Categories
Nib Customizations Production Line

Pendleton Brown Carrying the Production Line!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m very excited to announce that my good friend, Pendleton Brown is now carrying the Production Line!

I’ve known Pendleton from the pen shows for at least 12-13 years, and he became a very good friend early on. He has primarily been a nib technician, offering some of the most amazing work that I’ve ever written with. I was very happy when my friend contacted me with interest in carrying Edison!

You can see Pendleton’s Edison offerings here.

When looking through Pendleton’s offerings, you’ll notice that his pricing is a little higher than our other retailers. Please keep in mind that the price does include his amazing BLS (Butter Line Stub) nib. You can learn more about the BLS nib here. I’ll attach a writing sample below. I’ve written with this nib more than a few times at the pen shows, and it’s simply sublime!

In addition to the BLS nib, of course, Pendleton offers plenty of other specialty nibs such as added flex, customizing smoothness/crispness, dryer/wetter, oblique grinds, etc.

So when you are looking at our retailers that offer the Production Line, Pendleton is one of the few that can offer you a Production Line pen that also includes a customized nib.

You can learn more about Pendleton here, but trust me when I say that it’s not easy to find a nicer fellow!

I wanted to include a photo that goes way back. This photo is from the Chicago Pen Show many years ago. For perspective…in this photo, Pendleton is with my son, Andrew. Andrew is now 17 and we are currently shopping for colleges!

Alas….the time, she flies!

Please head over to Pendleton’s Pens to look around and please reach out with any questions!

Brian at Edison

Categories
New Pens Nib Customizations Production Line

#6 Steel Flex Nibs!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m very happy to announce that we now have #6 Steel Flex Nibs!

Within the video below I explain how they are made, show writing samples, and compare them to our Stock 14k Flex nibs.

These Flex nibs are available in Silver Tone only, in Extra Fine or Fine tip sizes.

click for full resolution
click for full resolution

If these are purchased equipped on a Signature Line Pen, the cost will be the same as a pen equipped with a normal Steel Nib. If purchased individually, they will be $28.

These nibs will also be available soon through our retailers that carry our Production Line.

Please email me with any questions.

Brian at Edison

Categories
Current Inventory Nib Customizations

Stamped #8 Edison Nibs and Current Inventory Updated!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m very happy to announce that our #8 steel nibs are now coming to us stamped with our logo.

We had plans to introduce this nib with branding from the beginning, but we didn’t want our customers to wait too long for them to arrive. This why we launched the Collier Grande with a nib that did not have any branding at the beginning. Initially, we were expecting these nibs to be ready later this year, but they were finished much earlier than what we had anticipated.

The Collier Grande is the only model that accepts this nib, but we have plans for more designs using it.

For those that already purchased the Collier Grande with the original unbranded nib that would like to switch to this version, we can trade for a restocking fee of $20 including domestic return shipping. There are some Edison customers who prefer the simplicity of the blank version, so we’re happy to replenish our inventory of blank versions for those that would like to trade.

In addition to this, we have recently updated our Current Inventory Gallery with new Collier Grandes! This pen has been very popular and has sold fast. It’s been difficult for us to keep inventory that is ready to ship, but we have some that are ready to go! You can see them here.

Please reach out with any questions!

Brian at Edison

 

Categories
Nib Customizations

Italic and Architect Nibs from Mark Bacas!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m proud to announce that we are now carrying custom ground nibs by Mark Bacas from nibgrinder.com!

We’ve known Mark for a good while from the pen shows (prior to covid!) and we’ve always been very impressed with his work. I think that most of the pen community is familiar with Mark’s skills, so there’s certainly little need to expand upon his talents! We’re very happy that Mark has agreed to give us some help.

Up until now, I’ve always personally handled all of our custom nib grinds with the exception of when we brought in Gena Salorino with Custom Nib Studio about a year ago for XXF and finer grinds.

As our business grows, I find that my time for custom ground nibs diminishes more and more. It seems that I’m being spread in too many directions. Nib grinds are something that I’m happy to seek help with to free myself for other tasks while also supporting our fellow nib technicians.

So Mark will be helping us with the following nib grinds…

  1. Crisp Italics (adds $40)
  2. Cursive Italics (adds $40)
  3. Stub Italics (adds $40)
  4. Hybrid Architect (adds $50)

Gena will continue to help us with XXF and finer grinds.

So we have plenty of inventory of Mark’s work ready to be installed on any custom pen. All custom-ground italic and architect nibs from Edison will be coming from Mark’s hand from here on out.

If anyone has questions, please reach out!

Brian at Edison

Categories
Nib Customizations

Transition of Two Tone Nibs to All Gold

Hi Pen Fans!

