======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 12 Number 8 * November 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** November Shipping Schedule *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Because we'll be going to the Ohio Pen Show and taking time after the show for a family visit and for Thanksgiving, our shipping schedule will look a little funny this month. Consequently, we will close our "store" beginning Tuesday, November 5, so that we can ship all orders that have been placed before we leave for Ohio. We will reopen the store on Friday, November 15. We appreciate your patience. Here are the days on which we'll be shipping during November: Saturday, November 2 Tuesday, November 5 Wednesday, November 20 Saturday, November 23 Tuesday, November 26 We'll be in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving, so we won't be able to ship on Saturday November 30. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Ohio Show Is Here! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 16th Annual Ohio Pen Show is coming next week (November 7-10)! Barbara and I will be on hand for all the festivities -- where will YOU be? With Weekenders' events cranking up on Thursday (40+ tables, yes, I know, I said 30 last month, but what do I know) 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. If you're a Friday person but can't stay for the weekend, you can still get in, you'll just be on the hook for the price of the weekend pass. As always, there will be exciting new products and more vintage pens than you can take in, as well as some fabulous auction action (Thursday and Saturday) for those who stay all weekend. The Ohio show is one of the grandest of the grand old vintage festivals, and it's really not to be missed. In case you haven't already made your reservation, 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 variety of evening events. 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, 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. Talk about INSTANT GRATIFICATION! As always, I'll be regrinding 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 buzzy hockey puck things...) 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 any of the several repairers who will be working at the show. We recommend Mike and Linda Kennedy of IndyPenDance or Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 2013 Bexley Ohio Show Pen *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ With pens, as with clothing, size does matter. The 2013 Ohio Show pen is for the big person; it’s distinctly oversized at 6-3/32" capped and 7-5/16" posted! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=bex+ohio13 We're running low on these, but we do have at least one of each color remaining. Do NOT miss out on this lovely big pen! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Hands-On Nib Workshop in Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'll be conducting my hands-on nib smoothing workshop at the Ohio show. For more information about the workshop, please visit the registration page: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=workshop Our site automatically opened registration on Friday, October 25, and we got a good response, but we can still take another couple of students, so if you're looking for something to do early Sunday morning at the show, check it out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Pilot 50th Anniversary Vanishing Point Limited Edition *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pilot has a real treat in store for us all this month with the release of the 2013 Vanishing Point Limited Edition. Because 2013 is the 50th Anniversary of the Vanishing Point (born in 1963 as the Pilot Capless), this year's pen is a doozy. It will have a body of maple wood, and it will come in a special oversize maple wood box lined in luxurious deep blue velvet, with a maple serial number plate and a small maple box containing five ink cartridges. The edition is limited to 900 pens world wide, and we have been allocated eight of them. There is a photo on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/images/pens/namiki/50th_vp.jpg If you'd like to reserve one of these pens in advance, please contact us by email: info@richardspens.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** From Pilot: Get BLACK! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pilot has introduced a new black-colored nib that's designed to enhance the Stealth and Gun Metal/Matte Vanishing Points. We have them in house, but they just got here at dinner time today. Will I have time to get them up on the site tonight? Check here and see: http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=nam+nibs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** From Pilot: MORE BLACK! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The new Pilot Justus 95 is now available. We ordered one to see what it's like, and it's a very nice pen indeed. The adjustable nib varies smoothly from extremely firm to somewhat soft (not a vintage-type flexie, though). If this sounds like your kind of pen, please contact us by email to arrange for ordering one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pelikan M215 Choices Reduced *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some months ago, Pelikan discontinued the M215 Rhombus (Lozenge) and the M215 Rectangle (Orthogon). Our supply of Rhombus pens has run out, and we have only one Rectangle left. Get it now or go hungry! http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=pel+m215 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Monthly "Pen Show Tray" *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As always, our "Pen Show Tray" features a brand-new selection of 20 excellent vintage writing instruments. We've branched out a little this month, with a ballpoint on the tray. As the Duofold pencil last month was a very good pencil, it's a very good ballpoint. http://www.richardspens.com/?pens=tray ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** From the Attic *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ All we have new for Barbara's Attic this month is some Field Notes, but at half price they shouldn't last long! And of course there are still some of all the other delights from lasst month. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the quest for the perfect filling system, several fountain pen manufacturers of the 1900s and 1910s took a cue from Little Jack Horner and gave us something that we could stick our thumbs into. Known as a sleeve filler or thumb filler, the simple system relied on the user’s thumb as the actuating element.... http://www.richardspens.com/?fillers=thumb ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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.