======================================================================== Nib Noise Volume 6 Number 11 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Second Long Island Pen Show Approacheth *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first Long Island Pen Show happened in November 2006. Assorted confusion and difficulty prevented the happening of a 2007 Long Island Pen Show, but Terry Brack and Mike Bloom are back. Mark your calendar for March 14 and 15 -- that's FRIDAY and SATURDAY -- at Hofstra Univer- sity in Hempstead, Long Island. We will be there; you should, too. Check it out at the show's Web site. (They should be updating the site any day now.) http://www.lipenshow.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Classic Pens Legend, BEFORE the Flame Red *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Classic Pens set out to create its new Classic Legend pens, the first order of business was to make some prototypes. Andy and Armen chose four colors and built exactly 40 fountain pens, 10 in each color. They decided to retain two of each for the company's archives and then asked us to offer the other 32 pens to our clientele. These prototypes are made of a brilliant cast acrylic resin that rivals the flare and depth of a fire opal -- but in richly saturated colors of unparalleled distinction. These gorgeous Legend prototypes are selling very well, which means that you need to snag yours before someone else beats you to it. http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=cla+proto ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Conway Stewart, Since 1905: Jarvis and Garner Editions *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ With a joint capital of 50 pounds, Frank Jarvis and Tommy Garner established themselves in a small room at Paternoster Row, in the heart of the city of London. The result was history. Today's Conway Stewart presents two new limited-edition pens, the Jarvis Churchill ($525.00) and the Garner One Hundred ($410.00), in honor of its founders. For photos and more information, check these elegant pens out on Mary Burke's U.S. Conway Stewart site: http://www.mvburke.com/imagebank/le/jarvisgarner.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Boy Do We Have Some Extra-Special Specials This Month *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On my way home from the Ohio Pen Show last November, I stopped in at the Bexley factory and got Howard Levy to build me a Bexley Sleeve Filler out of parts left over from the 2001 production. I liked it so much that I wrestled the remaining parts out of Howard's hands and built a few more Sleeve Fillers for others, who -- like me -- dig funky pens that write very well. And then, at the Philadelphia Pen Show last week, I scored big on some Sheaffer Preludes! I got 'em, and they're ready for you! Check out the Bexley Sleeve Fillers and Sheaffer Preludes. Check 'em out quickly, though, because they are definitely cool -- and there's no guarantee that any pen you see on the Bargains and Specials page will ever reappear. http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=oth ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Not Everyone Can Use Fountain Pens All the Time *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You don't see them on our site, but we also sell rollerballs and ballpoints. We'll be happy to order matching rollerballs or ballpoints for any of the fountain pens we offer, even if you don't buy the fountain pens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Ornamenta Won't Be Available Forever -- We Have ONE Left! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ONE black Ornamenta 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/?newp=sig+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/?newp= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Boxes -- Some Familiar Names, Some Great New Ones *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don keeps finding really attractive boxes to do his thing with, but you need to remember that any box you say today may never reappear. This month he's found a couple of remarkably attractive new boxes and done great things with them. Check out his classy product here: http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 2008 Richard's Pens Calendar Is Still Available! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is your last chance to add my 2008 calendar to the decor of your den, office, pen room, or wherever. The calendar 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. (Andy Lambrou said to me that he thinks this is the best picture anybody's made of the LM1 -- guess whether I felt flattered!) 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/?acc=calendar ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Try Your Hand at Nib Smoothing *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We've offered kits of nib smoothing films for years; but what good are tools without material to work on? You don't want to learn on your favorite Pelikan Toledo, do you? Well, we now have what you need: our Student Smoothing Kit includes the Basic Kit and adds two complete brand-new Autopoint fountain pens with excellent Mutschler steel nibs. They're already pretty good, but you can make them better -- and then you can stick 'em in your pocket and use 'em! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=lapping_films ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Richard's Wallpaper Shop Is Open for Business *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last month's calendar page, featuring the 1997 Sheaffer Snow Pen, is now available for download as a computer desktop wallpaper. To accompany it, I've made a wallpaper that shows off the Classic Pens MB3 Jupiter Limited Edition against a skyscape of its namesake planet and the Jovian moon Io. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=wallpapers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pens That Write Right! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, I tune each new pen or nib at no extra charge before shipment. I fill the pen with Waterman Blue-Black ink and write with it on paper from the same fountain pen friendly pads we sell, adjusting as necessary to bring it up to the RichardsPens.com "factory" standard for smoothness and 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ World War II had profound effects on the home front, in almost every aspect of civilian life. It even touched that most prosaic of tools, the pen. http://www.richardspens.com/?hist=wwii_fp ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don finishes up his "More Fountain Pens 101" FAQ: http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=0802 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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 ======================================================================== 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 Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.