Cross Verve - discontinued?

[polaris]

Has the Cross Verve been discontinued?

 

Is it true the nibs were made by Pilot?

[rogerb]

Yes, and yes

 

I have one and may get another...they are still 'about' on ebay.

They are lovely smooth writers, but a little short in the barrel, IMO, for unposted writing, and the cap on mine doesn't like to be posted.

Edited August 12, 2009 by rogerb

[MikeF]

I guess so... I found a lovely one in a store last week in brushed steel (or alu?) and got it as a gift... But it was the last one in the store, and was kinda lost. Was a bit expensive, though.

[dut1974]

I guess so... I found a lovely one in a store last week in brushed steel (or alu?) and got it as a gift... But it was the last one in the store, and was kinda lost. Was a bit expensive, though.

 

 

It was the Platinum Plated version, that is why the cost seem a bit high if you thought is was steel.

[MikeF]

Nice to know that, thanks!

 

It's this one:

[Tumbleweedtoo]

Yes, I think you got one of the better Platinum models. I bought one over ebay from the United Kingdom and it is definitely NOT blue. Later, I learned on this forum that in Europe, I think if I remember correctly, they were mixing and matching parts on the Platinum Verve as they were getting rid of them. Mine does have a Fine gold nib and writes better than most of my pens, but the cap color plastic is sort of a very dark brown in good light, and the plastic on the nib piece is black. I do not know if any others on the forum here have any additional information to confirm the mixing and matching, etc. or not on the Platinum Verve. If so, I would like to hear. TIA!

 

Tumbleweedtoo

[roger3]

Yes, I think you got one of the better Platinum models. I bought one over ebay from the United Kingdom and it is definitely NOT blue. Later, I learned on this forum that in Europe, I think if I remember correctly, they were mixing and matching parts on the Platinum Verve as they were getting rid of them. Mine does have a Fine gold nib and writes better than most of my pens, but the cap color plastic is sort of a very dark brown in good light, and the plastic on the nib piece is black. I do not know if any others on the forum here have any additional information to confirm the mixing and matching, etc. or not on the Platinum Verve. If so, I would like to hear. TIA!

 

Tumbleweedtoo

 

I also have one of the mix n' match as you described with 18kt nib. Like yours it is one of my better writers. I purchased the pen from FPNer in UK.

Although coloration is odd, I'm o.k. with that because the nib is so smooth.

[pjford]

The Verve nib is made by the Japanese company Namiki. The Verve was discontinued by Cross at the end of 2008. We purchased the remaining few hundred of the platinum plated version, and we sell in the UK for just £86 plus VAT (VAT applicable only in the UK). In the final stages the nib housing was blue on the fine, xfine models but black on the medium and broad. Also the edge of the fine was specially plated so the nib edge shows gold on the medium it is all white gold. The cap clip inlay should be blue where the nib housing is blue and translucent black (brownish in appearance) where the nib housing is black. The pen is a remarkable and its free flowing characteristics are superb. However whether it could command its original price tag of £299 is doubtful and probably contributed to the pens demise. In the USA with the weak UK pound the offer is well worth some attention.

 

www.mrpen.co.uk

[MikeF]

Mine's a fine nib, and both the nib section and the plastic around the clip are blue. The shop it was bought from would certainly not mix pieces - it is a large department store that definetely only sells items as provided by official distributors, not a small specialist store. But the price tag was high - 450€ if I remember.

[Ghost Plane]

These are a bit too short, even posted, for daily use, but excellent writers. Running $90 to $120 USD on the close outs I've seen. I have a Selenium Blue in a B nib. Love the nib, hate the length. Decided to keep it for its performance and looks even if it doesn't see regular use.

[Tumbleweedtoo]

Thanks pjford for this helpful information! I love the pen and it does write beautifully, so I am just happy to get one no matter the mixing and matching. :-) It does look nice as well as write nicely. BTW: I have no real trouble with the length of the pen.

 

Nib Question: One of you mentioned a B nib on your Verve. I have different Cross pens from XF to B. I find the smaller nibs tend to write better and easier than my B nib. I wonder if this is a characteristic of B nibs in general. The B nib does not always start easily and tends to skip. Maybe it is a matter of my paper, my ink, or the way I hold the B nib, but whereas I have no trouble with my other Cross nibs my Cross B nib seems to be problematic. Suggestions or ideas anyone?

 

Tumbleweedtoo

[Ghost Plane]

My B nib is wet, slick, and easy to start on the Verve. Have a B nibbed Century II and that's luscious too. Dunno why yours is different. Mine are VERY wet and run thru ink at a rate of knots.

[Tumbleweedtoo]

Can you tell me what brand of ink you are using on your B nib? I am using Cross blue right now, and the ink or the paper might be the problem. I may just need to get a very wet ink, and may need to ask over at the ink side of the forum for a suggestion. TIA!

 

Tumbleweedtoo

[Ghost Plane]

Standard Cross cartridges. Think it's Blue-Black on board right now and they're about a year in the drawer.

 

If you want a majorly wet ink in the same color family, try PR Tanzanite.

[MikeF]

We purchased the remaining few hundred of the platinum plated version, and we sell in the UK for just £86 plus VAT (VAT applicable only in the UK).

www.mrpen.co.uk

 

A friend of mine has just ordered one...

[Scribero ergo sum]

The Verve line is/was one of the really fun ones, although I would hesitate a moment before calling it one of the best pens, overall. I only say that because in my opinion a pen needs to be up around 9- or 10-10ths in each category to be considered great, and that includes a bit of day-in-day-out practicality. So with the Verve, in exchange for some great, entertaining Cross styling and good, solid, timeless Yankee-ingenuity cleverness, you gave up a bit of the practicality of a differently styled pen. I had a golden shimmer model with a medium nib for several months. I thought it was a blast, but ultimately the lesser practicality and the slightly smallish dimensions caused me to want to trade it for something else.

