======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 8 Number 5 * August 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/?info=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** It's SuperShowTime! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ August is here! And what does that mean? It means Washington, DC, Super- Show. Oh, sure, it means the Dog Days of summer, but I don't really think a hot sweaty time outdoors ranks up there with the Greatest Pen Show On Earth, do you? With the pre-show crankin' up on Thursday, August 6, and running through Friday, the Big Show will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, August 8 and 9. Washington is one of the world's great tourist cities, so if you have family members who aren't insane about pens -- you are, of course -- you can turn them loose at the Falls Church Metro stop and forget them while they see the sights in town. You don't even have to take them there. That's what hotel shuttles are for! This show is so-o-o big, and so-o-o good, that you may face a legitimate worry about having a panic attack when you walk in the front door of the hotel. Yes, the pen show fills the lobby, 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/ Once you get there, you'll definitely want to visit the world's biggest and best ink testing table, in the hotel lobby! This great feature is open 24 hours a day while the show is on, so for you insomniacs there's something to while away the wee hours. Barbara and I will be there for the whole show, from the Overture on Thursday afternoon to the final curtain on Sunday. We'll have a good selection of new pens from Aurora, Bexley, Classic Pens Inc., Namiki/Pilot, and Pelikan. All will have special low show prices. We'll aslo have a couple of mugs of Merlins, about which you can read more below. 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. Oh, and please read our "Table Talk" FAQ to learn how we operate at a show: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=tabletalk One thing you won't find in the FAQ: on our table you will find both business cards and our vintage-style advertising blotters. We sell packs of blotters, all five designs in one pack, but we also have a pile of one design that are there for you to take and use. Use for what, you ask? For blotting your signature, of course, perhaps on a cheque made out to us or to another dealer at the show! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** When Summer's Gone ... There's New York *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The New York City Pen Show is back! After a couple of years' visit to New Jersey, the NYC Pen Show, scheduled for October 9-11, will be back on its home turf, in the City That Never Sleeps. Check it out, and make your reservations today (if not sooner)! http://www.nycpenshow.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Cigar Box Pen Chests: Singles, Doubles, We Have Your Box! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don has come up with a superior assortment of single boxes--no stacks this month, but a grand assortment of double deckers--that will make the regulars ready to pounce. But those who are getting this later, never fear--there's a ton of $25 bargains for you, too! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pelikan's New Blue M205 Demonstrator Is On the Way! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our supply of the brilliant new pale blue Pelikan M205 demonstrators is on the way from Chartpak, and we will be able to ship them as soon as we return from the Washington DC SuperShow. We will have them on our site with EF, F, M, or B nibs, at a price of $85.00 each. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Speaking of Doubles and Pen Shows... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bexley has just introduced two new collections, and they'll be showing at the Washington DC SuperShow. Imperial premiered in prototype form at the Raleigh show, but Elegancia is all new. Imperial is a big, cigar-shaped pen that's more than a bit reminiscent of high-line custom Japanese pens. With no trim to disturb its lines except a plain clip, it's distinguished and remarkably well balanced. And it's being offered in three NEW colors of hard rubber. We will be receiving our first Imperials at the SuperShow next week, and we will have them up on our site as soon as we return. Elegancia looks like a Simplicity that got a streamlining treatment from the same shop that streamlined the Parker Duofold in 1929. Its curves are subtle, and they really do add up to an elegant shape for the first Bexley pen to receive a Spanish name. Offered in four brand-new smoky pearlescent colors, Elegancia is also Bexley's first pen to feature a new German-made steel nib design. We will be receiving our first Elegancia pens shortly after we return from Washington, but you can pre-order your Elegancia NOW: http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=bex+elegancia ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Own a Piece of Yesterday, Today! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back in the '50s, a little German company called Merlin produced some very nice button fillers that could have been made two decades earlier. Made of celluloid and hard rubber, and fitted with 14K gold nibs, the remaining stock of these pens, two models called Merlin 33 and Merlina, are now residing at the Nashua Pen Spa. Ever since they arrived, they've been a part of the background noise here. Kate and Barbara did initial triage, Allison took over disassembly, cleaning, and resacking, and Richard and Jim are giving the pens their final prep before they go to their new homes -- which, for one or two, or even half a dozen of the little charmers, could very well be YOUR home. We can't devote 24/7 time to them, so we're putting them up for sale in batches as time allows. In fact, we still don't even know for sure how many colors there are -- but we've isolated more than 20 so far. If the color you want is out of stock, check back later to see what new (or old) colors we've put up. They're up on our site, of course: http://www.richardspens.com/?newp=mer HEAR YE, HEAR YE, ALL! MERLINS WILL BE AT WASHINGTON! We will be taking about two dozen Merlins to the show, half Merlin 33s and half Merlinas. Most of these pens will be in colors that we have not yet had on our site. We have only one or two of some colors, and the selection will include a large dose of pens like these -- don't miss out on your chance to own a unique (or nearly unique) Merlin! Also, note that this will be your chance to select the very pen you want instead of letting us choose for you. (We won't be customizing the nibs on these pens, but we will let you dip them.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Dog Days of Summer? Not at the RichardsPens.com Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month we have a nice selection of uncommon pens, ranging from the 1910s to the 21st century. Some fun nibs, too, so don't miss out. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Several years ago I developed a multilingual pen lexicon for one of the popular Web sites. I'm no longer writing for that site, so I've reclaimed the English/French/Japanese portions of my lexicon: http://www.richardspens.com/?tools=lex BONUS FEATURE: If you aren't a regular user of my Glossary, maybe it's time to take a look or three. It currently boasts more than 800 entries with more than 500 illustrations, and it's extensively cross-referenced with hot links. You can get to the Glossary from the Reference Pages index, or you can use my sneaky shortcut: click the red "taillight" in the middle of the site banner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Merlins join Wearevers and Conway Stewarts as some of the best values in vintage fountain pens. See for yourself! http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=0908 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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/?info=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/?info=nibnoise Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.