======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 6 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** It's Only Six Weeks Until the DC SuperShow! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The organized chaos of the Washington DC SuperShow is only six weeks away. Collectors from around the world will begin congregating in Tysons Corner, Virginia, on Thursday, August 9. Festivities for weekend traders begin on Friday, and the world's biggest pen show opens its doors to the public on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12. We're already getting ready, and we hope you are, too. 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.pencentral.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Hot 'n' Sweet New Pelikans Coming This Month *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chartpak announced this week that two new Pelikans are on the way and should be here in a couple of weeks. The new M910 Toledo is a limited production pen (no serial numbers) which is destined to be another "classic," soon to be available to collectors and Pelikan aficionados. This pen features a two-tone 18K nib of the usual high Pelikan quality, married to a pen with section, filler knob, and cap made of a rich red resin. The barrel is of sterling silver. Our price for this gorgeous piece of hardware will be $1250.00. Next comes Pelikan's new Souveraen M320 in marbled green, the successor to last year's popular M320 "purse pen" in orange. The new M320 has a nice "vintage" look to it, and our price will be $220.00, same as for the orange version. We'll have these two great new Pelikans for sale as soon as they're available to us. Keep an eye on our Pelikan page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_pel.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley's New BX701 Has Arrived *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The newest Bexley collection is christened BX701, and we now have a good stock of these sharp new kids on the block. Available in three colors, BX701 introduces a totally new clip design for Bexley, and the resins (Blue Shimmer, Cappuccino, and Onyx) are new, too! We've priced these pens at $90.00 with steel nibs or $185.00 with 18K. Feedback from clients who have purchased BX701s is very, very favorable! Check out the new BX701 here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_bex.htm#bx701 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Coming to a Site Near You! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last month we announced that we're working with Taccia, one of our favorite pen manufacturers, on a new special edition. It will feature a new vintage-inspired Taccia model, an exclusive resin, and gold nibs, and it'll be priced well below $175.00. With the usual "Pens That Write Right!" guarantee, it'll be a choice you won't be able to resist. We are now expecting to see these pens in about two weeks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Come to the Richard's Pens Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Client response to our monthly vintage pen tray has been great, and we want to thank all of you who have told us what a novel idea it is. At the Raleigh show, one of our clients even told us that he can hardly wait to see the new tray we put out on the first of each month. Well, it's the first of the month again, and there's a new tray there! Check out our vintage pen tray for yourself: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/vint_txt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Boxes -- Economical and Attractive Cigar Box Pen Chests *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every single one of the repurposed Spanish cedar cigar box pen chests Don Fluckinger offered for sale last month has gone flying out the door, and we've gotten email asking about more! Okay, Don has stepped up to the plate, and there's a whole new selection of his economical and artistic pen storage boxes. Check out his classy product here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/dons_boxes.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** New Nylon Pliers for the Critical Tweaking Jobs *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The late Father Terry Koch once told me, "Those pliers aren't good for a d--- thing." He was wrong. For the odd tasks where you need a nonmetallic jaw on both sides of the material or when you need really clear visibility of a very small area, there's no substitute for these great reinforced nylon pliers. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/pliers.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, Namiki and Pilot, 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 Richard's Pens calendar page featured the elegant Taccia Ta-ke. I created the 1600x1200 wallpaper for this pen last year, and it's available for download on our site. In honor of the success of The Pharaoh, I've made a new version of its wallpaper; this revision features a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian temple built by Akhenaten, the iconoclastic pharaoh whose statue graces the pen's advertising. There's also a short hieroglyphic phrase that was provided by a client who's an Egyptologist. (Modesty forbids that I should tell what it says!) As I've been doing for other images recently, I've created a "normal" version in 1600x1200 size, and a "cinematic" version that's a whopping 1760x1100! Get yours here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=wallpapers.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ No, that pen is NOT a Sheaffer Craftsman. Find out why: http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=craftsman ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don was called out of town unexpectedly this week and so wasn't able to write his usual column. Instead, we bring you this pen-related vignette... http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0707.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 on our site or by plugging the following URI into your browser or RSS reader: http://www.richardspens.com/richardspens.rss 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.