======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 11 Number 7 * October 2012 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** In Today's Top News... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. We are proud to announce that "The RichardsPens Guide to Fountain Pens, Volume 1: Glossopedia" is now available in the iBookstore. Load it onto your iPad (sorry, it doesn't work on the iPhone) and you'll have it right where you need it when you're prowling the aisles at pen shows. Forgot who made Venus pens? Want to check on what's in Argentium? Want to know what Wahl- Eversharp called Brain? Look it up! http://bit.ly/NU5Cbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** We're Approaching Time for Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 18th Annual Ohio Pen Show is coming next month (November 8-11)! 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, as well as two fabulous auctions for those who stay all weekend. This show is one of the grandest of the grand old vintage festivals, and it's really not to be missed. If you're not able to reserve in advance, 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, of course. And the spectacular poolside Dessert Party before the Saturday 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: Bexley, Edison, Gate City Pen, Namiki/Pilot, Onoto, 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. And if you want your new pen's nib customized, that happens on the spot. Talk about INSTANT GRATIFICATION! As always, I'll be customizing 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 our 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=shows If you have pens that need repairs other than nib work, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** My Nib Smoothing Workshop Will Be Back in Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'll be teaching my famous (infamous?) hands-on nib smoothing workshop at the Ohio show, beginning promptly at 8:30 on Sunday morning. Why 8:30? Because I've found that if I start at 9, there isn't enough time to give a thorough exposition of some of the finer points. I want to be sure you get your money's worth. Seating is limited. Registration for the workshop will open punctually at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 22, at this page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=workshop Don't miss out on the fun! If you don't make it onto the list, or if you just want to brush up a little without the hands-on bit, observers are welcome. We'll provide extra copies of the handouts for you. If you DO make it onto the list, remember to bring a good loupe. 10X is a good magnification -- and the better the optics you have, the better you'll be able to see the nibs you'll be working on. If you don't have a loupe, stop by our table on Friday or Saturday and pick up a 10X BelOMO loupe -- these are EXCELLENT loupes. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=loupes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** It Was the Best of Times... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Britain’s best-loved and most successful writers, Charles Dickens. Onoto is proud to celebrate one of the finest exponents of the art of writing with a range of limited edition, British-made fountain pens named after some of the characters from his most famous novels. We are proud to have these gorgeous pens in stock for your examination and purchase. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=ono+dickens Also, we don't normally carry the sterling Magna and Excel in stock, but we do at this time have them, along with most of the Royal Ballet Aspi- rations and Contemporary limited editions, and the 2009-issue Cambridge University 800th Anniversary LE in black resin. If you've been wanting to see these pens in person before choosing which one will be yours, take note that we'll have them at the Ohio show for your delectation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Lullaby of Birdland *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The limited-production M605 is sold out in black, but we still have a few with blue striated barrels left. Don't be left out on this elegant modern classic. And while you're thinking about elegance, think about the new limited- edition Ruby Red! The last time we saw Ruby Red from Pelikan, it was wrapped around an M320. Nice pen, but small. This time, it’s wrapped around an M600, and unless you are trying out for the part of a Munchkin in a remake of The Wizard of Oz (Ruby Slippers, y’know), you need this pen! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=pel+m600 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** News from Cigar Box Central *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One or two months' worth of Don's famous pen storage remain -- depending on how supplies hold out -- so go and scoop up your favorites now, as we anticipate demand will amplify during the run-up to the holiday season. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Attic Continues to Yield Up Its Treasures For You *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Several years ago, Andreas Lambrou published a signed, numbered limited edition of Fountain Pens: United States and United Kingdom. It has the same content as the regular edition, but there's something a little more exciting about owning a signed copy. This book isn't all that's in the Attic, but it's reason to get there before somebody else does. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One of the simplest and most reliable filling systems to come out of the early 20th century was the bulb filler, patented in 1903 and improved in 1905. Over the next 30 years, inventors on every side complicated the system by plastering hardware onto the pen to hide the bulb from the user’s fingers. One of these Rube Goldberg contraptions emerged from Waterman’s factory in late 1934, just barely in time for the Christmas season... http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=ink_vue ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Help Us Grow Our Pen Club List! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pen collecting is a lot more fun when you share your passion with others. We have a page on our site that lists pen clubs that we know. There's probably a club near you. If there is, and it's not listed on our page, please let us know about it. If not, maybe you should start one! http://www.richardspens.com/?info=clubs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month, Don empties out his mental desk drawer with a few short bursts of random fountain pen ruminations. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1210 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Once Again, the Tray *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you missed it, we're sorry because you missed a gorgeous pre-1923 Waterman 452 with a wet BB factory stub. But there are other pens, so if you haven't already made your selections there might still be time. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=tray ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** You Need This Book *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fountain Pens of Japan, by Andreas Lambrou and Masamichi Sunami Andreas Lambrou and Japanese pen collector Masamichi Sunami have nailed it. Ten years in the making, FPOJ is another must-have volume in Lambrou's growing oeuvre. This book is BIG. It's the same coffee-table size as Lambrou's indispensable classic FPOTW -- yet only Japan is represented. Lambrou and Sunami have gained access to places and materials that we ordinary mortals will never have the opportunity to see in person, and the result is spectacular. Do not let this one go by. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0957172303/richabindefou-20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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 Bexley, Edison, Gate City Pen, Namiki and Pilot, Onoto, 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with RSS, Facebook, and Twitter *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Follow us on the Internet by subscribing to our RSS feed. Click the orange RSS button at the top of our site -- or plug the following URI into your browser or RSS reader: http://www.richardspens.com/richardspens.rss We'd like to be liked on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NashuaPenSpa And you're invited to follow us on Twitter: @RichardsPens ======================================================================== 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.