======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 5 Number 4 ======================================================================== 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 To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit the Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Toronto: The Show Must Go On! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The passing of Bob Bridge has been a blow to us all -- Bob was a friendly and knowledgeable pen collector and repairer, and we will miss him. It was his enthusuasm that got the Toronto Pen Show off the ground. He's gone, but co-organizer Bill Smith and Bob's daughter Shari aren't going to let the Fourth Annual Toronto Pen Show be lost. On Sunday, July 30, I will be in Toronto, Ontario, a delightful city on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The Toronto Pen Show (held in the International Centre near the Toronto airport) has grown each year, and it will be bigger this year than before. There are guaranteed to be some juicy pens waiting to be snapped up on exhibitors' tables. If you're able to spend a weekend in Toronto, the city is well worth the trip: cosmopolitan, friendly, loaded with good restaurants, museums, historical sites, and more. The Toronto show is big enough to be interesting, yet it's small enough that you won't have to worry about having a panic attack the way you might at one of the big shows. 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.torontopenshow.com/ I'll be there to regrind and tweak nibs. 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'll have a selection of new pens from Bexley, too. Customs restrictions make it not feasible for me to bring pens not made in the USA. 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 Piccadilly Circus. 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. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** What's a Watley? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New from Bexley, a VERY limited number of wicked cool FPs for sale! Take the guts from a Waterman Gentleman, add a classy Bexley body, and you get a Watley. Howard Levy made limited numbers of Watleys in several colors, and I have a small number of these pens left. You can see the six available colors in this image: http://www.richardspens.com/images/sales/bexley/watleys.jpg From the top: * Chocolate Woodgrain Ebonite, $190.00 * Amber celluloid (butterscotch with green flecks), $190.00 * Silver celluloid as on the 2006 Owner's Club pen, $190.00 * Flecked Rose acrylic, $160.00 * Mahogany acrylic as on the America the Beautiful, $160.00 * Blue Pearl acrylic as on the Binder Submariner Grande SE, $160.00 All are about 43/4" long capped and 6" posted. Uncapped, they're 41/2" long, and the barrel is 0.46" in diameter just aft of the threads. All have left-foot oblique broad nibs except one of the ebonites, which is as broad nib. Pens That Write Right! 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 at my usual price and ship the pen immediately instead of putting it into my regular queue. (I cannot swap nibs between pens.) Please send email to purchase your Watley. Shipping in the U.S.A. is $6.00; international purchasers please ask when you order your pen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Silver Duro: The Ultimate in British Luxury *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The Silver range is inspired by one of Conway Stewart's early British design triumphs. Each pen is handcrafted from solid sterling silver, complemented with a hand applied, delicately translucent resin veneer, creating a unique celebration of colour and design. Each pen is hallmarked and fitted with a rhodium-plated 18ct gold nib." -- from the Conway Stewart Web site We have available for immediate delivery one Conway Stewart Silver Duro in Flame Red, a C/C filler with a fine nib. (This pen is brand new, in the box, with all papers.) Gold is impressive, but there is nothing else that feels quite so luxurious, almost like liquid velvet, in the hand as a solid silver pen. I tried to sneak this one through, but Barbara caught wise and suggested that I could keep the pen or keep on breathing. My loss is your gain... I need $550.00 for this marvelous pen. Pens That Write Right! 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 at my usual price and ship the pen immediately instead of putting it into my regular queue. (I cannot swap nibs between pens.) Please send email to purchase this pen. Shipping in the U.S.A. is $6.00; international purchasers please ask when you order your pen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** More Special Items from Bexley *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We don't normally keep ballpoints in stock, but we've managed to end up with a few. We have six of Bexley's classic Gold Line pens (long since retired from the catalogue), two in each of three colors, and three Prometheus ballpoints. Both models are cap actuated and can accept standard ballpoint or rollerball refills. You can see the pens we have in this image: http://www.richardspens.com/images/sales/bexley/ballpoints.jpg From the top: * Prometheus in Brown, $140.00 * Prometheus in Orange, $140.00 * Prometheus in Blue ice, $140.00 * Gold Line in Yellow Pearl, vermeil cap, $110.00 * Gold Line in Teal Pearl, sterling cap, $110.00 * Gold Line in Red Pearl, sterling cap, $110.00 Please send email to purchase a ballpoint. Shipping in the U.S.A. is $6.00; international purchasers please ask when you order your pen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Now Available from Taccia: SST and Ta-Ke Collections *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Taccia's just released two great new collections, and we are the first retailers to be able to offer them for sale. Comfortably sized gunmetal and chrome barrels, astonishingly light and nimble in the hand, anchor the SST Collection, with hand-picked Swarovski diamond crystals adorning the cap. These great pens are priced at only $72.00 with a steel nib or $147.00 with 18K gold. Named after the Japanese word for bamboo, Ta-ke takes its inspiration from this treasured plant of one of the world's most revered civilizations. Known for its strength and longevity, bamboo is regarded in many Asian cultures as a symbol of luck, friendship, and long life. Taccia's Ta-ke Collection embodies these values in its unique design, combining the natural beauty of bamboo with sleek modern lines to create an undeniably attractive writing instrument, priced at $57.00 with a steel nib. Pens That Write Right! 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. For full info including Ta-ke color chips with a new and exciting twist, and to be the first on your block to flourish one of these outstanding new pens, follow the link below: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_txt.htm From there, click on "Taccia." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Coming Soon from Platinum *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After a short break, Platinum pens are being reintroduced to the USA with Tryphon Enterprises as distributor. Backed by a reliable support network and a solid warranty, the pens of the "New Platinum" are very much worth investigating, owning, carrying, and enjoying. We have set up our Platinum page to give you an idea of where we're going -- follow the link below: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_txt.htm We will be carrying the Platinum pens we think will most appeal to our clientele. Although we'll normally stock just the models shown on our site, we'll be able to obtain any currently available Platinum pen for you; if what you want isn't shown on our site, please contact us by email. From there, click on "Platinum." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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. And, of course, if this happens at a show you get the dubious privilege of sitting there and watching to be sure I do it right. Remember, we are authorized retailers for Bexley, Conway Stewart, Filcao, Pelikan, Signum, and Taccia. We don't always have a complete line up on the site, but we can get anything our manufacturers offer -- if you don't see it, just ask! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Last Month's Calendar Page Is This Month's Wallpaper *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The June calendar page featured a Parker Duofold. I accidentally put that pen up as a wallpaper back in March, so this month's new wallpaper is the Filcao Libra from March. Along with the Filcao wallpaper I've also made a new wallaper featuring a Marcello Nizzoli-designed Aurora 88 from 1948. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=wallpapers.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Red, Blue, Green, whatever. What do those color names on Waterman nibs mean? http://www.richardspens.com/?nibs=wat_nib_colors ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The occasional series on pens most fountain-pen collectors consider "junk" gets a new installment on combo pens. You'll be surprised with what develops. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0607.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Subscribe to my RSS Feed *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RSS means Really Simple Syndication. You can subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking the orange RSS button at the top of any page of my site. 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 the Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm Note: We will never sell your name or email address. 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