======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 4 Number 9 ======================================================================== 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 Please note that subscribing and unsubscribing are now handled through the new Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley's Submariner Grande family is growing *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The elves at Bexley have been busy. They've come up with several lovely variations on the Submariner Grande. First is a limited production of the standard Grande in that luscious Aspen color. Then there are a VERY small number of Grandes made with real celluloid instead of the usual acrylic resin. I have only four of these pens, in your choice of two colors. And, dearest to my heart, is a Special Edition that Bexley made just for me, using the Blue Pearl resin that made the Cable Twist such a knockout a decade ago: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_bex.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley honors the US armed services *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the Ohio Pen Show, Bexley introduced a new pen series to honor the armed services of the United States. Available in four colors for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, these pens are typical Bexley in every way -- that means quality, by the way -- except that they come standard with a smooth steel Schmidt nib instead of the usual Bexley gold. (But you can also purchase them with gold nibs.) At a price well to the south of $100.00, they're a stupendous bargain -- and excellent pens besides! http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_bex.htm#armed ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** New pens from Tryphon Enterprises are here now! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tryphon Enterprises is the US distributor for Filcao and Columbus. Now here are two new pens that are sure to find a great following. First is the Columbus Scriba Oro, a sweetly tapered pen in a dashing variety of colors, featuring a very good two-tone 14K nib. It's available at the incredible price of only $130.00. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_oth.htm#scriba Next comes the Filcao Silvia, a brand-new vintage-style pen that brings to mind the classic lines of Italian pens from the 1930s. These pens feature really good Schmidt steel nibs, and they are excellent. There are five colors, some with gold-plated furniture and nibs and some with rhodium-plated furniture and unplated nibs. Silvia is priced at $135.00: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_fil.htm#silvia The Silvia is accompanied by a Limited Edition available in two colors. Both feature barrels in a color like horn; one has ivory resin cap and end caps, while the other has these parts in a rich red. Nibs in the LEs are 14K with a little bit of real flex, and they are imprinted (in true vintage style) with only the metal content. I have only one each of these LEs left, at $260.00 per pen. These pens are not listed on my Web site; please contact me by email if you'd like to purchase one. Here is a link to a photo of the LEs that was taken by US distributor Giovanni Abrate: http://www.richardspens.com/images/sales/filcao/sle5.jpg ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The winter holiday season is here... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We can't put it off any longer. The gift-giving season is upon us, and it's time to gather the holiday gifts that will appear under Christmas trees or Chanuka bushes, or just be passed from hand to hand. In addition to my usual selection of pens, I have a few items that may be appropriate for children or colleagues -- or perhaps someone a little more special: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=holiday.htm But wait! It gets better. If you or someone you care about like glitter, I have just the thing. (No, I won't say bling, eve if it does rhyme.) On my Other Pens page I have a small selection of bright metal Columbus pens that will look as good resting in a box of tissue as they will hanging on the tree. (Remember, the original lyrics of that old chestnut "I'll Be Home for Christmas" reallyt do sing of "presents on the tree.") Take a peek: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_oth.htm While you're there, check this out: I have managed to score three of the great Columbus Academia (Yamazaki) pens that were selling like the prov- erbial hotcakes until the supply ran out. Don't miss out on these! There's a little more glitter -- maybe I will say bling here -- on my Filcao page; I have a very small supply of the Filcao Tukano, a slim pen with a serially numbered barrel hexagonal faceted in sterling silver and a cap of burgundy marbled celluloid (not acrylic). These pens are in special gift boxes, each packed with its own bottle of Filcao ink. My wife Barbara uses her Tukano as a purse pen; it fits perfectly into the fold of her checkbook: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_fil.htm#tukano I also have a nice selection of pen accessories such as polishing aids, anatomy posters, and more: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=acc_txt.htm For the friend who has almost everything, there are gift certificates in any amount, redeemable for any product or service I offer: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/giftcert.htm And there is always my extensive selection of mugs, mousepads, tote bags, and note cards at CafePress, including my BRAND-NEW HOLIDAY MUG featuring a blue-coated Santa taken from a 1906 holiday card, together with a Waterman 0552-1/2V for writing your Christmas cards. These items are made to order and are shipped directly by CafePress, usually within a week -- I do not keep them in stock: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/cafepress.htm If you don't see the particular design you want on any of my CafePress items, or if you'd like one of my designs on a product you don't see, please send me email -- I can add new designs and products very quickly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** ...and 2006 is right around the corner. *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've put it all together, and my 2006 Fountain Pen Calendar is now ready for you. This year, I'm offering my calendar through my CafePress shop. This makes it easier to fulfill your orders in a timely manner, and it also allows me to offer a professionally printed calendar instead of an inkjet one. I've designed twelve unique wallpaqper-type pictures featuring a mix of vintage and modern pens -- I think it's gorgeous. My copy is already in the mail to me. Here's a link to my calendar page, with more information and a direct one-click link to purchase your own copy. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/calendar.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Companion Gifts and Thank-You Notes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just in time to include with the pens you're giving -- and to use for thanking the friends who give you pens -- I have a good stock of my new fountain pen friendly pads. And these pads are superb! Professionally made for me right here in Nashua, they're the same fine pads I'm now using for testing pens in my studio and at pen shows. (If you were at the Ohio Pen Show last month, you might already know how good they are.) I've selected a wonderful premium white paper with just the right surface quality to make writing a pleasure. Your pens will glide like ice skates on fresh ice -- and the paper is also amazingly resistant to bleeding and feathering, even when you use a flex nib! These pads are commercially printed; unlike pads printed in short runs on thermal wax or inkjet printers, they let you write right over the designs with no worries about skipping pens or blurred artwork. There are six pads in the set (50 sheets per pad, 300 sheets total), each with a bright, crisp high-resolution photo of a different pre-1950 pen. These are better pads than I've ever offered before, yet I've reduced the price to only $18.00 per shrink-wrapped set. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/pads.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month, it's all about calligraphy. If you're a calligrapher in the making, you may be wondering what the difference is in the kinds of nibs calligraphers use -- and why. Here's an introduction: http://www.richardspens.com/?nibs=flex_italic Flex! It's the greatest thing since sliced bread -- everyone seems to want a pen with a flex nib, to emulate the great penmen of another age. But the picture, rosy as it may appear, may need closer examination: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref_info/nib_disaster.htm Again, Keith Grubb has gotten into my act with a NibLit: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=niblit.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fountain pen collectors do one thing a lot more than other people -- they write. But in this age of personal computers, Palms, and BlackBerrys it's getting harder for even us to do it: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0512htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** In the Reader's Corner *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In keeping with this month's calligraphy theme, my pick of the month is enough to have you drooling over the gorgeous penmanship: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=bks_txt.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.