Why, Verve, Why?

[LuckyDog10]

My husband was paring down his collection and gave me this lovely Cross (he knows I'm a fan of the brand). 

 

I want to love the Verve, I really do - but even when I deliberately grip the pen farther back on the body, after a long writing session my grip "migrates" a bit and this happens. I'm not even particularly close to the nib; I swear the ink JUMPS from that little slit in the chrome and seeks my finger out!

 

Any tips? Or do I just need to make more frequent grip adjustments? This issue has caused me to pull this lovely pen out of my daily carry rotation (not that I'm hurting for pens to fill the spot, of course). 

[Beechwood]

One of those special pens that I wish I had never sold, all because of a wonderful Namiki broad nib.

 

So many faults with the Verve from the poorly designed clip  to the easily detached cap.

 

I never had inky fingers with mine so you need to check that there are no cracks in the section. Are you certain that there are no signs of ink in the cap which transfers to the section when you fit the cap?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LuckyDog10]

1 minute ago, Beechwood said:

I never had inky fingers with mine so you need to check that there are no cracks in the section. Are you certain that there are no signs of ink in the cap which transfers to the section when you fit the cap?

 

I don't see a crack, but I should probably verify with my loupe, too. 

 

It is definitely not the cap. I cleaned it thoroughly AND wiped the grip with a damp cloth. The first wipe resulted in ink spots. I kept wiping until no more appeared so I assumed there was not a leak. But then I start writing and BOOM! inky fingers. It's driving me bonkers.

 

[BaronWulfraed]

I would suspect capillary seepage from the feed into the nib/section join. I've seen similar from Sheaffer inlaid nibs where the ink creeps up along the edge between the nib and the plastic section.

[LuckyDog10]

12 minutes ago, BaronWulfraed said:

I would suspect capillary seepage from the feed into the nib/section join. I've seen similar from Sheaffer inlaid nibs where the ink creeps up along the edge between the nib and the plastic section.

 

(bleep). That makes sense. 

[inkstainedruth]

I've had the same issues with my Verve as you, LuckyDog10.  

Part of the trouble, I think, is the poorly thought out 2-piece nib.  I keep meaning to ink the pen up again at some point, and try holding further back and then grabbing some other pen out the stash instead.

OTOH, the thing only cost me a buck plus sales tax -- I found it in a thrift store that specializes in arts and crafts supplies on the way to a pen club meeting one night a couple of years ago.  I didn't even know what it was, only that it said "Cross" on it.  And then someone in the club looked up information about it on his tablet; and someone else gave me a converter for it because a couple of months before *he'd* snagged some inks I was giving away.  

The truly scary part is that I saw one on eBay that was the same color as mine (just a different nib width) at the time -- and the seller was asking $185 US for it!  Of course, it was also a seller who's pretty much at the top of my "Do Not Buy From Again!" list; and even if that seller hadn't been, on that list (due to getting jerked around very badly once upon a time -- it was the ONLY time I filed a dispute on eBay, EVER) I find the prices to be inflated.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[AoKiu]

Watch that VDO clip:

I had a leaking Platinum section that always gave me inky fingers. I fixed it with Capt. Tolley's and it worked great. No more leakage and no more ink on my finger.

[LuckyDog10]

17 minutes ago, AoKiu said:

Watch that VDO clip:

 

I had a leaking Platinum section that always gave me inky fingers. I fixed it with Capt. Tolley's and it worked great. No more leakage and no more ink on my finger.

Thanks! I will check this out.