bamboo skewer?). This is inserted into the hole in the clicker to allow it to reach the shorter Sheaffer refill. This diameter just sticks in the hole without forcing it.

     .200" OD x .125"+ ID x ~.150 long tubing. This fits over the tip of the Sheaffer refill to adjust the shoulder and allow the pen's spring to reach with sufficient pressure. Mine's about .130" ID and sits loose on the refill, but it works.

That's all.



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Mike Hungerford
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Chthulhu


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Add Montblanc to the list of refills that won't quite fit this pen.

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Mike Hungerford
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WriteAway


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You're a far more determined and ingenious guy than I when it comes to making non-stock refills work in BPs, Mike!
Hubert

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My shirt came to me, wrapped up all in black, something funny told me, I'd have to send it back.

Although I couldn't make it fit, I knew I'd have to try. Now I'm telling all of you, I will never buy....

Clothes from Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh...
Chthulhu


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Well, if I'm gonna buy a pen, I'm gonna make it work! Somehow! <G>


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Mike Hungerford
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Frank


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Chthulhu wrote:

Well, if I'm gonna buy a pen, I'm gonna make it work! Somehow! <G>

 The man is determined!!

 



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Chthulhu


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In collaboration with a couple of other folks "elsewhere," I've learned that Fisher Space Pen refills will also fit, with the addition of a 0.200" x 0.500 inch plug in the clicker, and a Zebra "F" refill will fit with the same plug, plus the 0.200" OD x 0.125"+ ID x ~0.150" sleeve I used on the tip end of the Sheaffer refill to move the spring seat forward.

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Mike Hungerford
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WriteAway


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Mike, you ought to collect and archive your information for a locked thread perhaps titled: "Refill Substitution Solutions" or similar, and make sure your knowledge is easily available to others.

That helps make this site a more valuable knowledge resource for those who also like old ballpoints that use non-available refills. Just a thought...



-- Edited by WriteAway on Friday 6th of September 2013 08:38:52 PM

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My shirt came to me, wrapped up all in black, something funny told me, I'd have to send it back.

Although I couldn't make it fit, I knew I'd have to try. Now I'm telling all of you, I will never buy....

Clothes from Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh...
Chthulhu


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I'll take that under consideration; thanks!

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Mike Hungerford
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Chthulhu


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In the meantime: http://edcforums.com/threads/the-pen-refill-compatibility-thread.38283/



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Mike Hungerford
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penmanent


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Chthulhu wrote:

In the meantime: http://edcforums.com/threads/the-pen-refill-compatibility-thread.38283/

 Good one, thank you!



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WriteAway


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Actually, I don't have major problems with the Cross Click original refill. If it doesn't work with the paper I'm using, I grab another pen and try that one.

The refill that I really hate is the pressurized Fisher Space Pen refill. That's one that I wish I could find a replacement for.

__________________

My shirt came to me, wrapped up all in black, something funny told me, I'd have to send it back.

Although I couldn't make it fit, I knew I'd have to try. Now I'm telling all of you, I will never buy....

Clothes from Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh...
penmanent


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WriteAway wrote:

Actually, I don't have major problems with the Cross Click original refill. If it doesn't work with the paper I'm using, I grab another pen and try that one.

The refill that I really hate is the pressurized Fisher Space Pen refill. That's one that I wish I could find a replacement for.

 Hi. Why don't you try the Zebra's F301? It works perfectly in my Fisher pen.

Regards,



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WriteAway


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I just tried two different F301 BP refills, and both are too fat to fit within the barrel of the gold Shuttle Space Pen I have. It's close, but just can not get it to fit.

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My shirt came to me, wrapped up all in black, something funny told me, I'd have to send it back.

Although I couldn't make it fit, I knew I'd have to try. Now I'm telling all of you, I will never buy....

Clothes from Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh...
Chthulhu


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The F-301 refill fits in my AG7, but I don't particularly like the Zebra refills. The Fisher refill does not, however, fit the Zebra pen (too fat at the tip).

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Mike Hungerford
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penmanent


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Hello. The Fisher pen I have is the Apollo click pen... I do not know about the others, like the Bullet Space one, etc. Sorry.

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