Bailey Light Polished Black Fountain Pen, Fine Nib, Black Ink

Excellent fountain pen. I think this pen is intended to ensnare entry level fountain pen buyers with a low price and a superb writing experience. I have 7 other fountain pens, some of which cost dozens of times as much as this Cross Bailey Light, and this one writes as nicely as the best of them. It is not a heavy pen which is nice for writing for longer periods. Some complain that it feels cheap. It is naive to equate weight and quality. It is also quite nice looking. Because this pen is of high quality, light weight, good looking, and cheap, I can carry it about in my shirt pocket with no worry about loosing it. If you are buying a fountain pen, buy some ink too; you know you will need it even if an ink cartridge comes with the pen. I am delighted with this pen.

I bought an Extra Fine nib. 1) The pen is well made given it is an entry level of fountain pens. It is light but steady as a daily writer. The metal-like decorations are well made and do not look cheap, making the appearance very pleasing. 2) The nib writes very smooth. As expected, this EF width is still thicker than Japanese EF nibs. The nib tip has a specially designed shape that it bends towards paper, making a good writing feedbacks. 3) The product comes in a simple gift box. It has no converter. It has a black ink cartridge. The ink is not water resistant as expected. 4) The cap is well sealed. Simply open and close. Not the twisted style. Overall, I am happy with the pen. Highly recommend if the price is about $15. Otherwise Jinhao 82 or HongDian T1 is always the winner.

I have two of these pens. The first one I ordered 5 years ago. It is well made, and writes great. The second one I bought about a month ago. Metal parts have been swapped for plastic, and the nib is not sealed properly and leaks. Worst of all it came with a ink cartridge jammed (upside-down) inside the body of the pen. I had to take off the top of the pen to get it out. Luckily, it was only held on with some cheap glue so it came apart with minimal effort. If you were looking for an entry-level fountain pen this is where I would have pointed you previously. After this experience there are several other pens you should consider at the entry-level price-point. 1/10 do not buy.

Love journaling with this pen but literally the fourth day, I uncapped it and ink went flying everywhere. The Q+A bot here claims the ink is water based and cleans up with soap and water. I am here to tell you how untrue that statement is. I have just spent the first hour of my morning trying soap and water, then isopropyl alcohol, then hotshot and the ink will not budge from fabric. It took scotchbrite to reduce it from my hands and it ruined several pages in my journal. None of this is a huge loss but definitely something I did not expect and not the best way to start off a day. In addition, the Q+A also says to prevent future leaks, to not store it horizontally and only nib-up. As a first time fountain pen user, maybe I am ignorant of this fact but that would be something great to highlight or format as bold or otherwise have standing out in the literature to prevent this type of rude awakening for a noob.

This is the 3rd Bailey Light pen that I have owned. They all have performed quite well.

This pen DOES come with one cartridge of ink. If you want to use your own ink, you will need to get a converter. The converter you need is the PUSH IN Cross converter # 8751 I was able to find it here on Amazon. However, if you don't want to spend the extra money, you may be able to wash out the included cartridge after it's empty and refill it with your own ink. IMPORTANT: The included cartridge is already in the pen, but mine was pushed way up inside the body of the pen and was stuck, so I thought it was missing. I had to shine a flashlight down the body of the pen to figure out why my converter wouldn't fit, and that's when I saw the "missing" cartridge. When you receive your pen, look inside the pen body for the cartridge. This pen is large enough to hold two cartridges in the body, so when one is used up you have a spare ready to go. I was able to get the stuck cartridge out by tapping the pen body on the desk. DO NOT tap the pen with the nib on, obviously this will damage the nib. I hope this helps prevent the unnecessary expense of purchasing a converter because reviews said the pen didn't come with a cartridge (as was my experience). This pen is a good value, it comes in a box so it's great as a gift, but there was some ugly tape holding the box closed. When I tried to remove it, the box was damaged, so keep that in mind. It's functional and has a sleek design, it looks very nice and feels good in the hand. I purchased the white pen so no one will be able to guess the ink color. Great pen for a beginner, like me!

I purchased this pen to take daily notes in meetings for work. Cross is a long standing brand that’s been around since 1846 and produced their first fountain pen in 1889! I received my first Cross pen for graduation decades ago and it wrote like a dream. This one has not disappointed, the nib is very smooth and I haven’t experienced a single skip on the page, unless the cartridge needs to be swapped. Things to know: Cross pens use proprietary cartridges, but they’re no more expensive than regular cartridges. The ink colors are limited to basic colors. Cross also makes a proprietary converter if you’re into more colors and it’s easy to use as well. When using converter the ink color and effect options (glimmer, sheen etc) are endless! Don’t be dissuaded by the proprietary refill options though. Most long standing brands also have their own custom sized cartridges and converters. Weight: This pen looks expensive and yet it’s lightweight enough for me to use all day. I have smaller hands and this can be a difficult balance to strike. The first fountain pen that I purchased, aside from a LAMY Safari plastic pen on a whim, was from Amazon as well. The Hongdian Black Forest with the M nib. That pen is also a great starter to EDC pen. However, the Cross nib is smoother and a true Medium Nib. The BF nib is also a Medium but writes closer to a Fine nib and has more feedback from the paper.

I have many fountain pens (10+) in my collection and several are of the fancy and expensive variety (Dupont, Omas, Mont Blanc to name a few). This is up there with all of them! It's made well. Writes well. Looks and feels like a quality piece. Ink flows well and the balance is good for a writer. Seems rugged if not built like a tank...it's a fountain pen after all. You will like this pen.

Esta é minha primeira caneta tinteiro e, em comparação a outras da marca Crow de alguém próximo, senti que ela é uma caneta um pouco dura na hora de escrever, com o traço mais rígido, já que a ponta é mais fina. Porém, ela não é uma caneta impossível de usar; na verdade, é adaptável. Veio já com um cartucho de tinta dentro e mais um refil. Estava embalada corretamente, sem avarias, e veio com um estojo dentro de sua própria caixinha, acompanhado de um manual do produto.

I remember having to fill my ink pens at school with various suction devices built into the pens. Always ending up with more ink on my fingers or shirt than IN the pen. Fancied a bit of nostalgia but didn't want to pay a fortune and find that my memories of enforced, good handwriting were rose coloured. Not so, I've used my new pen every day since it arrived. It's comfortable, lightweight and easy to hold. I'd imagine, at the price, it would be and ideal Xmas gift for young and old alike.

Tenho artrite e letra pequena, a caneta permite boa empunhadura e o fluxo de tinta é ótimo, não falha nem borra minha letra pequena!

Very unhappy with the product Unlike any other Sheaffer pen I ever used I simply think it’s waste of my money.so rough to write with! Unlikely to improve! Janga Sridhar

a qualidade de uma CROSS