(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.
The most recent issue of Nib Noise is posted below — except that we don’t post it here until a few days after we’ve mailed it to subscribers, so for the first few days of the month you’ll be looking at last month’s issue.
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======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 17 Number 1 * APRIL 2018 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. I hope you'll enjoy reading this month's issue. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! The robot that sends it out hasn't yet learned to read. If you have comments or questions, send email to: richard@richardspens.com To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit the Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** NEW FEATURE: The Glossopedia *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A major feature of my website is the Glossopedia, a hybrid between a glossary and a single-volume encyclopedia. With more than 1500 defini- tions and descriptions, more than 900 illustrations, and more than 2100 cross-references, it's the most comprehensive of its kind on the Web. Each month, Nib Noise will include a randomly chosen entry from the Glossopedia. -------- Ambassador. A J. Harris sub-brand (1920s-1940s). Ambassador pens were lever fillers and were generally cheap and of poor quality, but they did have 14K warranted nibs. It appears that when J. Harris became the Majestic Pen Company, it kept the Ambassador brand; later Ambassador pens resemble contemporaneous Majestic models. -------- To read more of the Glossopedia, follow this link: http://www.richardspens.com/?gloss= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Long Island Pen Show Is THIS MONTH! Don't Miss It! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Long Island Show is a great place to reel in some great vintage delights from New York and elsewhere. Not too big and not too small, the show is well established and well attended, and it's getting bigger and better every year. A squad of highly qualified repairers will be in evidence in the persons of Mike Kennedy, Jim Baer, and Ron Zorn. I will be working on nibs, and nib workers Linda Kennedy and Joshua Lax, my former students and now pros in their own right, will also be there. As always, Barbara will be making sure I keep my nose to the grindstone. PLEASE READ OUR NEWLY EDITED AND UPDATED "TABLE TALK" FAQ TO LEARN HOW WE OPERATE AT A SHOW: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=shows 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/?shows=firstshow Come on out to Hempstead Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, and visit the campus of Hofstra University. The show will be in the Multipurpose Room in the student center. For more information, visit the show's site: http://www.lipenshow.com/ We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When we think of Parker, we probably think immediately of the Duofold. But Parker has made a whole raft of other pen models. Back in November I wrote a profile of the bottom of the line, the Parkette. This month I've added a profile of the pen in the middle, the famous Challenger: http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=challenger To help you find reference articles on our site that have been edited recently, there is a handy heading right at the top of the reference index, listing the five most recently added or edited reference pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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: I have picked up two boxes of dip pen nibs. One is from C. Howard Hunt Pen Co. in Camden, NJ. The other box is Bank of England No. 104 Ball Pointed Nickel Aluminum nibs. I cannot get nibs from either box to hold any ink. I dip the nib. Brush off extra ink and the first touch to the paper the ink make a blob, then perhaps writes about three letters and then it’s done. Is there a trick I do not know to using a dip nib? A: Steel dip nibs are almost always shipped with a very light coating of oil to keep them from rusting. Ink will roll off them like water off a duck's back. Most users of steel dips are in the habit of sucking on each new nib for a while before using it; if this doesn't pass your reasonableness test, try shaking the nibs gently in a sealed jar containing one tablespoon of clear household ammonia mixed with 2∕3 cup of water. Another thing to check, if no amount of cleaning will make your nib hold ink, is the ink you’re using. Dip nibs do not work at all well with fountain pen ink. If they’ll hold it at all, they won’t hold enough to be useful. Try switching to a calligraphy ink made for use with dip nibs. (But don’t put that stuff in your fountain pens!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RichardsPens.com would 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 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.