======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 11 Number 12 * March 2013 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Master Classes This Summer at the Nashua Pen Spa *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We still have spaces open for our two hands-on master classes here at the Nashua Pen Spa this summer. Here are brief descriptions of these courses: Nib repair and customizing: 3 days June 17-19, 4 students, student fee $1000. Students will learn nib removal and installation, basic and advanced nib repair and adjustment, and regrinding to italic and very fine shapes. General repair and restoration: 4 days July 15-18, 8 students, student fee $1000. Students will learn basic and advanced restoration tech- niques, repair of lever, Vacumatic, and Snorkel fillers, and nib removal, installation, and adjustment. I will also demonstrate how to repair the seals in a plunger filler and the Conklin Nozac. If you're interested in attending either of these classes, please let us know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Marching Off to a Couple of Pen Shows in March *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THis year, the Baltimore Pen Show will run from Friday, March 1, through Sunday, March 3. Last year's show was greet, and we're already there as you read this. We will be there (here) all weekend, enjoying the crowd and the hospitality of the Tremont Plaza Hotel, one of the most elegant in the city! There's also FOOD in Baltimore. There are plenty of restaurants offering everything from barbecue to seafood, and everything in between, and many of them are just a few blocks up St. Charles Street. Two weeks from this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17, we'll be at the Long Island Show. Not too big, not too small, it draws a good crowd of dealers and attendees. Mark your calendar for Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11, on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island. The show is in the student center. I'll be working on nibs both weekends as I do at every show we attend, and Barbara will manage the table, handling sales and making sure I keep my nose to the grindstone. PLEASE READ OUR "TABLE TALK" FAQ TO LEARN HOW WE OPERATE AT A SHOW: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=shows 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, visit the shows' Web sites: http://www.baltimorepenshow.com/ http://www.lipenshow.com/ We'll have a selection of new pens from Pelikan, Onoto, Bexley, Edison, Pilot/Namiki and Gate City. THESE CAN HAVE THEIR NIBS CUSTOMIZED WHILE YOU WAIT. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *** New This Month from Gate City Pen *** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've been waiting for the next Gate City Pen release, wait no more. The READYFILL is here! Based on pens made 100 years ago by the Coit Ready Fill Pen Company, the READYFILL is the newest old pen around, and it's a breeze to fill. No blind cap or barrel to remove and lose, no cartridge or converter to replace. Just turn the sleeve, squeeze the filler, turn the sleeve back, and you're done. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=gct+readyfill ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Springtime in the South Is Just Around the Corner *** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Great Southeastern Pen Show, aka the Atlanta Pen Show, is a great show in a great city in a lovely season. After we missed it last year, we're thrilled to be going this year. The show will be open for business April 12-14! Barbara and I will be on hand for all the festivities -- where will YOU be? To get a head start on things, visit the show's Web site: http://www.atlantapenhow.com/ Please note that the hotel link on the show site goes to a Crowne Plaza page -- but the hotel has changed its name and is now a Wyndham. To make reservations, just call the phone number that's there instead of trying to visit the hotel's Web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Shipping Schedule for March *** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Because we'll be at two pen shows this month, our shipping schedule will suffer a slight amount of contority and derundment. Here are the days we'll be shipping: Wednesday, March 6 Saturday, March 9 Wednesday, March 13 Wednesday, March 20 Saturday, March 23 Wednesday, March 27 Saturday, March 30 We now return you to your regularly scheduled Nib Noise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Some Nice New Attic Stuff This Month *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barbara's Attic features some very nice pens, including a couple of brandy-new Pelikans that you won't want to miss. There are some new nibs, and there is a complete tray of bargain-basement pens. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Gang of Five Tray Is Nice and Juicy! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some of the pens on the Gang of Five Tray are quite rare, and I have reduced prices dramatically. Add these two facts together, and we have a tray of excellent pens for your delectation. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=gang Don't wait around; these are magnificent pens, and you may never see some of them offered again. And please, if you haven't already done so, take a moment to "Like" the Gang of Five's page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GangOfFivePens ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Inky Notes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sadly, the production of EVERFLO inks has been discontinued. We have only two colors left, and only a very few bottles of them. If you're one of EVERFLO's legion of fans, get what you can while you can. When these bottles are gone, there will be no more. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=ink ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** About That Tray... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The March Pen Show Tray has a nice mix of exciting and cool pens that you just can't do without. By the time you read this, the tray will already be up and doing business, so what are you waiting for? http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=tray ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pelikan News *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The M800 Tortoise has come and gone. We had already pre-sold our allocation, so when they arrived last week we spent a busy couple of days prepping them and sending them to their new homes. We still have stock of the M101N Black Lizard, however. This is a truly exciting pen that would find a happy home in almost anybody's collection or rotation. Don't let these last few Lizards scurry away from you. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=pel+m101n ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** "Broad Strokes" *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before self-filling pens became practical, and indeed for some time thereafter, the eyedropper filler -- known then by the retronym "regular" fountain pen to distinguish it from the newfangled self-filling models -- reigned supreme. http://www.richardspens.com/?fillers=ed ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.