======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 17 Number 6 * September 2018 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. I 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 my site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise ************************************************************************ *** NEWS FLASH! *** ************************************************************************ As of 5 a.m. Eastern time Sunday, Septmber 2, my book _Fountain Pen Pro- files: Wahl-Eversharp_ has gone to press in PRINTED FORM. It's now available from Amazon. Look for it! https://amzn.to/2CaXqnj ======================================================================== *** BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE *** ======================================================================== This month, for the first time ever, Nib Noise includes a few articles aimed at going back to school with your fountain pens (or with some new ones). Why would you want a fountain pen for school? Several recent studies have shown that taking notes by hand, instead of using a computer or tablet, will increase your understanding and retention of the material at hand -- especially if you write in longhand (cursive). There is something about the brain/hand connection that works more powerfully if you write instead of typing, and this means you can raise your grades without doing all that extra studying or cramming for exams. (You do have to actually take notes, remember; you can't just sit in class or a lecture hall and imagine that you will absorb anything. If you do that, your fountain pen can't help you, but then your computer can't, either.) The articles that follow apply equally well to all students, from middle school all the way to college or post-collegiate continuing education. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** My Top Five Back-to-School Fountain Pens *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Because I've closed down my business and so have no horse in this race, I feel free to pick the pens I think are most suitable, without regard to brand. All of the pens I've chosen will come in at $55.00 or less, most of them well below that level. Several of these pens are cartridge/converter models. You can load up your pen with a converter before you go off to school, and if by some miracle you manage to empty it before the end of the day, you can save the day (and maybe your quiz grade) by taking the converter out and slapping in a cartridge. As an alternative, some of these babies are so inexpensive that you can just carry two and not have to worry. I've given a link to an Amazon page for each of the pens I list, but of course you're not required to buy from Amazon if you have a favorite pen dealer who sells the one you like. So let's get started! The top choice has to be the Pilot Metropolitan. Durable metal body, high-quality tipped steel nib, uses Pilot cartridges or the included CON-40 converter. Light weight for effortless all-day writing, famously smooth nib in F, M, or M stub grades, comes in black, gold, green, orange, purple, red, silver, or turquoise, in several finish style treatments. What's not to like? Looking on Amazon, you can get this amazing bargain pen for prices ranging from $12.00 to about $20.00, depending on color and nib grade, or up to $28.00 for an engraved personalized pen. Many of the offerings come with free Amazon Prime shipping (plain black linked below). https://amzn.to/2welY9j For a little more, around $32.00, you can snag a TWSBI Eco. All plastic with a clear body, black, clear, green, red, or white cap, and a piston filler whose knob matches the cap, the feather-light Eco holds two or three times as much ink as a cartridge or converter pen. (Note: bottle fill only, no cartridges, no converter. Remember to fill your pen before you head off to school!) It comes in nib grades of EF, F, M, B, and a 1.1 mm stub. I can't recommend the stub for school work, especially given that it's not tipped and will consequently wear out relatively rapidly. This excellent pen is available on the Amazon TWSBI storefront with free shipping (black with M nib linked below): https://amzn.to/2o932Vh For under $10.00, you can nail down the remarkable Platinum Preppy. (You can actually get it for $4.00 or $5.00 from some pen dealers if you're willing to pay for shipping, perhaps tossed in with some of your other back-to-school necessities.) Featuring a clear plastic section and cap together with barrel, clip, and internal parts that match the color of the included ink cartridges, this little gem is another really light pen for extended writing sessions, with a surprisingly nice nib in EF, F, or M grades. The Preppy uses Platinum cartridges, or for another $6.00 or so, you can get a converter for bottle filling, thereby saving the earth and also saving you all kinds of money for trips to the local soda fountain or drive-in. (Sorry, had a momentary flashback to my youth there.) https://amzn.to/2woCnY3 If you need a disposable pen, the it's back to Pilot for the Varsity (called the Vpen outside the U.S.A.). In packs of seven pens for less than $30.00, it writes well, and it's cheap enough that you could almost -- but not quite -- feel good tossing it after it runs dry. (But you don't have to pitch it because you can take it apart and refill it with an eyedropper or a syringe.) Here's a link to a pack of Varsitys with M nibs and blue ink: https://amzn.to/2wftdxM Lastly, if you wear tees or other pocketless shirts or blouses, what can you get these days that you can just toss into your pants pocket or your purse or messenger bag? The answer is the Kaweco Sport. With prices ranging from about $15.00 to $55.00 (with free Prime shipping from Amazon), the clipless Sport comes in myriad plastic or metal (aluminum, brass, or steel) versions. When it's capped, it's only a little over 4 inches long, depending on the model, but when you post the cap it's almost 5 inches long, just big enough that even large hands can use it comfortably. The Sport uses standard short international cartridges, and for another $7.00 you can get an ecologically sound Kaweco converter that will reduce plastic trash as well as helping out your wallet and giving you an almost unlimited choice of ink brands and colors. The link below is for a Sport in Basic Black. https://amzn.to/2LmNoPe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Paper. It's What's for Writing On. *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pens are relatively useless without paper to write on. My choice for a paper that is surprisingly fountain pen friendly is Staples Sustainable Earth sugarcane-based paper. This stuff is made from sugarcane after the sugar is extracted, which is an essentially free resource, and the spent sugarcane doesn't crud up the landscape by just being dumped. The paper has a relatively rough surface, so there will be feedback, but I don't find it objectionable. You can get Sustainable Earth paper in wire-bound multi-subject and composition pads, college-ruled or wide-ruled white or yellow perforated legal pads, as reams of copy paper, and as lined oe graph-ruled 3-ring filler paper. Other brands of sugarcane-based paper come in other form factors. Sugarcane paper costs more than the cheap stuff, but it works better with fountain pens, and it's much better for the environment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Thinking About ink *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You will need ink. If your pen uses only cartridges, you're pretty well stuck with the kind of cartridge that it likes. That limits your color choices, too, but sometimes what it is, is what it is. As for bottled ink, there are bazillions of colors. The catch is that some inks that might give just the exact color you want might also turn out to be problematical, tending to clog or dry very slowly. For use at home for journaling, art, or other non-school writing, you have the luxury of time and a supply of de-clogging tools like 0.002" brass shim squares and bottles of pen flush, and for that, those inks are fine -- but for school, you need a reliable ink that won't clog or blob and will dry reasonably rapidly. And your teachers or professors probably won't like Herbin Lie de Thé or Diamine Syrah, so blue, blue-black, or black is your best choice for use at school (or for doing homework). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Taking Care of Your Pens *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is a section on my site that is devoted to ways and means for keeping your pens in good condition while they're in your rotation or out of it. The basics, which everyone should know, are set out in an article titled "Care and Feeding: How to Pamper Your Pens": http://www.richardspens.com/?care= (Nothing after the equals sign!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Books and More Books *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In case you missed it last month, I've just published my fifth and sixth ebooks about fountain pens: Fountain Pen Profiles: Wahl-Eversharp In this generously illustrated book are profiles of eleven Wahl- Eversharp fountain pen models, from the beginning in 1917 to the end in 1957. Fountain Pen Profiles: L. E. & A. A. Waterman In this generously illustrated book are profiles of nine pivotal L. E. Waterman fountain pen models from 1917 to 1957, together with a long look at A. A. Waterman's history and pens. Don't forget the RichardsPens Guide to Fountain Pens, my information- packed four-volume series covering diverse topics from restoration to the history and workings of a whole passel of filling systems to where's the best place to buy pens other than at a pen show. I've produced all of these books for Kindle, iBooks, and Nook, and some are available in printed form. Check them out on this page, where there are links to the three online stores: http://www.richardspens.com/?bks=richard ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Our Last Pen Show Until November... *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...will be the Fifth Annual Commonwealth Pen Show at the Holiday Inn Boston Bunker Hill Area Hotel at 30 Washington Street in Somerville, MA, on Sunday, September 16. It's a one-day show, but it's a good one, and well worth the trip if you are close enough. The weather outside might be a little cooler than it was a couple of weeks ago, but the pen show room will be hot! Come and enjoy the fun of a classic New England-style pen show! 