======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 16 Number 8 * November 2017 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. We hope you'll enjoy reading this month's issue. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! The robot that sends it out hasn't yet learned to read. If you have 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The 23rd Annual Ohio Pen Show Is Happening THIS WEEKENBD! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 23rd Annual Ohio Pen Show will be happening the first weekend of November (November 2-5). Barbara and I will be on hand for all the festivities -- where will YOU be? SPECIAL NOTE: We will have our remaining selection of the pens from Barbara's Attic, augmented with a few other very nice pens, with us at the Ohio show, so if you're at the show, please be sure to stop by our table and choose a pen or three to take home with you. The Ohio Pen Show is one of the greatest shows on the circuit. It's famous all over the world for the quality and quantity of vintage pens that you'll see. Meet your fellow collectors in a warm and friendly atmosphere. There are extra events for weekend pass holders, including two, count 'em TWO, auctions, one on Thursday the 2nd and the big one on Saturday the 4th. Oh, and did I mention the pizza party on Friday? With Weekenders' events cranking up on Thursday (30 trading 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 nice and early. As always, there will be exciting new products and all those vintage pens I mentioned, as well as that fabulous auction action. The Ohio show offers a grand time, 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.theohiopenshow.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 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, Martin Ferguson of Martin's Pens 51, or Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We hope to see you there -- come and join the fun! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Hands-On Nib Workshop in Ohio *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ably assisted by my protégés Linda Kennedy and Brian Gray, I will be giving my hands-on nib smoothing seminar at the Ohio show. It happens Sunday morning, beginning promptly at 8:30. All 16 paid slots for hands-on participation have been filled, but you will be welcome to audit the workshop without registering. I'll have extra copies of the handout, and I'll accept questions from those auditing. If you decide after the workshop that you'd like to try working with your own pens, IndyPenDance will have all of the workshop materials for sale at their table. They will also have a supply of the pens we use in the workshop. DON'T LEARN ON A PEN YOU CARE ABOUT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ First-tier companies sometimes made third-tier pens. One of the best known of these lower-line pens was Parker's Parkette. Read about it here: http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=parkette To help you find articles that have been edited recently, I've added a handy new heading right at the top of the reference index, listing the five most recently edited pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Where is Richard's "Pen Show Tray"? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is a cure for depression caused by the disappearance of my monthly "Pen Show Tray." Just point your browser at this page: http://www.indypendance.com/mailchimp_news.php#subscribe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Barbara's Attic Is Your Source for Great Restorable Pens*** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We continue to offer assorted miscellany in Barbara's Attic, including occasional new trays of restorable pens. Right now, there are two, count 'em TWO, twenty-pen trays of excellent pens for your collection or your pocket. Most of these pens are eBay priced, but they've all been gone over by someone who — unlike so many eBay sellers — actually knows something about pens: me. Some are ready to roll, some will just need cleaning, and a few will require minor restoration. These things are noted in the tray dsescriptions. DON'T MISS OUT! http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic We will have our remaining selection of these pens with us at the Ohio show, so if you're at the show, please be sure to stop by our table and choose a pen to take home with you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Pen Doctor *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pen Doctor is a regular visitor to the Nashua Pen Spa, and every so often he puts a few prescriptions up in our site's reference section. Each month, I'll be reprinting one of his prescriptions here. -------- Q: My Vanishing Point dries out if I leave it unused for a few hours, even when I'm careful to retract the nib. What’s causing this, and how can I fix it? A: There are several problems that can cause a Vanishing Point to dry out while it’s retracted: By far the most common problem is simply that the cartridge or converter is not seated all the way into the nib unit, preventing the nib from retracting completely. For the technically minded, the space between a CON-50 converter’s metal collar and the back end of the nib unit’s housing is about 0.100" (2.54 mm). You haven’t said whether you have a metal Pilot Vanishing Point or an older resin Namiki model. If your Vanishing Point is the older faceted resin model, and if you’re using a CON-50 piston converter, that’s the problem. The converter’s metal collar stops against the brass collar inside the barrel’s back end. This interference prevents the nib unit from retracting completely. The solution is to replace the converter with a CON-20 squeeze converter (if you can find one) or a CON-40 piston converter. Another possibility, the one nobody wants to think applies to his or her pen, is that the little trap door in the pen’s nozzle might have been knocked loose when the pen was dropped or otherwise banged too hard. When this happens, the trap door no longer seats snugly against the rubber gasket that seals the pen. In some cases, allowing this condition to persist can deform the gasket so that the trap door won’t seal properly even if it’s repaired so that it operates as it should. When this happens, repair consists of removing the pen’s metal nose cone and bending the door slightly to accommodate the way the gasket has become misshapen. Nothing I’ve described in this paragraph is readily reparable at home; this is all work for an experienced pen repairer. But you can test your pen: remove the barrel’s back half and the nib unit. Close your mouth around the opening at the back end of the main barrel, and blow gently. If there is a good resistance, things are okay there. If your breath just goes right through, there’s a problem. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We'd like to be liked on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NashuaPenSpa ======================================================================== 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.