(This page revised October 8, 2017)
On the first of each month, we publish Nib Noise, a free email newsletter. This is not spam; we will not send Nib Noise to you unless you subscribe, and we’ll stop sending it to you if you unsubscribe.
In addition to short articles about what’s new for sale, where the next pen show is, and other items of interes, each issue of Nib Noise contains Broad Strokes, which is usually a new article that Richard has added to the Reference Pages section.
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======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 16 Number 7 * October 2017 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. We hope you'll enjoy reading this month's issue. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! For comments or questions, send email to: richard@richardspens.com To subscribe or unsubscribe, please DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, visit the Free Email Newsletter page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 23rd Annual Ohio Pen Show Is Almost Upon Us *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 23rd Annual Ohio Pen Show will be happening the first weekend of November (November 2-5). Barbara and I will be on hand for all the festivities -- where will YOU be? The Ohio Pen Show is one of the greatest shows on the circuit. It's famous all over the world for the quality and quantity of vintage pens that you'll see. Meet your fellow collectors in a warm and friendly atmosphere. There are extra events for weekend pass holders, including two, count 'em TWO, auctions, one on Thursday the 2nd and the big one on Saturday the 4th. Oh, and did I mention the pizza party on Friday? With Weekenders' events cranking up on Thursday (30 trading tables) and running all day Friday (160 tables), and two full public days on the weekend, this year's show will be the ideal way to make up your Holiday wish list nice and early. As always, there will be exciting new products and all those vintage pens I mentioned, as well as that fabulous auction action. The Ohio show offers a grand time, and it's really not to be missed. In case you haven't already made your reservation, Terry and his minions will be happy to sell you a Weekend Pass when you walk in the door on Thursday, so you needn't miss out on the variety of evening events. For much more information, visit the show's Web site: http://www.theohiopenshow.com/ If this will be your first-ever pen show, be sure to read my pen show virgin's guide: http://www.richardspens.com/?shows=firstshow As always, I'll be regrinding and tweaking nibs while you wait. We use a list, like your favorite restaurant, so you can enjoy the rest of the show while you await your turn. (But we don't have those buzzy hockey puck things...) Bring a pen, and share a little time with friends at our table while I jazz up your writing experience. PLEASE READ OUR "TABLE TALK" FAQ TO LEARN HOW WE OPERATE AT A SHOW: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=shows If you have pens that need repairs other than nib work, you can hand them to any of the several repairers who will be working at the show. We recommend Mike and Linda Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance, Martin Ferguson of Martin's Pens 51, or Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there -- come and join the fun! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Hands-On Nib Workshop in Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ably seconded by Linda Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance (sixth-year protégée) and Brian Gray of Edison Pen (second-year protégé), I will be giving my hands-on nib smoothing seminar at the Ohio show. It happens Sunday morning, beginning promptly at 8:30. Attendance for hands-on guidance is limited to 16 registered participants. Registration for the workshop will open promptly at 9:00 Eastern time on Friday October 20, at this page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=workshop If registration is filled up before you get to the page, you are still welcome to audit the workshop; we'll have extra copies of the handout for you, and we'll take questions from auditors just as from paid participants. If you decide after the workshop that you'd like to try working with your own pens, Mike and Linda at Indy-Pen-Dance will have complete kits of the workshop materials for sale at their table. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month I've written a profile of a seriously exciting, and very cool, pen I first encountered at this year's Washington DC show, the World War II-vintage Graphomatic Inkmaker. And because the Inkmaker is no longer usable, the article also discusses the Inkmaker's less exotic sibling, the Colonel, a working example of which is inked and in my pocket as I write. http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=inkmaker To help you find articles that have been edited recently, I've added a handy new heading right at the top of the reference index, listing the five most recently edited pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Missing Your "Pen Show Tray" Fix? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you are bemoaning the disappearance of my monthly "Pen Show Tray" and haven't yet latched onto the new monthly tray from Indy-Pen-Dance, you can do so very easily. Just point your browser at this page: http://www.indy-pen-dance.com/mailchimp_news.php#subscribe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Barbara's Attic Is Your Source for Great Restorable Pens*** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We continue to offer assorted miscellany in Barbara's Attic, including occasional new trays of restorable pens. Right now, there are two, count 'em TWO, twenty-pen trays of excellent pens for your collection or your pocket. Most of these pens are eBay priced, but they've all been gone over by someone who — unlike so many eBay sellers — actually knows something about pens: me. Some are ready to roll, some will just need cleaning, and a few will require minor restoration. These things are noted in the tray dsescriptions. DON'T MISS OUT! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Pen Doctor *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pen Doctor is a regular visitor to the Nashua Pen Spa, and every so often he puts a few prescriptions up in our site's reference section. Each month, I'll be reprinting one of his prescriptions here. -------- Q: Frank Dubiel, while noting that the shell of a Parker 51 must touch the nib, says that if it contacts the nib too tightly it will restrict ink flow. Is heating the shell and either pressing the nib against the shell or the shell against the nib a reliable means of increasing or decreasing the flow in a 51? A: I’m afraid that this is one area in which Frank missed the target. He got his information from a Parker repair manual that was printed just after the “51” was released. The point of having the shell touch the nib was to ensure that capillary action would carry ink to the nib’s slit — but the feed will do the job just fine when adjusted right, especially if it was made in 1946 or later so that it has an ink fissure. The shell does not need to touch the nib. It should be close to the nib so that writing pressure won’t bend the nib upward and damage it, but a slight gap is perfectly all right. Also, as you mention, if the shell is pressed too firmly against the nib, it can force the nib downward and close the slit, cutting off the flow entirely. Adjusting the flow can be done entirely by adjusting the width of the nib’s slit, and that’s how I recommend you do it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We'd like to be liked on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NashuaPenSpa ======================================================================== If you received this newsletter from Richard Binder, you are a Nib Noise subscriber. If it came from someone else, I invite you to subscribe. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, visit the Free Email Newsletter page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.