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 information about the show and the hotel, please visit the show's Web site. http://www.commonwealthpenshow.com/ I will be working on nibs to improve or customize your writing experience, and Barbara will be juggling people to make sure I don't have time to go on a buying spree. 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. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We'll be there all day, and we hope to see you there. And in November, we will be where we always are, at the Ohio Pen Show in Dublin (not the Dublin in Ireland). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Glossopedia *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A major feature of my website is the Glossopedia, a hybrid between a glossary and a single-volume encyclopedia. With more than 1500 defini- tions and descriptions, more than 900 illustrations, and more than 2100 cross-references, it's the most comprehensive of its kind on the Web. Each month, Nib Noise includes a randomly chosen Glossopedia entry. -------- King, The. (Società Anonima Pennini King, later Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Stilografiche) A pen manufacturer located in Turin, Italy; founded in 1926 as The King Società Anonima Torino by Gabriele Lattes, the company quickly changed its name to reflect the brand name it had registered: THE KING. Initial production consisted of very high quality hard rubber safeties that were imprinted THE KING SUPERIOR (trademark registered in 1928). These pens resembled Waterman’s Ideal No. 42; but in typical Continental fashion, they were “jazzed up” with beautiful engraved clips. There were also Continental overlays, and lever fillers are known as well. Arguments have been made to the effect that the company’s pens were produced by Omas, but although it is likely that some models (e.g., a doctor’s pen) were jobbed from Omas, the majority of THE KING production appears to have been done in house. When its initial designs aged out, the company produced a range of typical Italian imitations of the Parker Duofold. These later pens, branded THE KING DIAMOND, used a twist-knob filling system invented by Armando Simoni (U.S. Patent No. 1,784,078) that was functionally similar to John Kritikson‘s U.S. Patent No. 1,482,568. At some unknown date between 1932 and 1934, the company changed its name to Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Stilografiche (SAFIS), possibly in response to the Fascist regime’s forced Italianization of names. (The date of 1932 is known from the existence of an invoice dated in that year, in the earlier name; the 1934 date is known because the company began producing pens under the RADIUS brand name, which it registered in that year.) After World War II, SAFIS resumed production, but postwar pens are not of the same quality as prewar production. See also Continental. -------- To immerse yourself in the Glossopedia, follow this link: http://www.richardspens.com/?gloss= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One of the more interesting niche markets in pen collecting is that of Japanese long/short "pocket" pens. Probably the bet known of these pens are the Pilot MYU of the 1980s and the M90, a limited-edition reboot of the MYU that was released in 2008. While Pilot's long/shorts will accept some Pilot converters, most of the competition isn't so accommodating. This month I've written an article that explains how to convert a readily available Platinum converter so that it will work in Platinum and Morison long/shorts while continuing to be usable in Platinum and Morison full-length pens. http://www.richardspens.com/?rep=morison_conv To help you find reference articles on our site that have been edited recently, there is a handy heading right at the top of the reference index, listing the five most recently added or edited reference pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Bringing RichardsPens.com into the 21st Century *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have finished converting my site to HTML5, the latest standard for web sites. The obsolete frameset design, which I created more than 20 years ago, is gone -- but I have kept the fixed-position menu at the left side of the screen to make navigation fast and easy. Instead of going through the gyrations that the frameset forced you to use, you can now bookmark or link to any page on the site by just going to it and saving a bookmark in the usual way or copying and pasting the address string. I hope you will enjoy the improvement. The query-string system that I worked out for encoding short and snappy links to pages on the site still works, so that if you have saved (or created) links of that type (as seen in Broad Strokes above), they will continue to work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RichardsPens.com would 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.