Original Or Fake Townsend?

[franzrogar]

Hello,

 

My father received as a gift a CROSS fountain pen some years ago. Recently, he gave it to me and I tried to know what model it is but I find it quite... weird.

 

It was a gift from a govermental association so I'd discard it as a fake but I can't find what model it is.

 

Here's attached and image showing these:

 

1 - Towsend Quartz Blue Lacquer (from CROSS web). It's the same body as my fp, but the nib and the "CROSS" word in the hood do not match.

 

2 - The "weird" fp, unknown model.

 

3 - Towsend Lustrous Chrome (from CROSS web). It's the same nib but neither the body nor the word in the hood match.

 

Apart from that, in the feed, it's writen: "5000R".

 

 

Could it be a "Towsend Lustrous Blue Lacquer" with a weird "CROSS" word in the hood? Or could it be a fake?

 

Thank you very much in advance,

 

[WriteAway]

Personally, I'd bet it was genuine. Cross nibs do vary in appearance, and the company did change the lettering used on models during the years. The script style has a significance that I don't recall, and I have a Townsend BP that has similar lettering. Other members can give you more detail, but don't get rid of it. They are fantastic pens and well worth using.

[langere]

It's likely that the pen is for real. Although I am willing to be corrected, but I have never heard of Cross pen fakes.

 

Erick

[Fountainpenlover]

Have a Cross Townsend Medallist (which I carry with me when outside), as also a more treasured sterling Silver Townsend (which I use only at home as I am afraid of losing it), and from the pictures you have posted it seems imho that you have an original Cross Townsend.

I love Cross fountain pens, as I find that (after the nib has set in) they write quite smoothly and tend to have a wet supply of ink, which I prefer.

As suggested by others, I would keep the pen and I have never heard as yet of any Cross fakes. It would be something else if it were a Montblanc or a Parker Sonnet or a Faber-Castell, where fakes abound...

Mario

 

 

Hello,

 

My father received as a gift a CROSS fountain pen some years ago. Recently, he gave it to me and I tried to know what model it is but I find it quite... weird.

 

It was a gift from a govermental association so I'd discard it as a fake but I can't find what model it is.

 

Here's attached and image showing these:

 

1 - Towsend Quartz Blue Lacquer (from CROSS web). It's the same body as my fp, but the nib and the "CROSS" word in the hood do not match.

 

2 - The "weird" fp, unknown model.

 

3 - Towsend Lustrous Chrome (from CROSS web). It's the same nib but neither the body nor the word in the hood match.

 

Apart from that, in the feed, it's writen: "5000R".

 

 

Could it be a "Towsend Lustrous Blue Lacquer" with a weird "CROSS" word in the hood? Or could it be a fake?

 

Thank you very much in advance,

 

[curiouslizard]

I seem to recall that the script lettering were the older made in USA pens while the printed lettering became the norm when the manufacturing moved to China. Love my Townsends, wonderful writers!

[franzrogar]

Thanks to all of you very much, all your answers where very helpful

 

Of course I'll keep it with me (I'd do it even if it were a fake one).

 

I loaded the only cartridge I've and tried it this evening and what I can say... it's fluid, soft and I have a huge feel as if I'd broke it just by touching paper! It's wonderful writing with it.

 

The only problem is that I've to drive 200 km to buy new cartridges or even inkpots (that's the problem with living at world's end )

 

 

Probably I should open a new thread for this question but here's: the "clip" (where the slanted "CROSS" word were writen) has some marks of degratation, just like if it started to oxide, they're now just points but, is there any way to protect it from degenerate? or should I contact CROSS servicies to ask for help?

[crosspens]

Hi All

from looking at the pictures i would say that they are both real.

Over the years we have changed the logo text on the clip a few times. the script writing was the style prior to the current style

 

enjoy your classic model

[franzrogar]

Hi All

from looking at the pictures i would say that they are both real.

Over the years we have changed the logo text on the clip a few times. the script writing was the style prior to the current style

 

enjoy your classic model

Thank you very much for your answer. I've a two questions if you don't mind :-)

 

1 - Do you know the year the current style started? Just to know how old could my FP be.

 

2 - In the photo I posted, you can see in the clip there're some "dots". Those "dots" are signs of corrosion or oxide. Do you think it'd be possible to fix/repair them?

[franzrogar]

Well, I've found it: it's original as pointed crosspens.

 

At Papelería Rey web, there's an image of my FP. It's a CROSS Townsend Quartz Blue Lacquer.

 

Web says it has a 18-karat/rhodium-plated nib (new model has a "two-tone" one). The nib design is too too similar to the stainless steel one but it's another "arch" just under the "cross" word in the nib. So I don't know if it's an old stainless steel desing or it was a "one-tone" golden-rhodium-plated nib.

[Chris]

OK I'm not 100% sure, but if the nib is gold under the rhodium plating it will almost certainly indicate this with 18K or some other marking (like .750 or similar) in a logo. Complete absence of any such marking would suggest stainless steel (even if plated with rhodium or gold). But, as I say, I may be mistaken.

 

Chris

[franzrogar]

OK I'm not 100% sure, but if the nib is gold under the rhodium plating it will almost certainly indicate this with 18K or some other marking (like .750 or similar) in a logo.

