======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 9 Number 11 * February 2011 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Phileas Lovers, We Want You! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have a small supply of brand new Waterman Phileas nib section assemblies with medium nibs. If you've been considering adding a nib to your Phileas or just replacing a damaged nib, here's your chance. These units are priced at $25.00 each, and I can regrind them to needlepoints, 0.6 mm stubs, 0.7 mm cursive italics, or other specialty nibs for you at my usual rates. Buying one of these nibs counts as a purchase and happens immediately; your new nib won't go into my repair queue. To purchase one of these nibs, please contact me directly by email. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley's New Straight-Line Straight Shooter Is Here! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A few days before the Philadelphia Pen Show, Bexley sent an email to its dealers announcing a beta-test run of a posible new pen to be called the Bexley 58. Would it become a product? Nobody knew, least of all the people at Bexley. We and other Bexley dealers put the word out, and howard Levy took a handful of 58s to the show. The response was immediately positive, so much so that the 58 is now an official Bexley product. If you've seen our What's New page since the show, you already know about this great addition to the Bexley line. If not, here's what it's all about: Cigar-shaped pens like the Bexley Imperial are great. They're attractive, well made, and good in the hand. But some of us just don’t get along well with cigar-shaped pens. The success of Bexley’s unproductized and unannounced 56 has pushed the company’s “we love vintage pens” button again, and now there is the Bexley 58. This is one large hunk of pen. I don't think Paul Bunyan could use it, but Shaq could. And so can you. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+f58 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Bexley Owners Club Collection Is Still Available *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This new collection uses new acrylic materials that are very eye-catching, in three marbled colors, all with matching sections: Blue Royal (Midnight blue and pearl), Sunflower (Yellow pearl and black), and Merlot (blood red and light gray). Combining a custom-engraved sterling silver or vermeil cap band identifying this pen and the year of production with Bexley's new custom-imprinted two-tone gold plated stainless steel nib with an option to upgrade to 18K gold, this design gives a nod to current economic life style and market realities. Until February 15,2011, only registered Bexley owners are eligible to purchase these pens, but I recommend not waiting. Sellouts do happen, you know... http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+owners ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Does Your Sweetie Need Someplace to Keep His or Her Pens? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Or maybe it's you who could use space for the new pens you're going to acquire this month (your purchases and, of course, the one you're going to get from your favorite other person). Don's repurposed Spanish cedar cigar box pen cabinets are economical and definitely cool. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Coming SOON! The Newest Vanishing Point, in WHITE! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just in time for Valentine's Day giving, the brilliant WHITE Pilot Vanishing Point will be flying into the Nashua Pen Spa this week (or next week at the latest). Keep an eye on our Namiki/Pilot page, and be the first in your office to flash WHITE! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=nam+vp ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The BELMONT PEN Is New, It's Here, and It's a Hit! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Gate City Pen and Ink Company's second pen arrived in December, and we're in love! I've been carrying a Tortoise Belmont in my pocked since the day the pens arrived (yes, all the way through JAnuary), and I'm still not even close to ready to change it out. The Belmont Pen fills faster and more easily than any other self-filling pen ever made, and it simply oozes that great 1930s/1940s styling. Designed to fit almost every hand, it handles beautifully either posted or unposted. Looking for a new pen to put into your new Spanish cedar pen cabinet? Look no further. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=gct+belmont ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Attention All Stenographers (and Everyone Else Who Writes) *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ So new we don't even have them up on the site yet are the latest from Field Notes. For people who like to use Gregg steno pads (those wire- bound 6x8 lined pads with a dividing line right down the middle of the page) but hate the frankly lousy paper, Field Notes has developed its own high-quality version of the classic steno pad. We know they're good; they use the same paper that we chose for our own custom pads. They'll be available in a day or two -- watch for them! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** A Pen Show Tray You Can Fall in Love With! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have some sweetheart writers and a Security pen. You can learn all about the Security Pen by reading this month's Broad Strokes article -- but if you take the time to do the reading, you might lose out on this tremendously exciting pen: http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Have you ever worried about the chances some sharpster out there would take one of your checks, alter the amount to a larger number, and than cash it for himself? In 1919, John and George Kritikson introduced a fountain pen that could protect checks from people of that undesirable ilk. http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=security ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month Don continues his occasional series of deep dives into pen books to find some great obscure facts. If they don't win you a bar bet at the next post-pen-show Saturday cocktail hour, you're hanging out with some pretty knowledgeable people.. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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, Gate City Pen, 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 our 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.