======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 9 Number 4 * July 2010 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** We're Still Going Postal *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the Raleigh show last month, we introduced the New Postal Reservoir Pen from the Gate City Pen and Ink Company. We really weren't expecting it to be quite so popular that the entire first production run would be sold out so quickly. The good news is that we've ordered more pens, and they should be arriving next week. I'm sorry I can't say they're already here, but Gate City Pen doesn't mass produce its pens, and that means it takes time to make more. Now here's the extra-good news. The pens we took to Raleigh were all the Senior size because that's what came out of the factory first. It turns out that there are a lot of people out there who don't feel happy with a pen that posts over seven inches long. there were so many queries about a Junior size that Gate City Pen decided to go ahead and produce Junior pens a month ahead of the planned schedule. The first batch of Juniors should be arriving at the Nashua Pen Spa along with the Seniors that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Keep your eyes on our New Postal page: http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=pst ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Fermo Lives! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Pilot introduced the world to retractable Capless pens in 1963, the new pens didn't go click-click. They were virtually silent because they operated with a twist. A year later, the twist knob gave way to the famous pushbutton. It's taken more than 40 years to come full circle, but the new twist-operated Fermo does it with style and panache. And we've got 'em in stock, in all three currently available colors. Check out the Fermo today! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=nam+fermo ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** O Frabjous Day! A Month with No Pen Shows (for Us, at Least) *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our pen show calendar includes no shows during July -- which is a good thing given that August will bring the madhouse that is the Washington DC SuperShow! We'll be taking this opportunity to close in on shortening our repair backlog while we handle sales from our six pen collections (Aurora, Bexley, Merlin, New Postal, Pilot/Namiki, and Pelikan). We'll also be kicking back and enjoying the incomparable summer beauty of our New Hampshire surroundings, including our freshly floored screened porch and the new lawns and gardens that we've been cultivating just outside our doors. (The cats really like summer, too -- they all get to lounge in sunny spots and wish they were outdoors catching the birds.) Please note that we bought a finite number of Merlins about a year ago, and the supply is coming to an end. If you've been holding off on buying a Merlin 33 or Merlina, the end of the Universe is drawing uncomfortably close. Don't miss out on these charming celluloid button fillers from the 1950s! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=mer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Wrap It Up! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the Raleigh show, we discovered Nadya Weakley's lovely pen wraps, and we at once added them to our line of pen accessories. Pen wraps are an economical and very compact way to protect and carry more than three or four pens. Nadya's wraps are handmade of double-nap flannel, fitted for 18 pens, and finished with Nadya's signature free- hand embroidered nib-N design. They're available in black and navy blue. This is a great opportunity to get yourself a very nice wrap and support a newborn cottage industry at the same time! http://www.richardspens/?acc=wrap ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Pen Boxes: Summer's Here, and Deals are Hotter'n Usual! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don's cool hand-made cigar box pen chests aren't taking a vacation this month. They're still right here, with some real budget-saving bargains! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=dons_boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** July Means Flags, Firecrackers, and Some Firecracker Tray Pens! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month we've got a couple of wicked cool (hot?) pens on the Pen Show Tray, including a Waterman 55 about which I blogged... http://web.me.com/richardspens/PenBlog/Sweepings_from_the_Studio/Entries /2010/6/23_Things_Waterman.html ...and a Moore pen that you've probably never seen before: http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "I notice that less expensive/economy pens have plastic barrels and caps. Yet all the high end, more expensive pen makers advertise that their pens are made of resin. Isn’t resin just a form of plastic?" Read Richard's response to this collector's query... http://www.richardspens.com/?desn=plastics ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this month's Extra Fine, Don puts Acura on blast for its hypocritical mockery of the hobby. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.