 

Two main examples of the design quirks are the clip and the section.

 

The clip looks fantastic, invoking as it did (if you chose to perceive such things) the sort of swooping, curving lines of the Jet Age/Space Age of the latter fifties and early sixties in the US, along with the shining chrome finish that also maybe brought to mind a tailfin or two from that same period. The clip is wonderful to look at and the recessed design is great, but it isn't the most ergonomic bit of engineering. The clip didn't really hook securely onto a shirt pocket, and the curving shape of the clip made it a bit tricky to actually get your fingers on the end of to be able to pinch it open. It did work, I should clarify, but not as well as the clip on a Townsend, for another Cross example.

 

The other example is the section, the grip and nib area. By any estimate, the Verve's nibs are some of the best looking in a long time, and just about any review you find says they write beautifully. Mine wrote fantastic, from the first moment I inked and used it. It almost never skipped and almost always started instantly. Whoever made the nib (Cross, or someone else), it was very, very good. But it did require getting used to the shape. Because of the Verve's bullet/torpedo profile, the grip is fairly pointy, giving the hand a decreasing radius-shaped grip by which to hold the pen. The grip itself was made from a nice plastic material that gave good traction, but there was still the issue of the shrinking width. I read other reviews where users had trouble getting ink on their fingers because their fingers sometimes slid down the grip area and touched the edges of the nib. Ultimately, the section was a bit like the clip: it worked ok while it looked fantastic, as good on the 1,000th glance as it did the moment you first opened the box.

 

One other side issue that, in my case, helped lead to my choice to trade it away was the somewhat shortish length, even when the cap was posted. I found the Verve to be just slightly too short to use with maximum comfort, whether with the cap posted or unposted. The shape remained beautiful and the writing performance was typically Cross-excellent, but it just didn't quite fit my hand as well as I'd have liked.

 

Unlike a pen (or anything else this description would fit) that is very heavy on form and light on function, the Cross Verve was more than passable in its function in these two areas of relative weakness, and great in others including the actual writing, a fact I attribute to Cross's almost always excellent engineering. They managed to make some excellent form work decently enough with function that was equally excellent in the writing aspect, but paid a bit of a price in the examples of the clip and the grip/section. Overall it's a terrific pen and any owner will get a lot of fun and enjoyment from it. And if you don't prefer or have need to carry it in a shirt or suit coat pocket, and you can find a good, comfortable grasp of the grip area, you will find yourself loving this pen for a long time.

 

Incidentally, it bears mentioning that when I traded my Verve, it was only after finding a Medalist version of the Townsend rollerball available, and which I had wanted for quite a while. I had assumed, and hoped, that a Cross rollerball, especially a Townsend model, would be one of the best pens I'd ever used or owned. As I might've predicted with a Cross pen, it is 10/10th in every way.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Scribero ergo sum

[argonavis]

Thanks Scribero ergo sum for a great description of the Verve.

My hands must be smaller than yours, so its not to short for me, and I intend to never part with mine.

 

I suppose that it wasn't making the money it should, but I think the Verve is a truly great pen,

showing real intention of taking fountain pens into new looks and feels, and of superb quality.

 

Many makers looking for good ideas might do well to take a good look at this model.

[OcalaFlGuy]

How does the Verves nib relate width wise to the usual Cross nib widths?

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[argonavis]

How does the Verves nib relate width wise to the usual Cross nib widths?

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

My experience with Cross nibs is that all Ms consistently write with the same width, and are all pretty wet writers.

This is based on:

2 CenturyII

2 Townsend

1 Apogee

3 Verve

 

(I know, all medium, and all write the same width. What a lack of imagination.)

 

I haven't a clue as to how this comparison carries over to other nib sizes.

Edited September 6, 2009 by argonavis

[Tumbleweedtoo]

My experience with the Verve includes one with an F nib, one with an XF nib, and one with a B nib. The B nib and the F nib write fantastic. The XF nib seems somewhat scratchy, but not a big problem for me. I bought the Verve with the XF nib on ebay used (no box, no converter, no cartridges, no docs, just the pen) for $40.00; "perhaps" the previous owner did not like the XF nib (who knows). The Verve with the B nib I bought from Cross on their clearance sale a few weeks ago. That Verve with the B nib came with a great nib as a writer, but the clip was defective (rattlely, very loose and insecure on a pocket) and the nib section did not fit the barrel properly. It was similar to the Verve that Russ described in his review. Fortunately, I sent it back to Cross for exchange the very next day, and explained the problems with the pen. They have shipped back to me a replacement Verve with the same B nib that I think is great, which I hope to receive by Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Cross customer support really is to be commended, and I am looking forward to a pen without the problems others experienced with the clip and the way the barrel fit the nib. If I had not had the other two Verves that were perfect, I might not have returned the pen figuring that is the way they made them and just kept it and been unhappy with it.

 

On another note: I do have a Cross Broad Italic nib for a Century II that I have fought with no matter what ink I have used. It remains a hard starter and skips a lot (The paper does make some difference). I was going to send it to someone to fix the thing, when I got my new Platinum 3776 with a Music Nib in the mail and tried it. The Platinum pen writes as one of my smoothest ever pens and the Music Nib does just exactly what I want (though not quite like the broad italic nib when it chooses to write and not skip). So, I am enjoying my Music Nib on a beautiful pen and have figured to save the Cross Broad Italic nib as something just to keep fiddling with as a learning experience (I can always send it to an expert later for repair, if I don't mess it up too badly!).

 

Tumbleweedtoo