Many of you may already be aware, but our nib manufacturer (JoWo), has made a change in that Two Tone nibs will be transitioning to All Gold nibs. For clarification, I’ll show photos of both….


#6 Two Tone Steel, being transitioned OUT.

#6 Two Tone 18k, being transitioned OUT.

#6 All Gold Steel, being transitioned IN.

#6 All Gold 18k, being transitioned IN.

Obviously, all of these nibs are Gold Tone and will match clips and trim in gold, as well as materials that compliment gold. But Two Tone nibs have a strip of either polished steel or rhodium across the top of the wings. That is the only difference. It is only cosmetic and has no bearing on the performance of a nib.

So JoWo has been offering Two Tone nibs in all tip sizes until they run out, and they have already run out in some tip sizes. Then these nibs will be replaced with All Gold. This is effecting all pen manufacturers that use JoWo nibs.

At this point in time….

In #6 Steel, we have EF, B, 1.1mm, and 1.5mm left in Two Tone. F and M are now All Gold.
All of our #5 Steel nibs are Two Tone as we use less of these. So at this point in time, #5 Steel nibs are not yet affected.
None of our 18k nibs are affected yet.

Bottom line, with our Production Line and Signature Line Pens that use #6 nibs, some of our tip sizes will be arriving with All Gold nibs rather than Two Tone. Then eventually as tip sizes run out in Two Tone, every gold tone nib will become All Gold.

With Signature Line orders, I will always be in touch with customers as they place their orders to make them aware of which version they will receive.

If anyone is going to be missing Two Tone nibs, don’t forget that we can sell individual nibs, of course. Anyone is welcome to buy individual Two Tone nibs while they last.

There is no effect upon Polished Steel or Rhodium 18k nibs, which are all Silver Tone and will remain this way.

If anyone has questions, please reach out.

Brian at Edison

Categories
Nib Customizations

XXF and Finer Grinds by Gena with Custom Nib Studio!

Hi Pen Fans!

We are proud and excited to announce that we are now carrying XXF, XXXF, and Needlepoint nibs created by Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio! We met Gena at the San Francisco Pen Show in 2019, as she was our table neighbor. As the show proceeded, we got a chance to try some of her very impressive work. Her nib grinds and attention to detail is incredible! At the time, we were already thinking about getting some help with our more difficult nib grinds, and Gena agreed to work with us.

Up until now, I have always handled all of our nib grinds myself. But for me personally, XXF, XXXF, and Needlepoint grinds are the most difficult to accomplish. Since I’m primarily a penmaker and not a full time nib-technician, I honestly can’t always stay in proper “grinding-shape”, if that makes sense! I can always achieve a nice tiny grind. But without more daily practice, it’s been taking me longer and longer to get them to my standards. So lately my time has not truly been accounted for with XXF and smaller grinds. Rather than raise prices to account for my time, it’s a better idea overall to enlist the help of someone like Gena who does stay in excellent “grinding-shape!”

I am still personally handling all of our Italic and Architect grinds, as they are not nearly as demanding of my time. But as we move along, we might ask Gena for her help in those departments as well. So we now have XXF, XXXF, and Needlepoints created by Gena in stock and ready to be equipped on any pen! The additional cost for any of these grinds is $50.

We’d like to offer big thanks to Gena for agreeing help us in this department. If anyone has any questions, just reach out!

Brian at Edison

Always use a gentle touch with a Needlepoint!

Categories
Current Inventory Nib Customizations

Current Inventory Updated and (gasp) No More Binder Flex nibs!

Hi Pen Fans.

A quick post with a couple of topics

First, the inventory that we made for the San Francisco Pen Show has been photographed and uploaded to our galleries. There are about 50-60 pens that are new to the galleries and ready to ship. Click here to see all of the pens that are ready with no waiting. Email me if you are interested in one of these pens.

Below is quick slideshow of these pens or you can click this link for the gallery.

Next, we can no longer offer Binder Flex nibs. 🙁

Say it ain’t so!

It’s been about 3-4 years since Richard Binder announced his retirement. Since then I’ve considered myself lucky that he was willing to continue making flex nibs for us, in spite of his mostly retired status.

I knew that the day would come when Richard would want to either back off or stop completely, and that day has come unfortunately.

So we can no longer offer Binder Flex Nibs, I’m sorry! All of the flex nibs that we have left are accounted for with backlogged orders. So if you have an order in with us that involves a flex nib, fear not! We do have your nib!

I’d like to take a minute to thank Richard for doing these flex nibs for as long as he did. Richard was essentially continuing to do me a favor as a friend after his retirement, and I’ve always been very grateful that he continued making these for Edison as long as he did.

