June 12th: New Yorkers / Tri State collectors mark your calendars

June 12th: New Yorkers / Tri State collectors mark your calendars


The rumour doing the rounds is that there is going to be a fountain pen
collector's meeting with the intention of provoking new collectors to come
into the hobby. It will take place on Saturday afternoon June 12th. It
will be given by the New York Public LIbrary (on 42nd Street)'s shop and
some guy with whom I along with numerous others are vaguely acquainted
called Jonathan Steinberg.

He will be giving a talk devoted to how to drag the uninitiated kicking and
screaming into collecting these things and buying new pens.

There will have been a considerable amount of research for collectors of new
pens and users into the general question of which new pens have flexible
nibs in advance of the Pen World article on the subject. The NYPL shop has
a considerable pen sales department which does a reasonable business along
with a huge business on something called the Internet. They will be getting
pens into stock with flexible nibs which write a bit like vintage pens.

If anyone has any POSITIVE input into this geenral subject (and if I know
this newsgroup, there will be) please let us know: NOT that 'I have got this
blahblah and it REALLY writes smoothly' or 'I love my new blahblahblah'
please: We all know that there are only a few manufacturers of nibs around
(meaning one?) and they steadfastly refuse to produce flexible nibs for any
of their customers who do try to order them: But nevertheless some
mysteriously manage to find their way onto the market and I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs. CLUE: Someone lent me a Visconti at
Chicago to sign a book; And having tried lots of Viscontis, I was stunned
and mystified to find that it DID have a flexible nib and wondered who made
it or how they extracted it from Bock (Reform and Moschler seem to be out
of this business now)? And whether many of their pens do have flexible nibs
or was this flexibility an abberation or manufacturing defect?

The afternoon will be co-ordinated between www.vintagepen.com and the New
York Public Library's not inconsiderable public relations resources and
there will be advance newspaper and television publicity which hopefully
will attract newbies to attend. There will also be posters provided by the
publisher of Jonathan Steinberg's new book which will be available to anyone
(and in this case I suspect that means everyone) who hasn't yet bought a
copy. Thes special copies will be delineated by the fact that they will be
in all probability signed etc.

And we all know that when two or three are gathered together in the name of
fountain pens, a certain amount of trading / buying / selling of new finds
does go on

(I will try to get this info out to Tom Zoss who has a copy of the book
"Fountain Pens -Their History and Art" with whom I haven't been in e-mail
contact for some time)

Licensed to Quill

On Sun, 9 May 2004 19:36:05 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs.
The Parker Sonnet has a flexible nib for a modern pen.

Yes, I did know that Parker is one of the only pen companies which produces
their own nibs. Principally because a few years ago I wrote a complimentary
article about them and was invited to a full board luncheon followed by a
tour of the factory and was shown the nibs being produced.

But when I asked why none of their nibs were fliexible, they flanneled me
with some scientific nonsense about a measuring machine they have to
determine somethingorother (might have been when the tines splay apart?)
and why that mandates that none of their nibs can be flexible any more.

But that was some years ago. What exactly do you mean by "for a modern pen?

L2Q

"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 May 2004 19:36:05 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs.
The Parker Sonnet has a flexible nib for a modern pen.

On Mon, 10 May 2004 11:49:20 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

Yes, I did know that Parker is one of the only pen companies which produces
their own nibs. Principally because a few years ago I wrote a complimentary
article about them and was invited to a full board luncheon followed by a
tour of the factory and was shown the nibs being produced.

But when I asked why none of their nibs were fliexible, they flanneled me
with some scientific nonsense about a measuring machine they have to
determine somethingorother (might have been when the tines splay apart?)
and why that mandates that none of their nibs can be flexible any more.

But that was some years ago. What exactly do you mean by "for a modern pen?
One still being produced today. Not to be confused with the vintage
Modern Parker.

"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 9 May 2004 19:36:05 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs.
The Parker Sonnet has a flexible nib for a modern pen.

Yes, Earl, that was the question I was actually posting: If someone wants to
write with a pen with a flexible nib, which one can they buy today.

NOT which one is flexible "for a modern pen" ESPECIALLY if it should not be
confused with the type of flexible nib one finds on a vintage pen: That was
exactly the opposite of what I need for the fountain pen day.

I know that people who write with modern pens tend not to know how vintage
pens write but still, (Frank coiuld have answered this one) does anyone know
which modern pens have flexible nibs in advance of the Pen World article on
the subject?

So far, all I seem to have found was that anomalous Visconti wihch indicates
that if THEY can get one, anyone can; and Platinum which supplies those
extraordinarily impressive Nagoya (?) pens which showed up at the Chicago
show.

Licensed to Quill


"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 10 May 2004 11:49:20 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

Yes, I did know that Parker is one of the only pen companies which
produces
their own nibs. Principally because a few years ago I wrote a
complimentary
article about them and was invited to a full board luncheon followed by a
tour of the factory and was shown the nibs being produced.

But when I asked why none of their nibs were fliexible, they flanneled me
with some scientific nonsense about a measuring machine they have to
determine somethingorother (might have been when the tines splay apart?)
and why that mandates that none of their nibs can be flexible any more.

But that was some years ago. What exactly do you mean by "for a modern
pen?
One still being produced today. Not to be confused with the vintage
Modern Parker.

"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 9 May 2004 19:36:05 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs.
The Parker Sonnet has a flexible nib for a modern pen.

On Thu, 13 May 2004 09:58:21 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:
If any one wants to they can make a pen from a goose feather.
Depending on how long it sits in hot sand it will be VERY and I mean
VERY flexible. Look at the Bill of Rights, you too can write like
that.
Yes, Earl, that was the question I was actually posting: If someone wants to
write with a pen with a flexible nib, which one can they buy today.

NOT which one is flexible "for a modern pen" ESPECIALLY if it should not be
confused with the type of flexible nib one finds on a vintage pen: That was
exactly the opposite of what I need for the fountain pen day.

I know that people who write with modern pens tend not to know how vintage
pens write but still, (Frank coiuld have answered this one) does anyone know
which modern pens have flexible nibs in advance of the Pen World article on
the subject?

So far, all I seem to have found was that anomalous Visconti wihch indicates
that if THEY can get one, anyone can; and Platinum which supplies those
extraordinarily impressive Nagoya (?) pens which showed up at the Chicago
show.

Licensed to Quill


"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 10 May 2004 11:49:20 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

Yes, I did know that Parker is one of the only pen companies which
produces
their own nibs. Principally because a few years ago I wrote a
complimentary
article about them and was invited to a full board luncheon followed by a
tour of the factory and was shown the nibs being produced.

But when I asked why none of their nibs were fliexible, they flanneled me
with some scientific nonsense about a measuring machine they have to
determine somethingorother (might have been when the tines splay apart?)
and why that mandates that none of their nibs can be flexible any more.

But that was some years ago. What exactly do you mean by "for a modern
pen?
One still being produced today. Not to be confused with the vintage
Modern Parker.

"Earl Camembert" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 9 May 2004 19:36:05 -0400, "Licensed to Quill"
wrote:

I want to know
which pens actually have flexible nibs.
The Parker Sonnet has a flexible nib for a modern pen.