======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 10 Number 3 * June 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Tweet, Tweet! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We've finally gotten ourselves into the 21st century, with accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Hook up with us on Facebook here: http://tinyurl.com/3ugms38 And @RichardsPens is the name to follow on Twitter. To inaugurate our new social-networking presence, we're having a special sale on a certain Bexley pen. You can find out more by visiting our Facebook page! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Gate City Pen News *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Belmont Pens in Tortoise and Blue are history -- we have mo more, and there is no more of the materials. Therefore, allow us to introduce the Belmont Pen in an exciting new color, Claret Stone. There are very few of these pens, so don't miss out! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=gct+belmont ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *** BEXLEY SPECIAL!! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From now until the end of August, buy one or more Bexley pens and choose a FREE bottle of EVERFLO ink (while supplies last)! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don's Cigar Box Pen Chests *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fresh off a trip to his supplier, Don's got some new boxes never seen before as well as a return of some old favorites not seen in years -- including a solitary Casa Blanca for the first lucky collector to snap it up. Don't miss this month's lineup for some of the best pen storage deals in the hobby! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Summer's Here -- and That Means Raleigh! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In less TWO DAYS we'll be taking off for the Eighth Annual Triangle Pen Show in Cary, North Carolina (within spittin' distance of Raleigh). We're packing stuff up and getting ready to shove it all in the car and head south. The show begins Thursday, June 2, at the Embassy Suites in Cary, and it runs through Sunday the 6th. Public days are Friday afternoon (starting at 1 p.m), and Saturday, and Sunday. Mawhorter-run shows have always been extraordinary -- and the 2011 show should be no exception. With some very nice properties being offered in the auction (check out the auction listing on the show's site), this is one not to miss. It's looking to be one of the best shows ever, for both old-time experienced troops and pen show virgins. 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/?shows=firstshow For more information (and auction pix), visit the show's Web site: http://www.raleighpenshow.com/ Barbara and I will also have a selection of new pens from Bexley, Gate City Pen, Namiki and Pilot, and Pelikan, as well as a stock of my pre-ground Pelikan M200 and Vanishing Point specialty nibs, along with demonstrators of them all for you to try before you buy. If you don't have a pen to go with your new nib, we'll be happy to fit your nib with a new pen body in your choice of colors. I'll be bent over my Dremel, regrinding and tweaking nibs. Bring a pen or two, and share some chatter at my table while I jazz up your writing experience. 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. REMINDER: We bring most of our normal pen stock to shows, but we can't bring everything. If there's one special pen you've just gotta have, please feel free to send us an email to ask us to be sure we bring it for you. And if you want to use a credit card, we'll provide a way for you to make your purchase online before the show. That way you won't have to hold out that extra bit of cash while you're strolling the aisles drooling over the juicy delights on other tables! We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Calendar Check *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ June is going to be a complicated month for RichardsPens.com. We will have some unavoidable shipping delays next month, and we want to make sure you know what it looks like. As the month opens, we're heading out the door for the Triangle show. After the show, we're going to take a few extra days on the way home. Here is our shipping schedule for June: Order by Mon 5/30, we will ship on Tue 5/31. Our next shipping day will be Wed 6/15. This is a TWO WEEK break. As always, we'll acknowledge purchases made while we're on the road. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** A Truly Sterling Design, the Namiki Sterling *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New at RichardsPens.com: the Namiki Sterling collection. These smoothly streamlined pens feature elegant engravings executed in low relief and raised from the gleaming curved silver surfaces of barrel and cap to intrigue you as you feel them in the crevices of your hand. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=nam+sterling ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** June Pens for a June Bride or Graduate (or Yourself?) *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ June is a busy time, we know, but for that graduate or bride (or bridegroom), what could be cooler than a pen to sign friends' yearbooks or the bridal register or the marriage certificate? Or perhaps for your own journal! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=vint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The shape of Macniven & Cameron's Waverley nib is unusual, to be sure, but the critical feature that led writer Rudyard Kipling to be a fan of Waverleys was the slight upturn near the tip... http://www.richardspens.com/?ttp=waverley ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ***"Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Did you catch New York Times editor Bill Keller's piece pontificating on whether or not Twitter makes you stupid? Well, Don did, and tracked down a Gizmodo blogger who brought his Montblanc to the boxing match. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1106 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.