Please don’t forget that we still do offer Edison Stock Flex Nibs. These nibs are definitely quite respectable as what I call “modern” flex, whereas Richard’s nibs were just like vintage “wet-noodles’, both having their place.

Please reach out with any questions.

Brian at Edison

Categories
Nib Customizations

Updates to Edison Nib Adjusting and Tuning

Hi Pen Fans!

Just a quick blog post to make everyone aware of some recent happenings with regard to tuning, adjustment, and customization of nibs on Edison Pens.

In the past, I have personally tuned every nib that leaves the Edison facility. Very few pen companies bother with this step, but we find this to be an absolutely vital ingredient to our success. I have often said that a great pen with a bad nib is like a Ferrari with a flat tire, and I think that most agree that this is an accurate and interesting analogy!

Many of our customers have commented on how this extra step that we’ve taken from Edison’s first day in business makes a huge difference in how their pens perform, and we wholly agree.

So what is changing? Not much. I will still tune, adjust, and perfect every nib that leaves our facility, but with even more accuracy and better results as I recently finished extensive training with master nib worker Richard Binder. I didn’t simply attend an hour-long seminar. Instead, Richard was kind enough to host a multiple-day visit for personalized instruction. I will also be planning future visits to continue my education with Richard.

While I already had a good foundation in nib work (over the years, we never received any complaints), Richard was able to take my skills to the next level when it comes to “Binderizing” a nib (an extensive general tuning), along with perfecting my italic grinds, oblique grinds, architect grinds, as well as EF to EEEEF grinds.

I think that most customers already realize this, but I will iterate what our nib tuning procedures have been and will continue to be….

With Production Line pens, we perform a “dry” tuning at no charge. This involves…

  1. Tine alignment
  2. Proper adjustment of tip gap and tine gap
  3. General Smoothing
  4. Feed alignment
  5. Overall inspection

With Signature Line Pens, we perform a “wet” tuning at no charge. This involves…

  1. Tine Alignment
  2. Proper adjustment of tip gap and tine gap
  3. General smoothing
  4. Feed Alignment
  5. Overall inspection
  6. Test with Waterman ink on Rhodia or Clairefontaine paper.
  7. Any specific tuning that the customer prefers. Wetness, feedback, high/low angles, etc. So you can request the nib to be tuned to your exact preferences.
  8. Custom grinds such Italic (stub, cursive, or crisp), Oblique, Architect, and EF to EEEEF grinds

So our entire procedure will not change, but the skills used to make each of your nibs to write exactly how you wish have been nicely enhanced!

Thanks!

Brian at Edison

 

Categories
Nib Customizations

Edison Offering Richard Binder 14k Full Flex Nibs!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m very happy to announce a collaboration between Edison and Richard Binder.  We will now be offering fully flexible 14k nibs.

Please see the video below…

These nibs are awfully impressive.  As you can see in the video, there’s little difference between the vintage flex nib and Richard’s work.  Actually, Richard’s nib is offering a bit more flex.

Pricing is as follows (this is the cost for the flex alteration only…the cost of the pen including the 14k stock nib is in addition to this cost).

Fine – $100
XF, XXF, XXXF – $150
XXXXF – $165 (not recommended for beginners.)

Please note – as per our agreement with Richard, we cannot sell individual flex nibs. Only equipped on an Edison Pen.

If you are not familiar with flex nibs, I would recommend visiting Richard’s site to read a bit about proper care of flex nibs.

Let me know if there are any questions!

Brian at Edison

Categories
Nib Customizations

Italic Nibs Are Here, and LE Reminder!

Hi Pen Fans!

I’m very happy to announce that our 1.1mm and 1.5mnm Italic nibs are finally here!

These are steel nibs, and are available in the #6 size.

So this makes the Edison Nib offerings….

Steel #6 – XF, F, M, B, 1.1, 1.5.
18k #6 – XF, F, M, B
Steel #5 – XF, F, M, B, 1.5, 1.9, 2.3
18k #5 – F, M, B

For reference, the #6 nibs fit all of the standard sized pens.  The #5 nibs fit the smaller pens such as the Pearlette, Mina, and Encore.

These new italic nibs will be available on all Edison Pens.  This includes the Production Line, so you will see these #6 italic nibs being offered from our retailers as well. 

These nibs can be purchased separately and be placed in current Edison Pens.  Cost is $25.  Email me to inquire.

And remember that these new italic nibs are available on the 2013 Limited Edition Morgan.  The buying period for this pen ends on April 7th, so if you missed out on last years LE, now is your chance!  Click here for details.

Thanks!

Brian at Edison