Leaking rollerball ink?

[srvrf]

I'm a complete noob to the pen world, but was cleaning out my drawers and noticed an engraved Cross Townsend Medalist Rollerball Pen that was given to me in 2001 upon completion of my vitreoretinal fellowship. I never thought much of it until the past couple of weeks. When I took off the cap, I found that the ink cartridge had leaked and the pen had ink all over it. I cleaned it as much as possible and went to Staples and bought new refills. Well after a day of use, I found that the new refill was leaking too and made a mess. So back to cleaning again and the second refill is now in the pen. So far so good. So my questions are as follows:

1. Is the ink leaking a problem with cheap refills or perhaps the body of the pen causing a problem?

2. I am an ophthalmologist and intend to use it to sign orders and papers. Is a rollerball a good choice? It does seem nice and smooth and there are rarely carbons these days.

3. To use watch analogies, if I wanted say an Omega or Rolex version of a pen (not AP or Patek which I think is Montblanc), what are your suggestions for my needs?

4. Because I've never used a pen worth more than $1, I've always tended to lose them. What hints/tips do you have for not losing them? I already think they need to be stainless/chrome to contrast against my multiple black bags. Anything else?


Thanks everyone in advance!

[SUBversive]

Cross has a lifetime guarantee so if it happens again you might send it back. I'd be surprised if it was a problem with the pen however. But who knows?

IMHO I've moved on from cross since they moved all their mfg to the Far East from the USA. As for suggestions for a ball pen or roller ... Whoa there are a million. I'd try to hit a pen store in your area if possible. The key is to hold and try ones you like.

As for not losing them....I'd say never lend it. I always have a bic around for someone. If using a rollerball and you let someone use it keep hold of the cap to ensure you get back the pen.

[srvrf]

Originally Posted by SUBversive

Cross has a lifetime guarantee so if it happens again you might send it back. I'd be surprised if it was a problem with the pen however. But who knows?

IMHO I've moved on from cross since they moved all their mfg to the Far East from the USA. As for suggestions for a ball pen or roller ... Whoa there are a million. I'd try to hit a pen store in your area if possible. The key is to hold and try ones you like.

As for not losing them....I'd say never lend it. I always have a bic around for someone. If using a rollerball and you let someone use it keep hold of the cap to ensure you get back the pen.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a particular fan of Cross or any other brand really. I just wondered if there could be say a sharp edge inside the pen that damages the refill since it happened in the original and then the replacement.

As for brands, I'm kind of like the general public who generally first recognizes Rolex as the brand of "luxury watches," in that the only pen brand I recognize is Montblanc. So obviously, I've got a lot to learn about pens/writing instruments. My guess is that the closest pen store will be an hour away but the next time I'm in town I'll look.

And I do think part of the reason I've always lost pens is that I didn't care about them. Even a "nice" once was probably no more than $10. Although my Cross is "only" $140, I definitely keep better track of it than a disposable.

[SUBversive]

We had a pen shop in town and the guy gave up closed and moved to Tennessee. Seriously. One affordable line he carried was lamy. Check that out. High quality for the price.

[srvrf]

Originally Posted by SUBversive

We had a pen shop in town and the guy gave up closed and moved to Tennessee. Seriously. One affordable line he carried was lamy. Check that out. High quality for the price.

It looks like Paradise Pen in Indianapolis closed in 2011. But I'll check out the other pen lines. I'll be in Chicago in October so I should be able to check out some stores there.

[SUBversive]

Originally Posted by srvrf

It looks like Paradise Pen in Indianapolis closed in 2011. But I'll check out the other pen lines. I'll be in Chicago in October so I should be able to check out some stores there.

That's Leo / lion's backyard I believe. Maybe he will be around the thread with local recommendations for you.

[sheldonsmith]

I've had luck with Visconti rollerball with Schmidt refills. Visconti is relatively affordable and serviceable; I had two Opera's sent back for re-chroming and one that cracked was fully replaced.

Ditto on keeping the cap, as well as uncapping the pen for someone to use. I have seen some just pull off the cap not knowing it unscrews, or press/turn/unlocks.

[srvrf]

Well as an update I changed the refill again and so far so good. So maybe it was just bad luck.

As for my pen use, I have moved on to using mainly my Waterman Carene and Montblanc 90th LeGrand FPs. Even in my work setting, so far so good with no lost pens. I did drop my MB on concrete and scuffed it quite a bit but I was able to get most of it out. The only problem I've found is that a lot of paper is cheap and the ink tends to bleed. So when I get a form from that, I pull out my RB or any Bic I can find.