Well hello and happy February! It has been awhile, I know...so today, I managed to get off of my normal weekly habitrail and land in the city of San Carlos, where I felt compelled to survey the inventory of their local Office Depot. At the start of 2013, I told myself that this is the year that I will not invest much in new pens because of my existing large collection of writing utensils. In fact, I am certain that were I to never buy a new pen again, I could use all of the pens in my current collection for the rest of my life, and most certainly pass the remainder on to my relatives, friends, and a few lucky school kids, who would all then be well outfitted for at least another year or two in the pen department. Yes, I am a huge pen enthusiast, hence this blog. (wink-wink).
And it was at the city of San Carlos Office Depot store where I happened upon the subject of this blog entry. And it was in this store's discount section where I was persuaded (through my own internal decision-making process), to make the impulsive pen purchase of the light blue Cross Click pen (not normally my color preference at all)...because, well, according to Cross, times have changed. And according to Office Depot, it was 50% off, so how could I resist? Not to mention, it came with two (2) free additional ink refills, AND a lovely black velvet pouch to boot!
I have read the reviews on the Cross site, and the reviewers there suggest that this pen has let them down because it does not present a consistent ink line on all manner of writing surfaces. In other words, it skips.
As an experiment, I have started this particular blog entry not having yet given this new Cross pen its first whirl. I will then use up the latter portion of this missive sharing my personal experience with this pen. Hang on a minute while I retrieve the pen from its "premium" gift box, and I'll let you know how it goes....
Okey dokey! I'm back, and here's the scoop...but first, let me me confess and tell you that at the end of the day, I will always prefer to have a liquid or gel ink rollerball pen in my hand, preferably from the Pilot line of pens. I also love a great fountain pen, but as with all beautiful things, there is a lot of maintenance that goes into owning and using one consistently. (Remind me later to tell you about the super cool fountain pen I recently discovered...kind of dreamy really...)
Back to the new Cross Click...the ballots are in, and I give it 1.5 thumbs up out of 2 possible thumbs. The issue that I have always had with the Cross brand is that they are beautiful to look at, but kind of slippery to write with. Accordingly, I will always prefer a pen with some sort of grip, over one without, the exception being the new Caran D'Ache retractable pen which comes in a gorgeous translucent color, and has the classic hexagonal shape which makes it easier to handle than a Cross. I picked this "consumer grade" pen at Century Pens in Chicago this past December, and have been delighted ever since. When it comes to a fluid retractable experience, I do not believe that I have experienced a more pleasing "click" than with this particular Caran D'Ache pen. Gotta love that Swiss precision - fabulous! I have included a picture for your reference. Be sure to check out this pen next time you are in a pen store. Whoosh goes the clicker!
But I digress...on the issue of the Cross Click's ink flow and density...the ink coming out of this pen is pretty divine. It is a a darker black ink than most with a nice bold line, and I have yet to find a paper surface that it will not perform on. I tried a few types...green graph paper, standard white copy paper, spiral bound notebook paper...and there were zero skips along the way.
Compared to the Caran D'ache pen, the "clicker" on the Cross pen gets a one (1) thumbs up. It's there, it works, but it is literally nothing to write home about.
And so in closing I have to say that I am glad that I am the proud owner of the new Cross Click Pure Teal Gel Ink Pen, which I'll tell you, is no Tiffany purse pen, (which by the way is another one of those really beautiful pens that do not really perform all that well), but it will certainly do for any business meeting, or a brainstorming session with friends, or just jotting down one's bucket list or a list of mundane to do's. You get my drift.
Until the next time....happy writing!
Oh wait! I told you to be sure to remind me to tell you about one of the most exciting fountain pens I have purchased, made by Muji. A Muji store opened up in San Francisco recently, and that is where I found the most basic looking, low cost fountain pen, ever...the Alumi-Round Fountain Pen. I will let the other Muji fountain pen lovers chime in with me - you can find their thoughts here.
As I said earlier, fountain pens are among the most gorgeous pens on the planet; however, they are often high maintenance, the primary issue being their ink flow. If you are reading this blog, you know exactly what I am talking about. And so, lo and behold, guess what...the Muji fountain pen starts up instantly each time I pick it up. It uses cartridges as far as I know, and I have been so pleased with the ink flow and the look and feel of this pen that I lovingly gaze at this pen at least a few times a week. You know a pen has served you well when it gives you the warm fuzzies.
And so on that note....wishing one and all a perfect shortest month of the year!
Enthusiastically Yours,
The Lady Quiller
The Lady Quiller
P.S. What pen(s) have you fallen in love with lately?
