They say things always come back to where you started, and when it’s something as close to your heart as Cross pens are to mine, being able to review the new Cross Star Wars Limited Edition pens gives me a little bit of a shiver. One of my first review items for GeekMom was the Iron Man Cross pen. You know how when you love something, you really want to just hold onto it all the time? Well, similar to my favorite doll as a kid, taking my Cross pen with me ended up meaning, well, it got lost. I admit to tears and a low level of constant sadz over the course of the last year.
This is why when the opportunity to try one of the new Cross Star Wars pens arose, I jumped at it. Even better? The pen is a BB-8 pen which makes it seriously the best pen ever.
Why BB-8?
First things first, anyone who knows me knows I love BB-8. I collect all the BB-8s everywhere. I have the Sphero, every stuffed and action figure version, currently my minifigure BB-8 is wearing a Hamilton style tricorn hat, and even a tattoo.
BB-8 stands for everything about loyalty and determination that I love about Star Wars. I know that in most people’s hearts no droid will ever out droid R2D2. For me, however, that little volleyball droid pinged my heart the moment I saw it. For me, BB-8 isn’t just this adorable little rolly thing that bleeps.
Watch the scene where BB-8 sees Poe again. That homecoming and the way they approach each other? It’s everything I love about the little droid in one ten second scene. Even when BB-8 was the droid equivalent of heartbroken, the Little Droid that Could helped everyone around it. That kind of perseverance and straight up loyalty defines my own approach to life.
What’s So Special About the Cross Star Wars BB-8 Pen?
Pens are the tools we use to write. For writers, our tools are part of who we are and how we formulate ideas. For many writers, then, our pens speak to who we are and how we approach writing.
For me, pens are the tools of my teaching. Teaching writing means commenting on papers. Commenting on papers means having to formulate ideas that can help others reach their potential. Grading, however, is a solitary activity. I’m talking to my students through the written word. Also? It’s kind of not any teacher’s favorite experience.
However, just as BB-8 is the loyal, persevering droid buddy, the Cross Star Wars BB-8 pen is the loyal grading companion I need.
Why Choose a Cross Star Wars Pen from the Townsend Collection?
Let’s start with my “WHOA! This is a $450 pen!?” response. Yes. It’s a $450 pen. Now that we can all breathe again, I’ll be the first to admit that just writing with this feels luxurious.
Opening the box alone speaks volumes to the quality. The pen comes with a signed card letting you know its number in the limited run, as well as a stand to put the pen on for showing it off. Each pen is part of a limited edition run of 1,977 of its kind. See what they did there? Yes. That’s exactly right. Even better? Each pen is engraved with its number. That’s right. It’s a pretty nifty feature.
Some collectors prefer to leave items on display. However, I’m the person who loves to let my geek flag fly. This means that my external representations are often aligned with my fandoms. The Cross Star Wars pens are a really great way to be closet geeky in the professional world.
While the BB-8 pen is clearly the droid’s markings, complete with the glorious jewel on the tip, it’s also something that can be brought to a c-suite level meeting without being inappropriately informal. The design is glorious but also understated. This means that it’s a really great way to “closet cosplay” your professional life.
Is It a Good Pen?
Cross is known for quality. If you’re going to spend $450 on a pen? I’m going to argue that this is one that’s worth it.
When picking up the pen, it’s heavy. It’s a kind of heft that lets you know, “yes, I’m writing and what I’m writing has weight to it.” With that in mind, the heft is part of the reason that I was suspicious at first. I have a pinched nerve in my elbow which means that my hand goes numb after writing for a long time. With Cross Star Wars pens, I found that the heft kept me from having to apply a lot of pressure when writing. This led to less tightly gripping the pen. All of this led to less cubital tunnel pain.
Grading student papers means that I need to be able to provide feedback without ink going through the pages because my students tend to print on both sides of the paper to save money and ink. Once again, my BB-8 pen comes to the rescue. Often, cheaper pens and cheaper ink bleed through the paper. Not with this one. I was able to comment cleanly and, hopefully clearly, without having the ink bleed through and make the papers look like a mess.
If there’s a teeny complaint, I’d probably say that it’s the ink flow looks a little heavy at the tip and occasionally there’s a small extra dollop of ink when you first put the pen to the page. However, this is minor and certainly not ballpoint pen splurt of runny ink problematic.
Is It Worth the Money?
Look, if I was in the market for a $450 Pen of Awesome? This would totally be my jam. If you’re a hard-core Star Wars collector? I honestly can’t imagine something better or, truthfully, more pragmatic to add to your collection. If you’re a pen fanatic and a geeky one at that? This is all about you. See you out there? Yes, you.
While I may not have been able to purchase this on my own, I will say that every time I pick it up to grade a paper? I feel luxurious. Grading has never been something I’ve looked forward to more than in the last two weeks since my BB-8 pen arrived. Now, I just have to resist the urge to bring it everywhere with me. So far? I’m failing epically at that, but it’s currently living in my BB-8 clutch purse so I know it’s safe.
