======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 3 Number 1 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. This newsletter is a joint effort of Richard Binder and Don Fluckinger. We hope you'll enjoy reading this month's issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Show Tunes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I will be at the Boston show on both days, Saturday and Sunday, April 3 and 4, to regrind and adjust nibs for walk-up clients. The show will be at the Holiday Inn Somerville, and I hope to see you there! I will not be able to attend the Chicago show later this month, unfortunately. To all whom I had said that I'd be there, I offer my apologies. Although I won't be able to travel to North Carolina this summer, I'd like to make sure you know about the brand-spankin'-new Raleigh show. Organized by Terry and Sonya Mawhorter, who also put on the great Ohio show every November, Raleigh will run June 3-6, and it promises to be another excellent way to spend a weekend with pens and pen people. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By now, you've probably heard the buzz about "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean," the new fountain pen I designed for FILCAO of Italy. It's turned out to be very popular, for which I'm thankful, but it is definitely *not* sold out. Your FILCAO dealer may not have any Columbias at the moment, but many more pens are on their way from Italy as I write. If you haven't yet seen Columbia, take a look on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_fil.htm People have asked why Columbia is the way it is. Why it's only available in dark blue, why it has an old-fashioned button filler, and so on. Just in case any questions of that kind have been bothering you, here's why. I designed Columbia with the deliberate intent to create a "vintage" writer's pen, not a "collectible" pen, that could be manufactured today. I specified the shape and size to emulate the look and feel of some of my favorite vintage pens: o The cigar-shaped barrel is reminiscent of 1940s Vacumatics and striped Duofolds. I find it remarkably comfortable in the hand. o The relaxed taper of the blind cap gives the pen an overall profile like some of the Wahls of the 1920s. I had originally conceived a more pronounced taper, but the exigencies of manufacture led to the final version as you see it, and it definitely pleases me more than the original concept did. o The solid black section with a distinct clutch-end flange and no trim ring is also Wahl-like. o The washer clip and the one-piece inner cap/end cap are lifted directly from the Parker Duofold and many other similar Parker models; the short tapered end instead of a flat surface comes from the Challengers. o The button filler appeared on the Parker Jack-Knife in 1912, and there have been innumerabla changes rung on the basic design since. I chose it because I wanted a "vintage" design, not just another stamp-em-out-by-the-zillions cartridge/converter pen. Columbia's version is internally like that of the Parker Duofold, but the threaded retaining ring and button are more modern; they make repair easier. o The pen is a patriotic tribute to the USA, hence its name "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean" and the logo I designed for it. The "Ocean" theme gave me the color I wanted, a vintage-like dark blue with gold flecks to evoke the wine-dark sea with the golden light of the rising sun reflecting off the wave tops. The 19th-century-style patriotic logo includes two women, not one alone, to symbolize the transatlantic cooperation between the USA and Italy; the Italian woman is wearing white with a red and green shoulder sash to evoke the colors of Italy's flag. The 13 stars in the logo represent the original 13 colonies that became the United States. o The silver-colored furniture (rhodium-plated steel except for the sterling band) is symbolic of America's erstwhile innocent purity. The band is sterling because a softer metal was needed to allow for swaging into the cap groove, and an added benefit is that it can be engraved without showing base metal as happens with plated parts. And that's about it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** But Speaking of FILCAO Pens... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've always liked FILCAO pens; they're solid, attractive, and well made, they're priced very economically, and they're a pleasure to use. I have a Leader 1918, and my wife Barbara has a Leader and a Tukano. With the success of Columbia, I've decided to offer a few other FILCAO models on my Web site. The selection will become broader as I decide which models I want to feature: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_fil.htm Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, I dip-test each pen before shipment to ensure that its nib is aligned and smooth, with good flow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Limited Engagement Drawing to a Close! A Honey of a Pen *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have an increasingly limited suppply of the new Pelikan M400 "Honey" pens. These pens have custom reground 2-tone 14K gold nibs in your choice of nib styles; I am not offering them with stock nibs. Check them out: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Return of a Classic *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last month I reintroduced custom-ground Waterman Phileas pens, with nice broad nibs, in Red, Green, or Blue, with your choice of 0.8-mm stub or 0.9-mm cursive italic nibs. They have sold well; in fact, the Blue ones are sold out, but Red and Green are still available through my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Customized Pelikan M150 Pens *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have Pelikan M150 pens in Burgundy, Black, Green, or Gray with your choice of customized nib, either 0.9-mm cursive italic or 0.6-mm stub. My supplier likes to throw in a little surprise from time to time, and I now have several pens with green barrels and black caps and blind caps. I think they're pretty sharp looking, more like one of the bigger Pelikans. These special geeen pens are also available on my site. Note: M150 pens cannot use M200 nibs. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Customized Pelikan Nibs for Your Own Pens *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ And don't forget my wide selection of customized M200 nibs that will fit all M2xx, M4xx, and M6xx pens (including the M620 City Series, M700 Toledo, and Originals of Their Time limited editions). Check them out: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hooded nibs -- who'da thunk it? Why would anybody ever want to cover up that gorgeous glittering hunk of gold that sticks out of the front end of a fountain pen? Well, you can start with Parker and go on from there. And on, and on, and on: http://www.richardspens.com/?desn=hooded_nibs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our intrepid columnist prepares body and soul for his first pen show in a year -- in case more than pens shows up on the radar ... again. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0404.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the Reader's Corner ------------------------------------------------------------------------ My site's Reader's Corner features a monthly pick, a book that I like and think that you might enjoy, too. This month's pick is not about pens, but it'll teach you some really creative ways to use them: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=acc_txt.htm#readerscorner My monthly pick also appears as a link on my welcome page. ======================================================================== If you received this newsletter from Richard Binder, you are a subscriber. If not, you can subscribe by sending a mail message to richard@richardspens.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line, or by clicking on this link: mailto:richard@richardspens.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe from this newsletter, send a mail message to richard@richardspens.com with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line, or click on this link: mailto:richard@richardspens.com?subject=UNSUBSCRIBE Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.