======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 4 Number 7 ======================================================================== 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. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! For comments or questions, send email to: richard@richardspens.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Get a Head Start for Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Out there in the Midwestern wilds of Ohio, Dublin to be more precise, is a hotel called the Clarion. Once a year, the Clarion plays host to one of the best pen shows on the planet, the justly famed Ohio Pen Show. I'm already starting to put together the things I'll take with me, and now is the time for you to start thinking about the same thing. There's room in the hotel, but get your reservations in soon, because if you put it off you might find yourself out in the November cold. With a Friday full-day pre-show and two full public days on the weekend (November 5 and 6), this year's show is guaranteed to be worth its weight in 14K gold Skylines. As always, there will be exciting new products -- including Taccia's first converter-piston pen, the Andante, which I will have available for sale. And there will be more vintage pens than you can take in; this show is one of the grand old vintqage festivals, and it's really not to be missed. For more information, visit the show's Web site: http://www.ohiopenshow.com/ If you have pens that need repairs other than nib work, I'll be happy to save you some shipping costs by collecting them at the show and bringing them home to my studio -- or you can hand them to Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens, one of the best repair guys I know, and have them fixed right there. I'll have a selection of pens from the companies I represent: Bexley, Conway Stewart, Filcao, Pelikan, Signum, and Taccia. Most of the pens I have at shows are offered at DISCOUNTED SHOW PRICES, with their nibs checked and smoothed -- and you save shipping costs, too. Talk about INSTANT GRATIFICATION! I'll have a stock of my preground Pelikan M200 italic, oblique, and stub nibs, with demonstrators of them all for you to try before you buy. These nibs fit M200, M250, M400, and M600 pens, including the M620 City series and the new Place de la Concorde. (They also fit the "1931" and "1935" limited editions.) If you don't have a Pelikan pen to go with your new nib, I'll be happy to fit your nib with a new M200 pen body in your choice of colors. 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. Bring a pen or two, and share a little time with friends at my table while I jazz up your writing experience. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Rudyard Kipling, Eat Your Heart Out! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaa, the Python, figured large in The Jungle Book, but he never looked so good before. Exotic leathers are in this season -- and Signum's new Python, with its strong lines, proven quality, and hand-applied real python leather on the cap, is just the pen to set off your pocket or pen case with unmatched style. I will have Pythons at the Ohio show, of course, but for the month of October I'm offering them from my regular stock at a special discounted price of $290.00. Check out the fall fashion wardrobe and choose YOUR Python: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_sig.htm#python ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Close-Out Corner *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From time to time, I'm able to secure limited quantities of quality writing instruments at various price levels. I pass these special deals on to you. These pens are all new manufacturer's stock, fully warranted, and I stand behind them as I do with my regular pens. Check out the big swirly "demonstrator" that Bruno calls the Kosmos: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Speaking of Head Starts... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Halloween is still almost a month away, but already I'm seeing Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday decorations appearing in the stores. The gift-giving season is just around the corner, and it will be my pleasure to help you stuff a stocking or two with pens, or with those little accessories that fill in the cracks: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=acc_txt.htm For the friend who has almost everything, I also offer gift certificates in any amount, redeemable for any product or service I offer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Nib Tips *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, I dip-test each new pen that you purchase 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "It's two -- two -- two mints in one!" If you remember that television- commercial slogan for breath mints, you were around when Parker tried to do the same thing with fountain pens. Check out what happened: http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=180 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Are you a set collector or a type collector? And do you really know for sure? Our ruminating Don Fluckinger seemingly goes both ways but in the end, knows on which side his bread's buttered. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0510.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vintage Pens for Sale ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'd like to say I've had the leisure to prep a couple hundred vintage pens for you, but I can't. I did get to do a few, though. These 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 ---------- Copper J, 1555 nib. Condition: B. Price: $40.00 Red LJ, NOS 2556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $40.00 Esterbrooks for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_est.htm Parker ------ Permanite “Little Red” Duofold Junior, B.P.O.E (Elks) medallion inset into cap, M nib. Condition: B. Price: $150.00 Hunter Green 45, 14K M nib. Condition: B++. Price: $30.00 Parkers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_pkr.htm Sheaffer -------- Blue lever-filling Cadet (?), 14K Feathertouch M nib. Condition: B. Price: $60.00 Sheaffers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_she.htm Others ------ BCHR clipless Gem eyedropper filler, Waterman No. 2 flexible XF nib. Condition: B+. Price: $90.00 Dubonnet Red second-generation Eversharp Symphony Deluxe, firm XF nib. Condition: B. Price: $70.00 Marine Green Eversharp Skyline Standard, firm XF nib. Condition: B–. Price: $60.00 Marine Green Eversharp Skyline Demi, firm XF nib. Condition: B. Price: $70.00 Others for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Subscribe to my RSS Feed *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 you're not already hooked up to RSS and what it can do for you, take a peek at my introductory page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=rsshelp.htm ======================================================================== 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 my Web site's Free Email Newsletter page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.