======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 6 Number 6 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** New York Is Alive and Well, and We're Gonna Be There! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ it's just moved to New Jersey -- to the Doubletree Inn in Elizabeth, to be precise. The ballroom is bigger 'n' better, the dealers will be showing up in what looks to be record numbers, and it looks as if the weather might cooperate. (Hey, it's almost a month away, I can hope, can't I?) Mark your calendar now, for the weekend of September 28, 29, and 30. Three whole days of pens, pens, pens. And people! If you don't yet have a reservation at the Doubletree, you'd better get it in gear, because the block that Maryann and Steve reserved - at a bargain-basement rate, I might add -- is almost sold out. 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.nycpenshow.com/ Barbara and I will be there for the whole official show. As I write, we're not sure whether Friday will be an assigned-tables day or not; if it is, we'll be there all three days, but if not we won't be setting up until Saturday. We'll have a good selection of new pens from Bexley, Conway Stewart, Namiki/Pilot, Pelikan, Signum, and Taccia. All will have special low show prices. We'll also have a stock of my preground Pelikan M200 and Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point specialty nibs, with demonstrators of them all for you to try before you buy. The Pelikan nibs fit M200, M250, M400, and M600 pens, including the M640 Niagara Falls, which is a *lot* prettier in person than in pictures. 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. As I've done each year since 2002, I'll be regrinding, tweaking, and repairing nibs. Bring a pen or two, and share some chatter at my table while I jazz up your writing experience. PLEASE READ OUR "TABLE TALK" FAQ TO LEARN HOW WE OPERATE AT A SHOW; we have made some important changes in our continuing quest to serve you better: 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 the Nashua Pen Spa. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** We Still Have a Few of the Lovely Pilot Sesenta LE *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pilot Sesenta is a decimo-sized Capless (Vanishing Point), but it's not just any ol' Vanishing Point. The Sesenta is special. The word means "sixty" in Spanish, and in Japan -- where the aged are revered for their wisdom -- the age of 60 is considered an important milestone. The Japanese word for a person of 60 years or more is kanreki (written in Kanji to the left), and it is a very auspicious word. This is a limited 400-pen edition that is not officially being offered in the U.S.A., and we were able to snag only 20 pens (of which about half are gone). Learn about the Sesenta, and snag one before they're all gone: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_nam.htm#sesenta ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Staccato SE Is Here, and Boy Is It Nice! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Taccia/Binder Staccato SE came home with us from the Washington SuperShow, and we couldn't be better pleased with it. Our contest to name the pen's unusual color was won by a New Jersey client (who will be at the show, by the way), and the official color name for this fabulous brown marble is Smoked Agate. The pens have been flying out of the shell cabinet we use for inventory storage, so you should seriously consider nailing one down now. (So many have sold that we've run out of the FIne nibs -- but I can grind a medium down for you, at extra cost, if you're a fine-nib type.) For more information, visit our Taccia page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_tac.htm#staccato ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Come to the Richard's Pens Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Client response to our monthly vintage pen tray continues to be enthusiastic, and we're really enjoying the tray and its novelty. Once again we hav e a new tray for you. This time I've taken several pens out of my collection (which is what happens when the Managing Partner discovers that I've bought a first-year Hundred Year Pen and need to pay for it), including a couple of unusual moderns. Check out our vintage pen tray for yourself: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/vint_txt.htm Check out the special consignment of clean and exciting modern pens we have -- prices have been reduced at the client's request: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Boxes -- Economical and Attractive Cigar Box Pen Chests *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don Fluckinger has put together a 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Wallpaper Place *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been very taken with Waterman's Hundred Year Pen recently, and now that I have a few, it was time to create a wallpaper for the model. It's available in the 1600x1200 "standard" size, and it'll also work well on a "cine" monitor. Get your copy here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=wallpapers.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To go along with that classy new wallpaper image, I've written a profile of the Hundred Year Pen: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref_info/hundred_year_profile.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you're buying vintage pens -- at shows, and especially "in the wild" at flea markets and antique shops -- you need a loupe. Here's a brief buyer's guide: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0709.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.