======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 17 Number 10 * January 2019 ======================================================================== 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Looking forward at 2019 *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our first pen show of 2019 will be the new and improved Baltimore-Wash- ington International Pen Show, running from Friday, March 1, through Sunday, March 3. (Pre-show activities will commence on Thursday, March 1.) So how is it new and improved? It's back at the BWI Marriott Hotel just around the corner (maybe two corners) from Baltimore-Washington International Airport. This is is a great venue, the hotel is just perfect for the show, and there's free parking. Baltimore is known not only for its good food but also for some very interesting tourist spots, among them Fort McHenry ("Oh, say can you see...?"), a World War II U. S. Navy submarine, and a world-class aquarium, so there's something there for your family members who don't care about pens. For more information, visit the show's website: http://www.baltimorepenshow.com/ Our second 2019 show will be the Long Island Pwn Show. This show is a great place to reel in lots of New York-area vintage. Not too big and not too small, the show draws a good crowd of dealers and attendees, and it's getting better every year. In addition to a wide selection of pens for sale, a squad of highly qualified repairers will be in evidence. Come on out to Hempstead Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17, and visit the campus of Hofstra University. The show will be in the Multipurpose Room in the student center. For more information, visit the show's website: http://www.lipenshow.com/ We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at both of these great shows. We hope to see you there! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** About the Washington DC Pen Show *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ An email was sent to all of the dealers, repairers, etc., who had tables at the 2018 Washington DC Fountain Pen SuperShow, describing steps that are being taken to improve the show. Prominent among things that were NOT mentioned was a change of venue to a hotel with enough space to house the show, which is beyond overcrowded. One dealer/repairer who was not there in 2018 asked for two tables in 2019 and was told, "We can give you one table, but we will have to put you on a waiting list for a chance at a second table." What this means is that if you didn't get that email, you have virtually no chance of getting a table at the 2019 show. The Washington DC show may be a wonderful show, but without the ability to grow, it will stagnate. I wish the best to the organizers, but I don't hold out any hope for those of us who would like to exhibit at the show in the future but were not there in 2018. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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. -------- Holland. (John Holland Gold Pen Company) A pen manufacturing company located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founder John Holland got his start by serving an apprenticeship under George W. Sheppard, a well respected maker of gold pens. After having worked in Sheppard’s factory for several years, Holland bought one third interest in the company. A few years later, in 1862, he purchased the remaining interest. Initially keeping the company going by continuing the gold-pen business, Holland later branched out into the manufacture of high-quality fountain pens. Holland pens are perhaps best known for their use of a hatchet filler. The company, whose logo was a tulip blossom in silhouette, remained in business until the 1950s. -------- To immerse yourself in the Glossopedia, follow this link: http://www.richardspens.com/?gloss= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BURP! Oops, excuse me, I didn't see you there reading. Would YOU buy a pen that used burping as its marketing strategy? That pen was the Ever- sharp Ventura, and thousands of people did buy it. It was actually two distinct pens, the Ventura and the Slim Ventura, and together they were Eversharp's last high-quality fountain pens. Learn more in my latest article. It's a slightly revised and expanded version of one that first appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of the Pennant Magazine: http://www.richardspens.com/?prof=ventura To help you find reference articles on my 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** 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 (except when I forget), I'll be reprinting one of his pre- scriptions 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. With a piston (twist) converter installed, the unit should look like this: 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 (shown below), 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 RichardsPens on 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: I will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to me as it is to you.