======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 15 Number 5 * August 2016 ======================================================================== 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 DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, visit the Free Email Newsletter page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Monthly "Pen Show Tray" Is On Vacation *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We are sorry, but a combination of beastly hot weather, an unexpected trip to the Midwest for a funeral, and some minor medical issues made it impossible for us to field a tray for August. Things will be better next month, so be ready then! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Washington DC SuperShow Starts THIS WEEK! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ First, it's time for the Greatest Pen Show on Earth! Washington is one of the world's great tourist cities, so if you have family members who aren't insane about pens -- you do, of course, or you wouldn't be reading this paragraph -- you can turn them loose at the Spring Hill Metro stop (see below, Getting to the SuperShow) and forget them while they see the sights in town. With the pre-show crankin' up on Thursday, August 4, and running through Friday, the Big Show will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7. If you want to attend on Friday or think you might want to attend on more than one day, you really need a weekend pass, which admits you to all of the pre-show events, including the Friday wine and beer party. It also gains you early admission on the public days. You can purchase a weekend pass at the show's registration desk. This show is so-o-o big, and so-o-o good, that you may face a legitimate worry about having a panic attack when you walk in the front door of the hotel. Yes, the pen show fills the lobby, too. 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 Also, please read our "Table Talk" FAQ to learn how we operate at shows: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=shows+faq For more information about the show and the Sheraton Premiere hotel, please visit the show's Web site: http://www.pencentral.com/ Once you get there, you'll definitely want to visit the world's biggest and best ink testing table, in the hotel lobby! This great feature is open 24 hours a day while the show is on, so for you insomniacs there's something to while away the wee hours. Barbara and I will be there for the whole show, from the Overture on Thursday afternoon to the final curtain on Sunday. As always, I'll be regrinding and tweaking nibs while their owners wait. Bring a pen, and share some of the sparkling repartee at our table while I jazz up your writing experience. We can accept your MasterCard, VISA, American Express, or Discover card -- but many of the vintage dealers are hobbyists who can handle only cash, so be sure to note the location of the ATM in the hotel lobby. But bear in mind the advice I've laid out in my article on Your First Pen Show (linked above). We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Getting to the SuperShow *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In case you think it's a pain in the tail to get way out there to the Sheraton Premiere in Tysons Corner -- why couldn't they have held the show close to a nice convenient Metro stop? -- your problem has been solved. The Spring Hill Metro stop is just a short walk from the hotel. To get from the Metro stop to the hotel, proceed to street level on the side of Leesburg Pile where the Honda dealer is located. Walk 600 feet northwest on Leesburg Pike to Westwood Center Drive (on your left). Walk 400 feet west on Westwood Center Drive, then turn right and walk 500 feet on Cornerside Boulevard to Ashgrove Lane. Across Ashgrove Lane from you is the Sheraton. I've snapped a Google Maps view of the area and marked the walking route on it. The image file is here: http://www.richardspens.com/images/info/tysons.png ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Nib Workshop at the DC Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I will be giving my hands-on nib smoothing seminar at the DC show. It happens Sunday morning, beginning promptly at 8:30. Attendance is limited to 16 registered participants and is filled, but you will be welcome to audit the workshop without registering. We will have extra copies of the handouts. If you decide after the workshop that you'd like to try working with your own pens, Mike and Linda at IndyPenDance will have complete kits of the workshop materials for sale at their table. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Black Pen Society Annual Meeting *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Black Pen Society will hold its annual meeting at the SuperShow. Society members are some of pendom's leading lights, and the meeting will be thoroughly enjoyable. Meeting time is 9:00 p.m. Saturday, and the place is the Pit. If you don't know where the Pit is, ask at Paul Erano's or Richard Greenwald's table during the day. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Barbara'a Attic *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We've dropped some new items into Barbara's Attic, and we'll be adding a few more before we take off for Washington. Check it out! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instead of a specific article this month, I've been working on expanding the Glossopedia. It has grown to 1326 entries, with sub-entries that bring the coverage to more than 1450 definitions and descriptions. With more than 870 illustrations and more than 160 patent citations linked directly to copies of the original patents, it's the most comprehensive pen glossary anywhere on the Web. Take a few minutes to browse; when you come up for air, hours might have passed! http://www.richardspens.com/?gloss= And for those of you who prefer to carry my books around in your tablet or phone, the Apple, Nook, and Kindle electronic versions have all been completely updated to correspond with the latest Web edition. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Pens That Write Right! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unless otherwise requested at the time of sale or unless otherwise noted in Barbara's Attic, I personally tune each new nib we sell at no extra charge before shipment. I test the nib in a pen filled with Waterman Mysterious Blue ink and write with it on paper of better than average quality, adjusting as necessary to bring it up to the RichardsPens.com "factory" standard for smoothness and flow. If you order a new nib with customization (gold nibs only), I'll modify the nib (for an extra charge), and we will ship it without any extra delay. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook and Twitter *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We'd like to be liked on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NashuaPenSpa And you're invited to follow our occasional tweets 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 DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, 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.