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Nib Noise * Volume 9 Number 5 * August 2010
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Welcome to Nib Noise. This e-newsletter is a joint effort of Richard
Binder and Don Fluckinger. 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 visit the Free Email Newsletter page
on our site:
http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise
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*** New Cigar Box Pen Chests! ***
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See the great new assortment of our Spanish cedar cigar box pen chests,
and get one today -- especially if you're planning to attend the
Washington D.C. SuperShow along with Richard and Don. Where else would
you put all those newly acquired treasures? This inexpensive pen storage
leaves more cash in your wallet that you can plow back into more pens!
http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes
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*** It's SuperShowTime! ***
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August is here! And what does that mean? It means the Washington, DC,
SuperShow. Oh, sure, it means the Dog Days of summer, but I don't really
think a hot sweaty time outdoors ranks up there with the Greatest Pen
Show On Earth, do you?
Washington is one of the world's great tourist cities, so if you have
family members who aren't insane about pens -- you are, of course -- you
can turn them loose at the Falls Church Metro stop and forget them while
they see the sights in town. You don't even have to take them there.
That's what hotel shuttles are for!
With the pre-show crankin' up on Thursday, August 12, and running
through Friday, the Big Show will be open to the public on Saturday and
Sunday, August 14 and 15.
This show is so-o-o big, and so-o-o good, that you may face a legitimate
worry about having a panic attack when you walk in the front door of the
hotel. Yes, the pen show fills the lobby, too! If you plan to come and
haven't ever been to a show before, you might want to read my article on
Your First Pen Show:
http://www.richardspens.com/?refp=firstshow
For more information, visit the show's Web site:
http://www.pencentral.com/
Once you get there, you'll definitely want to visit the world's biggest
and best ink testing table, in the hotel lobby! This great feature is
open 24 hours a day while the show is on, so for you insomniacs there's
something to while away the wee hours.
Barbara and I will be there for the whole show, from the Overture on
Thursday afternoon to the final curtain on Sunday. We'll have a good
selection of new pens from Aurora, Bexley, Gate City Pen, Namiki/Pilot,
and Pelikan. Most will have special low show prices. We'll also have a
couple of mugs of Merlins, about which you can read more below.
If you have pens that need repairs other than nib work, we'll be happy
to save you some shipping costs by collecting them at the show and
bringing them home to the Nashua Pen Spa.
We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to
see you there.
Oh, and please read our "Table Talk" FAQ to learn how we operate at a
show:
http://www.richardspens.com/?info=calendar
One thing you won't find in the FAQ: on our table you will find both
business cards and our vintage-style advertising blotters. We sell packs
of blotters, all five designs in one pack, but we also have a pile of
one design that are there for you to take and use. Use for what, you
ask? For blotting your signature, of course, perhaps on a cheque made
out to us or to another dealer at the show!
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*** Speaking of Schedules... ***
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We're going to the DC SuperShow, of course. We'll be closed for business
beginning Thursday, August 12 until we reopen on Thursday, August 19. We
will try to answer email in a timely manner while we're gone. The first
day we'll be able to ship purchases after we return will be Wednesday,
August 25.
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*** The New Postal Stable Is Growing ***
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At the Raleigh show in June, we introduced the New Postal Reservoir Pen
from the Gate City Pen and Ink Company. The first model was the Senior,
an M800-sized pen in black with an amber or ruby transparent barrel.
Since June, Gate City has added a Junior model, about the size of an
M400, in the same colors. And just because they could, they've also sent
us an order of Seniors in DUOFOLD ORANGE with a transparent barrel. This
thing is wicked cool!
If you can't come to the show, or even if you can, check out the array
of New Postals on our Gate City Pen page:
http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=gct
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*** Other News on the Pen Front ***
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If you've been mooning over Bexley's elegant Imperial -- and singing
along with Fats Waller ("Man oh man, them things is toooo big!") -- you
are in luck. Bexley has just introduced its new Imperial International!
At 5-1/2" long, the International has the same smooth cigar shape that
your hands will love to fondle, but it's smaller all over. Fitted with
the excellent steel nib that's appeared in Bexley's other recent pens,
this is a writer's writer, a pen you can really enjoy. We'll have the
new Imperial International at the show, and we're hoping to have it up
on our site this week. Keep your eye on our Bexley page:
http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex
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*** Merlin Was Magic, But The Supply of Merlin Pens Isn't! ***
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We bought a finite number of Merlins about a year ago, and the supply is
coming to an end. If you've been holding off on buying a Merlin 33 or
Merlina, the end of the Universe is drawing uncomfortably close. Don't
miss out on these charming celluloid button fillers from the 1950s!
http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=mer
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"Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder
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Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his music with a goose quill. But you don’t
have to, and you’d be silly to deal with the hassle of a quill when you
can use a music pen instead. But what the heck is a music pen, anyway,
and why would you want one? Especially if you don’t write music.
http://www.richardspens.com/?ttp=music
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"Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger
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Don deconstructs the parallels of the Sheaffer and Porsche 911 Targas --
all the while putting the 1980s in the rear-view faster than a turbo
ripping down the Autobahn.
http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1008
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*** The Dog Days Are Here, and It's Too Doggone Hot to Play Outside. ***
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If you're finding it just too darn hot these days, consider a pleasant
indoor activity: sprucing up a few of your pens. Sacs, sac cement, and
many other repair supplies are only a click away, in our Accessories
section.
http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=tools
Remember the great repair manual by Jim Marshall and Laurence Oldfield?
The one that sold out almost overnight? Jim and Laurence have revamped
and enhanced it, and the second edition is due out this month. It's
bigger, better, and more colorful, and the printing run will be larger.
But there's not an infinite supply, so this is another item you repair
geeks (or you non-geeks who just want to know how your pens work) should
definitely latch onto.
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*** Speaking of Dog Days, There Are No Dogs on our Pen Show Tray! ***
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This month our tray is loaded with good stuff -- including an incredible
Coral Wahl desk pen with a Carlton Ware pheasant base. We've got Esties,
"51"s, and lots of others, too, so don't miss out!
http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint
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*** Pens That Write Right! ***
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Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, we tune each new pen or
nib at no extra charge before shipment. We fill the pen with Waterman
Blue-Black ink and write with it on paper from the same fountain pen
friendly pads we sell, adjusting as necessary to bring it up to the
RichardsPens.com "factory" standard for smoothness and flow.
If you order a new pen with a customized nib, I will modify the nib (for
an extra charge) and ship the pen immediately instead of putting it into
my regular queue.
Remember, we are authorized retailers for Aurora, Bexley, Classic Pens
Inc., Namiki and Pilot, and Pelikan. We don't always have a complete
line up on the site, but we can get anything our manufacturers offer --
if you don't see it, just ask!
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