======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 8 Number 8 * November 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** With the Holidays Coming... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...it's not too early to begin planning gift purchases. Because it takes time for packages to travel through the mail, you need to make your Internet purchases a little earlier than the ones at your local mall. We ship twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We advise ordering no later than Monday, December 14, for Christmas delivery in the U.S.A. International shipments can take much longer. Gift certificates, of course, can be purchased as late as December 24 and printed on your own computer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley Bargains *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As the final weeks of 2009 begin to loom close, we're offering special discounts on two Bexley pens: The 2009 Owner's Club Edition, a hand-filling tribute to the Wahl Equi-Poised of 1931. Available in three colors of ebonite, this is one sweet handler. Suggested retail price: $395.00. Our regular price: $335.00. Our year-end discount price: $295.00! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+imperial Barbara's Pen, the 2009 edition, our own red pearl Submariner SE. We're not 21st-century giants with huge hands, and we like our pens more "normal" in size than the usual LE or SE these days. We're not alone, and thus was born the Submariner SE. This is the pen that Barbara hands people to demonstrate what Bexleys are like, and it's sold more pens for us than we can count. Our regular price: $250.00. Our year-end discount price: $225.00. Think about how great this one would look hanging from your Christmas tree! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+subse ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** And Speaking of the Year's End *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm a little behind schedule, but I'm really working on the 2010 wall calendar. I'll have it available as soon as I get it finished, so stay tuned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Trays Are Still a Good Thing! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For November we have an exciting Pen Show Tray with half a dozen Nib Alert pens and some other downright cool stuff to keep you going! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint NOTICE TO DISAPPOINTED TRAY-WATCHERS: Keep your eyes peeled during the month for a nice surprise! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Ohio Show Is Here! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 15th Annual Ohio Pen Show is coming NEXT WEEKEND (November 5-8)! Barbara and I will be on hand for all the festivities -- where will YOU be? With Weekenders' events cranking up on Thursday (30 tables) and running all day Friday (160 tables), and two full public days on the weekend, this year's show will be the ideal way to make up your Holiday wish list. As always, there will be exciting new products and more vintage pens than you can take in; this show is one of the grand old vintage festivals, and it's really not to be missed. In case you haven't already made your reservation, Terry and his minions will be happy to sell you a Weekend Pass when you walk in the door on Thursday, so you needn't miss out on the wine and cheese party -- or the special "Parts and Found Pens" auction! (There will also be the regular full auction on Saturday. And the spectacular poolside Dessert Party before the auction.) For much more information, visit the show's Web site: http://www.ohiopenshow.com/ If this will be your first-ever pen show, be sure to read my pen show virgin's guide: http://www.richardspens.com/?shows=firstshow We'll have a selection of pens from the companies we represent: Aurora, Bexley, Classic Pens Inc., Namiki/Pilot, and Pelikan. Most of the pens we have at shows are offered at DISCOUNTED SHOW PRICES, with their nibs checked and smoothed -- and you save shipping costs, too. Talk about INSTANT GRATIFICATION! By the way, this is your chance to see and handle the 2009 Bexley Ohio Pen Show pen before buying one. And you will want your own, too, as this is a real winner! There's more info later in this issue of Nib Noise, and we also have these pens on our site -- if they last long enough for you to order one... We'll have a stock of my preground Pelikan M200 and Pilot Vanishing Point specialty nibs. If you don't have a pen to go with your new nib, Barbara will be happy to fit your nib with a new M200 or Vanishing Point pen body in your choice of colors. As always, I'll be regrinding and tweaking nibs while you wait. We use a list, like your favorite restaurant, so you can enjoy the rest of the show while you await your turn. (But we don't have those little buzzy hockey pucks...) Bring a pen, and share a little time with friends at my table while I jazz up your writing experience. PLEASE READ OUR "TABLE TALK" FAQ TO LEARN HOW WE OPERATE AT A SHOW: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=tabletalk 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 my studio -- or you can hand them to Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens, one of the best repair guys I know, and have them fixed right there. To find Ron, just look for the traffic light! We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "After the Show Is Over" *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When the Ohio Pen Show ends, we will be heading a few miles west, to join other members of Barbara's family at a celebration of her mother's 90th birthday. We'll be away from the Nashua Pen Spa for an extra week. Our lights will go on again on the morning of Monday, November 16. As always, we will have a computer with us on the road, and we'll acknowledge purchases in as timely a manner as possible, but nothing can be shipped until Wednesday, November 18th. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Leaves Are Falling, and... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...our supply of Field Notes in special MACKINAWW AUTUMN COLORS is almost gone. These are the usual great Field Notes graph-paper notebooks, in a three-pack with one book each in Burnt Red, Running-Board Brown, and Harvest Moon Orange. See 'em -- and order 'em -- today! (We'll have some at the Ohio show, too.) http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=field_notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Cigar Box Pen Chests Just Keep Getting Better *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don's got something new on his pen chest page this month: a gen-yoo-wine THREE-DECKER! Oh, yes, there are also 23, count 'em TWENTY-THREE, other chests plus some nice three-chest stacks. It's not too early to be buying storage for the pens you'll be receiving this Christmas! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pelikan Style in Black and White *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Autumn wedding season isn't over yet, and Pelikan's new Black & White M205s -- in their lovely silver bow-tied boxes -- are the perfect gifts for bride and groom or for bridesmaids and groomsmen. If you're not getting married this season, these pens will also make gorgeous Christmas gifts: stick a sprig of holly in the box ribbon, and you're ready to play Santa! On the other hand, if gift-giving isn't in your immediate future, you could also put a set of these babies in your own pocket. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=pel+m205 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** And Then There's the Bexley Ohio Pen Show Pen *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each year, Bexley creates a special edition -- a very limited edition -- for the Ohio Pen Show. This year, the Bexley elves have outdone themselves and created a virtual dead ringer for the 1928 Wahl Soldier Clip Gold Seal pen. It's not a monster, just monstrously good. And there are precious few to be had, so jump now or you might not find a soft place to land. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+ohio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For several months now, I've ben gestating a profile of a pen that's not all that common but is one of the more exciting American pens to collect. This month, with a little help from one of real hardcore Camel fans, I've birthed my profile. Check out the pen that "Holds a Year's Ink": http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=camel ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What on earth does radio listening have to do with fountain pens? Pull up a mouse and tune in on this edition of Extra Fine and you'll find out. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=0911 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pens That Write Right! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale, we tune each new pen or nib at no extra charge before shipment. We 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., 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.