======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 4 Number 10 ======================================================================== 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 handled through the new Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Hey, This Must Be 2006! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you're looking around wondering where's that great 2006 wall calendar you didn't buy yet, this is it. This year, you get a professionally printed calendar instead of an inkjet one -- which means it's twice the size of the old ones, and prettier besides. It has twelve unique wallpaqper-type pictures featuring a mix of vintage and modern pens. My copy arrived back in December, Don took one look at it, and, well... Another copy is now 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Tying Up the Last 2005 Loose End: Welcome Susanna Rose *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At 3:56 a.m., December 30, 2005, I became a grandfather for the second time. Please welcome Susanna Rose Binder to the ranks of pen collectors. If she's anything like the rest of the family, she'll be out there evan- gelizing for fountain pens in practically no time. Waitaminnit, hold the phone, I think I'm too late. Keith Grubb has kindly provided a NibLit portrait of the little nipper; check it out here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=niblit.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** On the Way to Philly *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first pen show of the year is coming up in three weeks. From January 20 to 22, things will be hopping at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in the heart of the City of Brotherly Love. The Philadelphia Pen Show is famous for some of the weirdest weather around, and it's also famous for being a show that Goldilocks would love: not too big, not too small, but just right. Make it a destination, and start the new year right! 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/?page=ref_info/firstshow.htm For more information, visit the show's Web site: http://www.philadelphiapenshow.com/ I'll have a selection of new pens from Bexley, Conway Stewart, Filcao, Pelikan, Signum, and Taccia. THESE CAN HAVE THEIR NIBS CUSTOMIZED WHILE YOU WAIT. I'll have a stock of my preground Pelikan M200 specialty 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. 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 their owners wait. Bring a pen or two, and share some chatter at my table while I jazz up your writing experience. 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. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** FPOTW -- Fountain Pens of the World Is Back in a New Edition *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Printed from new plates, on a smooth eggshell-finished paper of higher quality than in earlier editions, the 2005 edition of FPOTW offers superb clarity of both print and photos. Text is easier on the eyes, and the beautiful finish on the paper allows for a tremendous improvement in color accuracy, brilliance, and depth: you can actually see the difference between the two shades of burgundy Sheaffer used for the Snorkel (1952-1956 and 1956-1959). What? You didn't know about the two shades of burgundy? Now you do, and now you can see them without having to track down the pens. And that, in a nutshell, is why the new 2005 edition of FPOTW is worth having. There are many other books listed in my Reader's Corner: books for new and experienced collectors, readers, and more. Pick up a copy of FPOTW while you're browsing: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=bks_txt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Silvia from Filcao -- 1930s Italy Returns in a Classic New Pen *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was definitely worth the wait. The new great Filcao Silvia, with its strikingly retro lines and colors, really does look almost as if it could have come rolling out of Settimo 70 years ago. (Never mind that Filcao has only been in business for 41 years...) Riffing on the experience of Columbia, Filcao has made the Silvia a light, easy- handling writer's pen, not just a piece of eye candy that writes. With an improved version of Filcao's solid button filler, Silvia is a pen that you can rely on. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_fil.htm#silvia You can also see them, try them, and choose one for yourself, at my table at the Philly show. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Snow Is White, Pearl Is White, Taccia Is There -- at a BARGAIN! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have come into a nice extra shipment of the luscious Mother of Pearl pens from Taccia. Big and heavy, these well-made pens seem to fit the hands of a surprising number of people. The fact that they look so lovely and write so well is just icing on the cake. They come with two-pen zipper pocket cases of genuine Spanish leather, and they're available with 18K gold or steel nibs -- y'know, that Pearl Mosaic with a fine color-matched steel nib is starting to grow on me... http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_tac.htm#mop PRICE DURING JANUARY ONLY: $195.00 with gold nib, $120.00 with steel nib Of course, I will have a good selection of these beautiful pens at the Philly show. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Preground Binder Custom Nibs Don't Have to Be Steel, You Know *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you've been hiding somewhere in the Outback with no radio or laptop, you might not yet know all of the preground specialty nib shapes I've been offering in steel for years are also available in 14K gold! Check them out in the newly styled 3-D "metal" chart on my site's Pelikan page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=newp_pel.htm#custom ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley's Submariner Grande Is Still Big *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I still have a good supply of the new Aspen Submariner Grande -- and of the Special Edition Grande 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#grande ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Personalized Custom Nibs with No Waiting *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One of the most enduringly popular colors on pens isn't a "color" as such -- it's brushed stainless steel. Whose idea was this, anyway? http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=flighter ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A new addition to clan Binder offers our intrepid columnist another opportunity to recruit another collector into the hobby. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0601.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vintage Pens for Sale ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's a new year, and I'm starting it with a batch of freshly restored vintage pens. 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 ---------- Green Dollar Pen, 9668 nib. Condition: B. Price: $55.00 Gray SJ, 9450 nib. Condition: B. Price: $45.00 Black SJ, NOS 2556 nib. Condition: B. Price: $40.00 Esterbrooks for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_est.htm Parker ------ 1950 Midnight Blue aerometric "51", Converging Lines GF cap, F nib. Condition: B-. Price: $140.00 1948 Navy Gray aerometric "51", Lustraloy cap, XXF nib. Condition: B. Price: $120.00 Red 45, steel F nib. Condition: B+. Price: $25.00 Olive Green 45, steel F nib. Condition: B+. Price: $25.00 Navy Gray 45, steel F nib. Condition: B+. Price: $25.00 Black "21" Mark II, F nib. Condition: B. Price: $40.00 Gray "21" Super, XF nib. Condition: C. Price: $35.00 Parkers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_pkr.htm Sheaffer -------- Black Radite Lifetime Senior Flat-Top, firm XF nib. Condition: C+. Price: $120.00 Marine Green Striated Wire-Band Craftsman, F nib. Condition: B. Price: $70.00 Sheaffers for sale: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sale_she.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. 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