Some advice if you would be so kind.

I have had a gift of a Cross Century 2. I have used an ATX and found it excellent but this Century with a medium nib seems exceptionally wet using a cartridge of ink in 3 hours whereas a cartridge in the ATX would last 3 days!

Are they all like this?

Phew, that does sound like a lot of ink no matter how fast you write! I do like something non-dry to write with, but you have a fireman's hose it seems. Pehaps some adjustment is called for (and here I cannot help) or contact the people at Cross, who do seem to be helpful.

Chris

Arthur, I have this pen and I agree that it puts out an awful lot of ink. I've been using it to grade papers and it does through cartridges very quickly. Overall, I've been disappointed in this pen. It writes smoothly, but the lines don't have much character. I'm looking for something more to my liking.

I have four Cross Century II's, all with XF nibs, all are good writers, and all are consistant from one pen to the next. I like the pens alot, but must admit the last two arrived factory direct with damage. So Cross is off my list while I invest in other fountain pens.

I have a Century II as well. It came with a (very wet) medium nib which I replaced with a (wet) extra-fine. I'm inclined to think that the Century II is just a wet-writing pen, but it does seem that your particular sample is a little excessive. I agree with the suggestion to have it looked at, but if I recall correctly Cross has a fairly liberal policy of allowing nib exchanges for a new pen, so that may be another avenue to pursue. I must say that even though it doesn't provide a huge amount of character, the Century II is a very nice pen, and one that I use quite often. It's worth it to give it a chance.

I would agree with this comment, I have to say that I quite like a wet pen although mine still needs filling twice a day. If I didnt make my own ink in litre batches I think it coul work out very expensive to run!, and I thought gas was expensive!

[font="Arial Narrow"][/font][color="#4B0082"][/color]
I have two Century II pens (M & F nibs) and find them both to be wet writers, however I quite like this in a pen. I also use bottle ink with a converter, so it's not as expensive as going through cartridges at that rate, which I have to say sounds quite excessive. What about changing to an F nib?

The Cross Century II Fountain Pen I purchased came with an extra fine nib, though initial results were disappointing as the pen left a very wet line equivalent to a medium point. Even changing from Parker Quink Ink to their own brand only marginally improved the consistency of the flow. It was only through the drastic action of re-seating the nib and feed did it stymy the inconsistent flow of ink to an acceptable level. Unfortunately the fountain pen still writes too thickly for an extra fine nib that the only course of action was to contact AT Cross to get the pen serviced and repaired. Hopefully this problem can be rectified.

I have a century II with an EF nib and I had a problem initially with how wet it was, but after i switched to noodler's ink it became my daily writer when I am not at home. It is writing like a medium nib should, which admittedly is a bit big for my tastes, but it is a good everyday writer.

Last Friday the fountain pen was received back from the Cross repair department who had replaced the nib. When first inked the nib felt very scratchy, skipping on occasions as it left an inconsistent dry line while writing. After using the pen for a minute or two it would run out of ink. So the pen was immediately returned to the manufacturer for the fault to be corrected.

Today the pen was returned with a note from the repair department stating they had expanded the tines of the nib to improve the flow of ink. The package also came with a sample page of practice scribbles to show it was working correctly. Frustratingly this is not the case as when writing with the pen, the nib continues to skip and feels horribly scratchy when writing on paper. So now I'm left in a quandary of either sending the pen back to the manufacturers or keeping a writing instrument that is next to useless. Also I'm reluctant on spending further time, effort and money (postage and packaging costs) on the pen.

I have found Cross after sales in the UK to be the best I have known from any pen manufacturer. I would try a different brand of ink, I am happy to give you a sample of ink that I use where the pen writes very wet if you like.

If that doesnt work then try Cross once more, perhaps even send them a sample of your practice scribbles!

Thank you Arthur for the offer.

How persistence can radically change things! The nib was left in a solution of mild detergent (washing up liquid) for a few minutes, then rinsed and cleaned out thoroughly. The process was repeated a number of times. The result was a pen which was still scratchy, but gradually after spending time emptying and refilling the pen, scribbling, and writing with the instrument it has improved dramatically. Now the pen writes very smoothly, and I am happy with the results.