======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 11 Number 9 * December 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** December Shipping Schedule *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Because of the Christmas holidays, our shipping schedule will vary a little from the norm this month. Here are the days on which we'll be shipping during November: Saturday, December 1 Wednesday, December 5 Saturday, December 8 Wednesday, December 12 Saturday, December 15 Wednesday, December 19 Saturday, December 22 After December 22, our next shipping date will be Saturday, January 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** News from Cigar Box Central *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is it, people, the final set of Don's repurposed cigar box pen chests! Don is going out in a blaze of glory with the most beautiful triple-decker he's found as well as a gorgeous selection of boxes -- including a stunning selection of double deckers that required much handwork. These boxes will please every pen collector who needs a special holiday gift (even if that someone is you!!!) Buy yours before they're sold out. For good. (If you're thinking "gift," do be sure to see our shipping schedule, above.) http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=boxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Cool Tray Pens Don't Disappear over the Christmas Season! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We’d love to help you put an old-fashioned fountain pen under the tree for that very special person! Our exciting December Pen Show Tray has some very special pens on it, ideal for gift giving (or not...), but do be sure to see our shipping schedule, above. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=tray New Year's is a different story. Nobody wants to get up on New Year's Day for anything except the Rose Parade or football, so we'll delay Nib Noise until January 2, and with it the January Pen Show Tray. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Good Stuff Coming Your Way *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you were at the Ohio Pen Show early in November, you may have wondered what was up with the big meeting around one of the tables on the back wall of the big ballroom. Well, what it was, was the sale of his collection by a longstanding and very well known collector. I was one of the purchasers, and the first fruits of my purchase will begin showing up on a special tray in January. Watch for it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Speaking of January, There Will Be Eleven More Months in 2013 *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our 2013 fountain pen wall calendar is ready, and it's available for purchase now at our CafePress shop. At only $16.49, it's little bit classic, a little bit nostalgic, a little bit patriotic, and a lot of just right for your den or cubicle wall. Don't be left on New Year's day with no pix of pens to ogle, snag your calendar now! It's also a great gift, in case you hadn't already thought of that. CafePress can deliver within five to nine business days, so do think about placing your order soon, to avoid missing out in the Christmas rush. http://www.cafepress.com/richardspens.745968998 We also offer a nice selection of pen-themed coffee mugs and other accessories for yourself or someone with a stocking that needs stuffing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bexley *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bexley has announced two exciting new pens for 2013! Bexley’s Twentieth Anniversary and 2013 Owners Club pens are available now! These two new models share their size and overall look, but they are completely different from there. The piston-filling Twentieth Anniversary comes in five coördinated warm resin colors, while the 2013 Owners Club is a traditional cartridge/converter filler built out of gleaming ebonite. These pens are here in time for Christmas gift giving, but be sure to see our shipping schedule, above. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Does Your Stocking (or Someone Else's) Need Stuffing? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We can help. We offer a broad line of accessories to make your pens more enjoyable, and many tools and supplies for tinkerers who are just getting into pen repair or those who have some experience under their belts. Check them all out and pick your favorites! (But please be sure to see our shipping schedule, above.) http://www.richardspens.com/?acc= If you just can't make up your mind what you want to put in a stocking for your sweetie (or yourself...), consider a RichardsPens.com gift certificate. They're available in a wide range of values, and they're easy to use -- just plug them in when you check out with any purchase from our site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Vanishing Points in the News -- Again! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We mentioned this last month, but the situation has improved a little since then, and it bears repeating. Pilot hasn't said anything about this,but they've been shipping rhodium-trimmed Vanishing Point pens with rhodium-plated nibs. Since last month, we've filtered through our re- maining older stock, and now ALL OF OUR RHODIUM-TRIMMED VANISHING POINT PENS COME WITH RHODIUM-PLATED NIBS OUT OF THE BOX -- including extra fine! (Please remember that unplated gold-colored nibs are not available in extra fine.) http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=nam+vp ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Ebook News *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We are STILL waiting, nearly two months now, for Barnes & Noble to get around to putting my Glossopedia up for sale on their site. In the meantime, the Kindle version is available on Amazon, and the enhanced iPad version is on Apple's iBookstore. You can read the Kindle version on your Android device, your iPhone, or your iPad with the appropriate free app. http://www.richardspens.com/?bks=collector+richards ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** All-New Attic Stuff This Month *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barbara's swept out her Attic page this month to make room for a fresh lot of stuff from that other attic upstairs. It's good stuff, too! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Onoto the Pen -- for Yourself or ...? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you've been dreaming of owning the Onoto Horatio Nelson or Emma Hamilton pens, or maybe the sterling Excel or the sterling or vermeil Magna, but have been unwilling to order and wait, now is the time. We have one of each of these pens actually in stock. They are NICE! We also have the Royal Ballet Contemporary and Aspirations LEs and the Cambridge University 800th Anniversary. (I haven't unlimbered the camera to shoot them yet, but you can see them on Onoto's site and then come to us to get them -- with Binderizing and at our usual discounted prices). We have a good assortment of nibs, and we can provide any of these pens with any standard Onoto nib -- or, if you prefer, a custom italic or other specialty nib. Any of these lovely pens would make a wonderful holiday gift for that very special someone. (But please be sure to check our shipping schedule, above.) http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=ono ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Extra Fine Points" by Don Fluckinger *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don's "real life" has finally brought to an end his stint as our resident op-ed writer. This month, we publish his farewell letter to his many readers and fans. http://www.richardspens.com/?xf=1212 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Broad Strokes" by Richard Binder *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today, many users think nothing of buying extra nibs for their pens, in different grades or styles, and changing a fine for a stub when it’s time to write party invitations. This sort of easy nib swapping may not be what pen makers had in mind... http://www.richardspens.com/?nibs=get_point ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.