======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 6 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Year-End Review: Just whom Do We Represent, Anyway? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you haven't been keeping score, you might not know that we adjusted our selection of brand offerings this year. I thought it might be useful to give you a rundown of the companies we represent, with a little about why we like each one of them. Bexley is the only pen manufacturer now making its pens in the U.S.A. We know the pens are made here; we've had the Cook's Tour of Bexley's small Columbus, Ohio, factory. We like that, and we like the pens themselves. They're modern, well made and reliable, with a sensibility of the Gold- en Age to them. We also like the folks who own and operate the company; they are truly good people. And every Bexley pen is assembled by hand. The hands of Howard Levy are very good at this sort of thing. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_bex.htm Classic Pens Inc., the newest addition to our stable, is the brainchild and labor of love of Andreas Lambrou, who is one of our oldest and best friends in the pen community. Armen Malikian, the company's veep, is an old friend as well. Put these two guys together and you are bound to get great results. Superb quality, nice lines, exciting materials, what more could you ask of a pen? Oh, you want it to write well? Well, that's what you get from Classic Pens. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_cla.htm Conway Stewart. Since 1905, that name has signified British excellence, and today's Conway Stewart is dedicated to producing luxurious pens of the sort that British royalty expects and demands. We're not royalty, but that doesn't mean we can't write like them -- and we can also give you that same luxury. There are myriad Royals running around over there in England, and there are myriad variations on the Conway Stewart theme to satisfy their -- and your -- tastes. Rather than guess what you might want, we order each Conway Stewart pen when it's purchased. Knowing the Conway Stewart line is more fun even than knowing the names of all those English kings. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_cny.htm Namiki and Pilot are actually the same company. You knew that, right? 93-year-old Pilot of Japan created the Namiki brand, named for company founder Ryosuki Namiki, to distinguish itself in the U.S. market. And distinguished it is. Namiki offers gorgeous maki-e pens, which we are happy to order, and it also offers the Bamboo and the Falcon, unusual pens that write organically and with superb feel. Then there's the Vanishing Point for those of us who are serious about using real pens but have to work in the rat race, where there might not be time to uncap a pen before using it. Click! To enhance your enjoyment, we offer the Vanishing Point with a broad range of specialty nibs -- which you can purchase with the pen or separately in case you like to change your look. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_nam.htm Pelikan is so well known, and so popular, and so reliable, that there isn't much else to say except that we like interchangeable nibs and the things I can do with them for you. Playing swapsies with Pelikan nibs is so much fun that we even sell the M200 Esterbrook style, nib and pen body separately. Mix and match your favorite color with round nibs, italics, flexies, needlepoints -- and finer. We can also provide the "big boys" with virtually all of the same nib styles, with the pen or separately. And for the history buffs, let it be recorded that Pelikan was the first brand we took on when we opened for business. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_pel.htm Signum has been around only since 2003, but Signum is really Steve and Maryann Zucker, whom we love almost as dearly as our own siblings. They're marvelous people, and when they created the Signum brand to market a new line of pens made by Essegi of italy we were thrilled at the opportunity to become associated with them professionally. The pens are worth it, too: incredible quality at surprisingly low prices. If you haven't tried a Signum pen, you owe yourself that favor. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_sig.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Jupiter Rising *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When we joined forces with Classic Pens Inc., we figured we'd be able to offer just their (more or less) standard line. But Andy collared me and asked whether we wouldn't be interested in offering the LB3 Jupiter, a gorgeous deep blue diffusion bonded pen built on the Legend chassis. Paul Rossi did the stunning body work on this very limited edition, and each pen is unique. Seeing is believing, and with fewer than 25 Jupiters remaining available I wouldn't advise you to dawdle: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_cla.htm#jupiter As with all pens we sell, I fill-test every Jupiter and adjust it -- if necessary -- before shipping it. Haven't needed to adjust one yet, though... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Wonders of Nature: the Sahara *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Early in 2007 Pelikan introduced its new M640 Wonders of Nature pens. Following up on the dramatic yet calm blue and silver of the Niagara Falls, the newest M640 is the Sahara, with the subtle hues of warm sand. Breaking the sweep of the desert are engraved golden waves that bring to mind the sinuous curves of wind-blown dunes. The Sahara features the same lovely two-tone 18K nib that Pelikan used on the M620 series. We no longer stock the Niagara Falls -- but we can order one for you if you missed out. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_pel.htm#m640 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Ornamenta Won't Be Available Forever -- Check It Out NOW! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Signum discontinued the Ornamenta collection a year ago, and we snagged the entire remaining stock from Empire Pens, the U.S. importer. We're offering this excellent pen, which was selling for about $270.00, for the unbelievable price of $135.00. Fitted with Signum's excellent 18K nib and solid sterling silver furniture (rhodinated to prevent tarnish), this could be the deal of the year -- or the decade. We have only a *very* small number of black Ornamentas left. This might be your very best chance to introduce yourself to the quality of Signum for a bargain price. Check out the Ornamenta, and check out with one in your shopping basket while you still can. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_sig.htm#ornamenta ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Come to the Richard's Pens Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another month has gone by, and another month's pens have gone "buy." We are finding that the response to our vintage "pen show tray" is growing stronger as the months come and go. The pens, however, don't necessarily come again, so do choose yours before they go: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/vint_txt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** And Speaking of... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...pens that won't be available forever, you should definitely look in on our Bargains and Specials page. There we feature pens we're clearing out, usually at prices that you can't afford to pass up. As with the Pen Show tray, there's no guarantee that any pen you see on the Bargains and Specials page will ever reappear. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=sales/newp_oth.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Boxes -- an Ever-Changing Selection of Great Pen Chests *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don has put together a New Year's selection of his economical and artistic pen storage boxes. He keeps finding really attractive boxes to do his thing with, but you need to remember that any box you say today may never reappear. Check out his classy product here: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/dons_boxes.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 2008 Richard's Pens Calendar Is Available! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you're looking around wondering where's that great 2008 wall calendar you didn't buy yet, this is it. This year, just as in 2006 and 2007, 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, including a really dramatic shot of the Classic Pens Flame Red Legend over an actual eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Visit the Reader's Corner *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You got a new pen for Christmas, maybe more than one. Now I happen to know that some of those pens have italic nibs. Know how to get the best out of your new italic? Jim Bennett can teach you. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=books.htm#potm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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, Classic Pens Inc., Conway Stewart, Namiki and Pilot, Pelikan, and Signum. 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In 1921, the era of blatant copying began in earnest with Parker's introduction of its bright orange (red hard rubber) Duofold. But that wasn't the first time, nor was it the last... http://www.richardspens.com/?desn=double_vision ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lately, readers are stuffing Don's email box with fountain pen "101" issues. So Don decided to write a FAQ for you: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0801.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.