Thanks Chris for answering. The only text I've found it's on the "body" (the part that screw on the holder) and it says "5000R". Could it mean 5K rodhium and the rest gold? :hmm1:

[Jerome Tarshis]

First, the script "Cross" on the clip meant that the nib was gold. Not stainless steel.

 

On the other hand, it is certainly possible that either the cap or the nib is not original to the pen. Or, if the pen was sold as a corporate-incentive gift to employees, its specifications may have been different from the norm.

 

If the nib is gold, whether or not plated with rhodium, it will tell you the gold content. The place where the number of karats or the number of parts of gold in a thousand (14K 585 or 18K 750) is adjacent to a kind of logo with an X (for Cross) and the initials A and T within the X. That logo may be seen in the uppermost nib in the photograph.

 

One may need to use a magnifying glass to see any of this clearly. Nevertheless, it is what Cross does to indicate the gold content of its nibs. I speak as one who owns two Classic Century pens (the first of the modern Cross fountain pens, dating to the 1980s), a Century II, and a Townsend. It is implausible that Cross manufactured gold nibs that didn't say they were gold nibs. The steel nibs can be excellent writers, and I imagine there is a faction among Cross enthusiasts that would argue that the steel nibs wrote better. The important point is that you can tell from what is written on the nib whether it is gold or steel.

 

Of the three nibs in the posted photograph, the top one is a gold nib and the other two are steel nibs.

 

As for what can be done about pitting of the clip, I don't know. My several Cross pens have had unblemished clips.

[Ravenmoon]

Yep. that's a genuine Townsend, and as you have discovered, they are beauties to write with. I will caution you on cartridges, though. After years of using my several Townsends with carts, I can tell you they will evaporate. I have tried every kind of container I can think of, and they still dry out. However, the Cross converter is excellent, and bottled ink will give you so much more expressions, especially as Cross carts have few colors available. If you have a converter (or can get one) I highly recommend going that route.

 

For the clip, I would try sending an email to someone like Richard Binder, or maybe just posting in the repair forum - I am sure there are ways to protect the finish, but I would hesitate to suggest anything myself.

 

Best of luck, and enjoy your Townsend!

[Chris]

First, the script "Cross" on the clip meant that the nib was gold. Not stainless steel.

 

On the other hand, it is certainly possible that either the cap or the nib is not original to the pen. Or, if the pen was sold as a corporate-incentive gift to employees, its specifications may have been different from the norm.

 

If the nib is gold, whether or not plated with rhodium, it will tell you the gold content. The place where the number of karats or the number of parts of gold in a thousand (14K 585 or 18K 750) is adjacent to a kind of logo with an X (for Cross) and the initials A and T within the X. That logo may be seen in the uppermost nib in the photograph.

 

One may need to use a magnifying glass to see any of this clearly. Nevertheless, it is what Cross does to indicate the gold content of its nibs. I speak as one who owns two Classic Century pens (the first of the modern Cross fountain pens, dating to the 1980s), a Century II, and a Townsend. It is implausible that Cross manufactured gold nibs that didn't say they were gold nibs. The steel nibs can be excellent writers, and I imagine there is a faction among Cross enthusiasts that would argue that the steel nibs wrote better. The important point is that you can tell from what is written on the nib whether it is gold or steel.

 

Of the three nibs in the posted photograph, the top one is a gold nib and the other two are steel nibs.

 

As for what can be done about pitting of the clip, I don't know. My several Cross pens have had unblemished clips.

 

Excellent. This is what I thought but was not absolutely sure. It does tie in with my own Cross pens. All those with gold nibs say CROSS and 14K plus 585 or 18K plus 750 whilst those with stainless nibs omit this and have a different design/pattern below the word CROSS on them.

 

The block or script on the clip used to indicate whether the pen body was precious metal or not, but I have heard that the rule had not always been applied - some high-end models had script but were not gold or silver.

 

Chris

[franzrogar]

Thank you very much to evryone help.

 

Finally, I sent it to official reparation and they replace the hood with a new "old one", just exactly the same clip with the "USA" engraved.

 

Also, the service told me, as Jerome pointed, that the nib was a stainless steel one. Anyway, it was just for curiosity, as it writes wonderful no matter steel or gold :-D

 

Again, thank you very much to everyone that help me with it.

 

PS: so when CROSS changed from USA to where they're now (China?), they also changed the "design" of the stainless steel nib, as you can see here:

 

[jslallar]

AFAIK the company HQ is in Rhode Island. Manufacturing has been outsourced to Pelikan (and maybe Bock too) for some nibs and to China for parts.

 

For the nibs markings see the above post by Jerome Tarshis, and for the nib materials see my post here https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/177655-townsend-nibs/

[Pingu]

I seem to recall that the script lettering were the older made in USA pens while the printed lettering became the norm when the manufacturing moved to China. Love my Townsends, wonderful writers!

 

My Townsend has the script lettering on the clip. My mother bought it for me in 1994. I do like it

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/6084110568_3848e9440b_b_d.jpg

 

 

Do they now still also come with the green hang tag?