======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 8 Number 1 * April 2009 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. This e-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 our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Price Cut for Pelikan Enthusiasts Who Like EF Nibs *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pelikan has improved the production of its EF nibs, and we're finding that the new stock is up to my finicky standards. Woo hoo! Effective immediately, our Pelikan offering now includes standard EF nibs (Binder- ized, of course) instead of my reground versions. This is an instant price reduction of $45.00 on all Pelikans when purchased with EF nibs. No foolin'! http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=pel In concert with this change, we've withdrawn XF from our list of Pelikan specialty nibs. (Grow your nib collection and save even more!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** This Month: A Classic Returns *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pilot MYU is back! Pilot USA has finally begun importing the M90, a limited-production reprise of the legendary MYU. We've already ordered some, and we're expecting them to arrive toward the end of this month (April). Another long-sought Pilot, the plunger-filling Custom 823 is also scheduled to make its U.S. debut this month. Watch our What's New page for announcements of these pens' arrival! We'll have them with either medium or fine nibs; they're not coming in with broad nibs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Now You Can Buy Barbara's Pen *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you've stopped at our table at a pen show any time in the past four years, you've probably seen Barbara writing with a brilliant Red Pearl Bexley Submariner. If you're lucky, you got to write with it. That pen is the only example we didn't sell from the Submariner Special Edition we commissioned from Bexley in 2005, and it's Barbara's go-to pen. Well, now you can buy Barbara's pen. Actually, no, you can't buy hers -- she keeps that one in the cup on her desk. But you can buy one just like it: Bexley has kindly agreed to make a few more of Barbara's pen, and we expect delivery around the end of this month. Be among the first to have your own 2009 Submariner SE. We're accepting per-orders now: http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=bex+sub_se ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Get a Grip! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back in the day, Sheaffer and Parker included sheets of rubber in their repairmen’s kits to give a good grip on pen barrels when it was necessary to take out the sections. Plain old rubber worked, but it wasn’t the ideal material. It was just the best they had. But now there‘s better: RichardsPens.com gripper squares. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=grippers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** It's Not Showtime! But It Will Be! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We had a great time at the Long Island Pen Show last month. There's no show for us this month, but we're already looking forward to the Sixth Anuual Triangle Pen Show in Raleigh (Cary), NC. It all happens in June. It's not a giant extravaganza, but it's one of the best shows we go to. Check out the show's site now, and reserve while there's plenty of space in the Embassy Suites Hotel, where you get a free breakfast every morning to give you the energy to tackle the demands of a first-class pen show! http://www.raleighpenshow.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Cigar Box Pen Chests: the Watchword is "Economize"! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Has the economy put a crimp in your pen collecting budget? Downsize your storage costs with a single box or bargain priced three-stack that will make a great home for your fine vintage or modern pens. This month's selection features a fresh assortment of chests guaranteed to satisy your taste -- and your need to economize along with the rest of us. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes Oh, and while you're there, check out the new page layout that offers you bigger views of the boxes! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Cool Nibs Starring at the RichardsPens.com Vintage Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Six of the pens on our vintage tray this month have special nibs, including one wicked serious flexie. Get 'em while they're hot, and if you've ever been here before you know they usually don't have time to cool off! http://www.richardspens.com/?newp= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You open the drawer, and your eye falls on that box. You know the one, it’s the pen you want to love but can’t, because it doesn’t write the way you wish it did. The problem may not be the pen. But if it’s not the pen, what is it? http://www.richardspens.com/?ttp=flexible_user ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this month's Extra Fine, Don breaks down the pros and cons of the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, the coolest writing-instrument innovation since the lever filler. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=0904 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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 (for an extra charge) and ship the pen immediately instead of putting it into my regular queue. Remember, we are authorized retailers for Aurora, Bexley, Classic Pens Inc., Conway Stewart, Namiki and Pilot, and Pelikan. 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.