I've been experimenting with quite a few fountain pens over the last little while, and on Sunday decided in a spur-of-the-moment moment that I wanted a Cross Verve.

The nib type suits me as I hold the pen almost right on the paper.

I was so excited to get this, so I paid the $25 and got 'Overnight' delivery. Well last night I get a shipping confirmation email notification saying it has been sent First Class Mail, and the tracking number on the web order page says: www.usps.com. Obviously I was a little cross, so I called them first thing this morning. Apparently it had shipped overnight, and it arrived at lunchtime this morning (actually at the same time the earthquake hit). They couldn't explain the postal references.

So horrah! It arrived. It was beautifully packaged, came with sales brochures and a catalogue, and a very intense box and display box.

So I filled it and away I go. It's wonderful, I really like it, I could happily use this pen all day every day.

And then, the leaking started.

At first I thought it was because I was holding it so far down, and the ink was coming through the side grooves (I'm not totally sure what they are, if anyone wants to enlightenment please feel free to). So I tried to hold it further up, was was still noticing small drops of ink on the barrel. *insert scowl here* I wiped it carefully with a tissue and noticed one area that was spotting badly. So I cleaned it up, and put a piece of invisible tape across the join between the nib and the rest of the barrel, and sure enough, there is a leaking spot along the seam. Glad to know it isn't the way I hold the pen!

So, as I have to work on Cross time (which is EST) I need to wait until the morning to call them. I'll let you know how I get on with customer service.

The pen I've got is the Radical Chrome with an Extra Fine nib, and I suspect it was perhaps a rush job to change the nib, and the seal hasn't doen it job properly (seems a plausible problem).


Wish me luck!





PS - I just received a Lamy Safari in Lime yesterday - just for the pure garishness of it, and I really like it! It's my little buddy. I guess it's had the last laugh, eh!

PPS - I also now have more fountain pens than I know what to do with. hahaha. Junkie!

I also have a Verve - Merlot with a medium 18K reground to cursive italic.
I love the pen and the way it writes but don't use it as often as I would otherwise due to "inky fingers"
It's almost as if the sharp taper of the section as it flows into the inlaid nib encourages my fingers to slip down when writing. Whatever the reason, inevitably in use my fingers will slide down over the small side gaps between the nib and the metal feed cover. Essentially I am now writing with a pen holding the sides of the nib and it comes as no surprise when the feed "feeds" ink to me.
I also initially thought the pen was leaking. A quick visit to AT Cross here in Rhode Island however and ten minutes with one of their service techs who watched me with the pen in hand convinced me otherwise.
The Verve is a great pen and, unlike a lot of Cross offerings in it's size, remarkably light and well balanced. I just have to consciously take care how I hold it when I use it.

When I first noticed it I did a search online for problems, and it seemed a lot of people were saying that holding the pen close to the nib was a cause of the problem, so I initially figured it was my writing style.

The pen leaks from only one side though - if I take a tissue, just wiping the pen puts a lot of ink on the tissue, on the right side. I can't get a single spot from the left side.

Does that sounds like the pen design or a leak? I would have thought it was a leak but then I'm not familiar with these pens at all.

Waterman fan that I am, I do have a blue Verve. I purchased it when they firdst hit the market a few years ago.

The first pens did have quality control issues (this type of nib was a first for them), and had to be returned. I purchased mine from the great *Swisher Pens, and I think I sent it back to them for the exchange. No problem!

*I am happily affiliated, as a satisfied customer.

I wanted to add, this was the only problem I ever had with a Cross pen. Their pens are excellent quality. Actually, I think I would like a second Verve...

I've since returned the pen, and even though I only had it for that small amount of time, I do miss it. The nib was beautiful and the perfect line and firmness in the nib that I like. Looking at the page of my Moleskine where I had written with it, I am really sad that it didn't work out.

I want to get another but I just don't know if it's me holding it on those grooves, or whether the pen had a fault. I initially thought it was a fault, but convinced myself it was a problem with my writing style. I really don't know what to do.