======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 5 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 To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit the Free Email Newsletter page on my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pens That Write Right! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, I fill-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. Remember, we are authorized retailers for Bexley, Conway Stewart, 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Farewell to Filcao *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We've been authorized Filcao dealers for several years, and we like the pens very much. But all things change, and among them is Filcao. Signor Francesco Grisolia, the owner and moving force behind Filcao, is not as active as he once was, and Tryphon Enterprises, the U.S. distributor, is no longer going to be carrying these pens. We wish Filcao well and hope the company continues to prosper. We still have a small number of Filcao pens in our inventory, and we will sell them at dramatically reduced prices, on a first come, first served basis. Check them out on our Specials & Bargains page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Good-Bye, Platinum *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We learn from Tryphon Enterprises, the U.S. Platinum distributor, that supply is difficult to impossible at this time, and we have decided that we can better serve you by discontinuing our relationship with Platinum. We have a small number of Platinum pens in our inventory, and we will sell them at dramatically reduced prices, on a first come, first served basis. We cannot get converters for these pens, so we will include extra cartridges with each pen. Take a look at our Platinum page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_plt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Update: The Pharaoh Limited Edition *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ More than half of the twenty-four pens in our limited edition, The Pharaoh, are now sold -- along with the numbers they'll bear. Don't miss out on your chance to own this luxury writing instrument. See the pen and read more about it here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/pharaoh.htm The price of $900.00 includes nib customization and shipment to anywhere in the world -- even, if you happen to live there, the Ross Ice Shelf. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** One More Month for the 2007 Bexley Owner's Club Pens *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One of the oldest of writing instruments -- bamboo -- provides the inspiration for the 2007 Bexley Owners Club Edition. Classic wood-grained ebonite is formed into caps and barrels that echo the shape of bamboo. Gleaming metal accent rings and rollerball clips provide elegant contrast. In recognition of Bexley's fourteenth year, quantities are limited to a maximum of 114 pens with amber color ebonite and gold tone trim, and 114 pens with mahogany color ebonite and platinum tone trim. See Bill Riepl's enticing photo of these pens here: http://www.richardspens.com/images/sales/bexley/ownersclub07.jpg The pens are equipped with Bexley's two-tone 18K solid gold nibs in fine, medium, broad, or broad stub widths. They fill from standard ink cartridges or the supplied piston-filling converters. Bexley 2007 Owners Club pens will be available to registered owners through the end of January. At that time, Bexley will make the remaining pens available to the public, but there will be no choice of number. Many of these pens are already sold; Bexley owners should place their orders as soon as possible to increase the chances of getting the numbers they want. Our price for these pens, including my usual nib adjustment and smoothing, is $335.00 including shipment anywhere in the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 2007 Richard's Pens Calendar Is Available! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you're looking around wondering where's that great 2007 wall calendar you didn't buy yet, this is it. This year, just like last 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 wallpaper-type pictures featuring a mix of vintage and modern pens. 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 No new wallpapers this month, but more will be along as the year passes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Speaking of Accessories... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We still offer an extensive selection of mugs, mousepads, tote bags, and note cards at CafePress, including my BRAND-NEW 2006 CHRISTMAS MUG featuring a well-scrubbed boy and his dog admiring their tree and a Parker True Blue pen. The mug is adapted from a 1920s holiday card. I know the commercial Christmas season is over, but around here Christmas goes on until Three Kings Day (January 6). This mug is the second in our series. Also new this year is a sturdy chrome-plated metal license plate frame for your car, to announce your love of fountain pens to the world with the phrase "Real pens have nibs!" Be the first on your block to trick your transportation out with this cool accessory. All of our CafePress items are made to order and are shipped directly by CafePress, usually within a week -- we 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 our CafePress items, or if you'd like one of our designs on a product you don't see, please send me email -- we can add new designs and products very quickly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** January Blahs Got You Down? How About a PEN SHOW?? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first pen show of the year is coming up in three weeks. From January 19 to 21, things will be hopping at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center 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/ We'll have a selection of shiny new pens from Bexley, Conway Stewart, Pelikan, Signum, and Taccia. THESE CAN HAVE THEIR NIBS CUSTOMIZED WHILE YOU WAIT. We're also working on a surprise, but I can't let the cat out of the bag yet. We'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 Famous Places series. If you don't have a Pelikan pen to go with your new nib, we'll be happy to fit your nib with a new M200 pen body in your choice of colors. We'll also have preground nibs for Pilot Vanishing point pens. 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've never visited our table before, I encourage you to read our "Table Talk" FAQ, in which you'll find the answer to most of the questions that tend to come up about what happens there: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=tabletalk.htm If you have pens that need repairs other than nib work, we'll be happy to save you some shipping costs by collecting them at the show and bringing them home to my studio. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. In case you don't know, the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel used to be known as the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel. Yup, that's right, you don't have to get lost looking for a new hotel; the show is right where it was last time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** In the Reader's Corner *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ About a week ago i found under the Christmas tree a book of letters written from the California gold fields in the 1850s. Check 'em out for yourself! http://www.richardspens.com/?page=bks_txt.htm#potm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Several years ago I wrote a series of columns for a popular pen site. Not everybody goes there, so I've decided to update and republish those articles on our own site. The first four appeared last month, and this month there are four more. Follow the link to the Reference Info index and look for the Pen Doctor heading: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref_txt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don breaks down a great pen-storage idea, step-by-step, for those pen collectors tired of paying big bucks for pen chests, have a little ambition, and know the difference between 120- and 600-grit sandpaper. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0701.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Subscribe to our RSS Feed *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RSS means Really Simple Syndication. You can subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking the orange RSS button at the top of any page of our site. If you're not already hooked up to RSS and what it can do for you, take a peek at our 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. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.