======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 3 Number 11 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** New Pens, New Models, New Brand *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I first encountered SIGNUM pens in Atlanta nearly two years ago, in March 2003, when Steve and Maryann Zucker of Empire Writing Instruments introduced the brand at the Great Southeastern Pen Show. I was impressed with what I saw, and I'm still impressed. Now, as I work on building a selection of high-quality new pens for sale, I've added Signum to my list of brands. I have the Orione in stock (gold nib, piston filler), and I'll soon be receiving a selection of the new Nova (which happens, coincidentally, to mean "new"!). Check out the gorgeous Oriones on my Signum page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_sig.htm Remember, unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, I dip-test each new pen at no extra charge before shipment, aligning and smoothing the nib and ensuring that it has good flow. If you order a new pen with a customized nib, I will modify the nib and ship the pen immediately instead of putting it into my regular queue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Back to the Future? Ahead to the Past? You Decide *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ My announcement a month ago that I'm now offering Pelikans the way Esterbrook sold pens half a century ago -- choose a pen and choose a nib -- produced a fantastic response. It looks as if this old-fashioned idea was just what many people had been waiting for. In case you've forgotten, I stock the full range of M200 and M150 pen colors -- I even have M250 Blue/Black and Green/Black bodies. For the M200, you can choose a nib in F, M, B, BB, or any of my 31 customized styles; for the M150 the options include M, B, and 3 customized styles. Check 'em out -- and build your own pen today: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm Oh -- one last thing. I've found a few Forest Green M200 bodies; both cap and barrel are the same dignified green as the cap on a Green/Black M250 body. Until they run out, these are priced at $55.00. I think the green looks really great paired with burgundy. (Christmas in February?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Rarae Aves (Rare Birds) -- UPDATE *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Late in December I managed to snag a VERY SMALL number of M150-sized Pelikan pens in solid red and solid green, with silver colored furniture and unplated steel nibs. They are EXTREMELY RARE. The red ones are gone, but i still have a few green ones left. There will NOT be any more when I have sold these, so get yours while you can! http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm I'll be perfectly happy to customize nibs on these pens, as with any other pen I sell. (My standard customizing charges will apply.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Were you ever gigged by your sergeant for being out of uniform because your pen bulged in your pocket? I was. Find out how and why: http://www.richardspens.com/?desn=milclips ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jim Hickman didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the back-catalog of gorgeous celluloids of the 1930s and 1940s, the marbled-plastic heyday for fountain pens. He just liked to play with resins and knew a good mixture when he saw it. This instinct formed his common ground with the hobby, and it was the reason his pens had begun to gain traction among pen aficionados. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0501.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "NibLit" by Keith Grubb ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month I'm pleased to introduce a new feature of Nib Noise (and, of course, of my site as well). Keith Grubb is an outstanding cartoonist, and he's kindly agreed to do an exclusive monthly series of his witty pen-related cartoon "NibLit" for me. Sometimes NibLit will be topical, sometimes it'll be off on a tangent all its own. Enjoy! http://www.richardspens.com/?page=niblit.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Subscribe to My RSS Feed for Continual Updates *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RSS means Really Simple Syndication. You can subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking the link on my site's main page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=main.html If your browser complains that "feed" is not a registered protocol, open your RSS news reader and subscribe to this URL: http://www.richardspens.com/richardspens.rss If you're not already hooked up to RSS and what it can do for you, take a peek at this introductory page: http://www.popcornpopper.com/rsshelp.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 an essential reference book, brilliantly written and illustrated, that should be on every collector's book shelf: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=acc_txt.htm#readerscorner My monthly pick also appears as a link on my welcome page. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vintage Pens for Sale ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I promised last month that I'd have a few special goodies this month, and I think I've found just that. The pens listed here aren't all the vintage pens I have, just the ones that weren't there last month. Give all my vintage pens a look! Pens are graded according to the following condition scale. Within a grade, I use + or - to indicate shades of variation; for example, a pen that is B+ falls into the B grade and shows so little use that it is only marginally not A2. Condition Description A1 Mint (uninked). Shows no signs of use. A2 Mint (inked). As for A1 but may have been dipped or inked. N New Old Stock (NOS). Unsold dealer or manufacturer stock. Not dipped or inked but may show shop wear. B Excellent. All parts original and showing only very slight signs of use. Very slight surface scratching; very minor discoloration or brassing; crisp imprints; no significant dings. C Fine. All parts original. Some discoloration and brassing; light or worn imprints; small dings to metal or scratching on plastic. D Fair. Some parts possibly not original; significant brassing or discoloration; very worn imprints; dings and scratches. Maybe a good writing pen or usable for parts. Esterbrook ---------- White CH, NOS 9550 nib. Condition: B-. Price: $80.00 Green Dollar Pen, NOS 2556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $60.00 Blue Dollar Pen, NOS 2556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $55.00 Pearl Gray J, NOS 2556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $45.00 Black J, 9550 nib. Condition: C+. Price: $40.00 Red SJ, 9556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $45.00 Esterbrooks for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_est.htm Parker ------ Cocoa Aerometric “51”, Converging-Lines GF cap, F nib. Condition: A1. Price: $250.00 Forest Green “51” Special, B nib. Condition: B+. Price: $75.00 BCHR Jack-Knife 201/2, semiflexible F nib. Condition: B. Price: $125.00 Parkers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_pkr.htm Sheaffer -------- Black 1949 Touchdown Crest, two-tone F Triumph nib. Condition: B+. Price: $140.00 Aqua Snorkel Admiral, 14K XF nib. Condition: B. Price: $85.00 Black 1949 Touchdown Statesman, two-tone F nib. Condition: B+. Price: $95.00 Sheaffers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_she.htm Others ------ Clipless BCHR Waterman’s ideal No. 52, flexible F nib. Condition: B-. Price: $90.00 Others for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_oth.htm ======================================================================== 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.