Hi there,
I recently went to New York and bought a Cross Century II medalist pen as a souvenir. I purchased it at Art Brown, and really liked the folks there. Anyway, I inserted the cartridge, and started writing, and I'm a little disappointed that the line is so wide & wet. I thought I had purchased a fine point, and it is looking like this is a medium. I'm wondering what the best course of action is.

I'm debating about purchasing a replacement nib in either fine or extra fine. Does anyone have writing samples of these nibs? Also, I have heard of folks sending nibs to be specialized...reground. Where should I go, and would this be cost effective on an inexpensive pen?

Any help is especially appreciated.

Thanks much,
April

Hi. Congrats on your new pen. I bought a Century II a few years ago and although I wasn't surprised at the line width, I do wish sometimes that it was finer (an F is what I have). You can call or e-mail Cross to see if they will exchange it for you (I never tried this) or you can have it reground; there are a number of nib grinders who post here with variable prices, some very reasonable if you don't want to spend a lot. If you really love the way the pen feels and writes, I don't personally think it's a waste to pay to get the nib where you want it. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from your new pen. I still love mine, and find that it writes just right on certain papers. Best wishes!

What kind of paper are you using? I, too, have a Century II Medalist with a fine nib. On cheap paper (which is what I have at work) it writes likes a medium. On good paper like Rhodia, it writes a nice fine line.

I used an index card to start, and then I wrote out a thank you note on a glossy card. I really do think this is a medium nib, and I think I would be happier with a finer nib. Does anyone have any experience with fine or extra fine? I do like the pen very much in terms of weight, size, balance, etc. I saw a nib on ebay for less than half of what it costs from Cross direct. I haven't found any other sources. I may call Art Brown back and see if they have different nibs, although I'm doubting they do.

Thanks a lot!
April

I can't speak to that model, but I have an ATX that I swapped the fine nib for an EF. On some papaer it can be even wider than I like, but overall I am not displeased with it's responsiveness, and relaibility.

Well, before you buy another one, what does it say on the nib you have? On mine, just above the word CROSS, it has a small F in a circle to show it's a fine nib.

Hi,

I bought a pen for my wife two months ago. Though it's not a cross, we had a similar situation, the nib wrote wider than we would have liked. I called the company and they switched the pen. The replacement wrote exactly the same, so I called them again and they switched it again, this time for a finer nib. The fine nib wrote well so we kept it.

I wouldn't doubt that Cross would stand behind it's product the way this company did. The process took a while but it's worth it to have a nice pen that you are happy with.

If you are near Art Brown, then I'm sure going back there would be your best option. I went there with a problem pen and they switched it with no questions asked. It was a total no hassle experience. Incidentally it was the same pen as the one above but that's a whole other story.

Good Luck

------Michael