The LE Minas are just about finished! We have some final touches to add today, and then we will ship this week!
We have more then 200 pens to ship, so this is not a task that we’ll complete in only a day. So if you have a LE Mina on the way, please allow flexibility. You’ll get tracking information sometime this week. If we can’t get everything shipped by Friday, I’ll let everyone know.
I will be putting some updates on our Instagram account, and also probably do some Periscoping of the final touches and shipping process. If you want to check this out, our username on both accounts is @edisonpenco. We’ll also put some photos and perhaps video here on the blog as we move along.
I would like to sincerely thank everyone for your patience! In the initial blog post, I estimated that this project would take 2 – 4 months. The way that we usually do our time estimates is to under-promise and over-deliver. However, we took just about exactly 4 months to finish this project. So we still made our delivery estimates, but I really prefer to be way ahead of our estimates.
Bottom line – this project took us a longer than we would have liked due to the Holidays. Our Holiday rush really caught us off guard this year. We’ve learned an important lesson here – we won’t coordinate this project to coincide with the Holidays in the future!
So stay tuned for more updates as we begin shipping and keep an eye on your email for tracking information!
We have all pens off the lathe. I will estimate that 70% are sanded and polished. 30% still need sanded and polished. Then we engrave the caps, tune nibs, and ship!
We are packing up for the LA Pen Show tomorrow, but our employees, Jake and Wendy will be working on these while we are in LA.
So barring something unforeseen, we’ll be shipping middle/late February after we get re-grouped after the LA Show!
I’m very happy to announce that we have some new nibs to introduce.
First off is a really neat Black Oxide nib. Previously, I really liked the looks of ruthenium nibs, but these Black Oxide nibs have them beat hands down! See pic below.
This Black Oxide nib is available in Steel only, and #6 size only (sorry, no #5 Black Oxide yet).
In addition to this, we also have some new additions to our 18k nib tip offerings.
We can now offer our 18k nibs in 1.1mm Stub, Double Broad (BB), and Oblique Double Broad (OBB). I won’t include photos of these nibs, as they will look identical to our normal 18k nibs. Only the tip will look different.
So let’s rundown all of the nibs and tip sizes that Edison can offer….
Steel
Two Tone, Single Tone, and Black Oxide
EF, F, M, B, 1.1 and 1.5 italic
18k
Two Tone and Rhodium Plated
EF, F, M, B, 1.1 Stub, BB, and OBB
Admittedly, our progress has not been as fast as I would have liked. The Ohio Pen Show took a lot of our time for preparation, we had a few ancillary projects in middle-late November, and then our Holiday Rush in December has been much busier that I would have ever predicted. I was anticipating having a lot more done in December, but our Holiday orders have us really swamped! It’s a good thing that I quoted up to 4 months, as unexpected things can happen, and they have!
We have cleared off the last 2 weeks of December so that we can focus hard on this project, and January looks to not be so crazy for us.
But in the meantime, I’ll attach the progress so far. We have more than 20 of the acrylic Minas just about finished. We’ll be working hard on the rest of the series next week and into the New Year.
Expect to see more updates as we get this project ramped up!
Well, the buying period for the 2015 LE Mina has passed. We sold well over 200 pens! I’ll have an exact number once I get a chance to work it out accurately.
This update shows all of our materials, which just arrived today! Lots of ebonite and acrylic in the raw form! See pic below.
We have a couple of ancillary projects to wrap up this week and then we will begin manufacturing next week!
We will be leaving today for the Michigan Pen Show! If I’m slow with emails, you’ll know why. We hope to see you there!
Also a quick reminder that the 2015 LE Mina buying period will be ending on Monday evening at 11:59 pm!
If you’ve been on the fence about this pen, there’s not a lot of time left. If you have not placed the order before this time, then you will miss out…no exceptions.
It’s a pleasure to announce our 2015 Limited Edition Group Buy Mina!
We are pretty excited with this pen as we’ve changed the shape of the Mina slightly, and we’ve included a very unique nib that we’ve never used in the past. Details are below…
For those of you who have participated in these Group Buys in the past, you’ll realize that this is the only time that you can get an Edison Pen at any kind of discount. We only do these once a year.
Please watch the video below, and then I’ll get into some details and logistics as to how this will work. (If you can’t see this video, click here).
Logistics
1. In order to participate, you will need to pay in full prior to any manufacturing. We will have a set buying period starting today, and ending at 11:59pm, October 26th.Once this buying period has passed, we will have a total number of pens. After this, we will not accept any more orders. We will then order materials. Once they arrive, we will begin manufacturing. Understand that this means that there could be 2 to 4 months between when you pay and when you receive your pen. I’m giving 2-4 months as a ballpark. The actual time involved will depend on how many pens we are making. Once we have a final number, I will have an accurate (albeit still estimated) timeline.
2. We will document the entire manufacturing process with photos and videos so you can watch the process of your pens being “born”. Updates will be posted here on this blog. If you use Periscope, we’ll also have updates there (our handle is @edisonpenco). Since you will receive these updates, the exact shipping date will not be a surprise to you. We will keep you updated.
3. The pen to be made will be Mina or Extended Mina as a cartridge/converter filler in either Denim Ebonite or Silver Amber Acrylic. See the video above or pics below.
4. Price for ebonite will be $175. Price for acrylic will be $170, then shipping. Normal retail price for these pens is $200.
5. Steel nibs only in XF, F, and M in this new and unique shape. If you wish to have an 18k nib, then you will need to buy the pen with the steel nib, and then contact me after you receive the pen for an 18k upgrade (nibs unscrew to interchange). If you wish to have a Steel B, 1.1, or 1.4mm italic, you can switch to a standard Edison Nib with the same procedure, but these will be standard Edison #5 nibs, and not the newer uniquely shaped nib.
6. There will be no nib customizations available. Only XF, F, and M. You will need to handle any nib customizations aftermarket.
7. The pens will be engraved as a Numbered Limited Edition. They will be engraved “XX of XX” on the top of the cap, depending on how many pens are purchased.
8. Requests for a specific number within the edition will not be honored. You cannot request #1, or any other specific number.
9. In addition to the cost of the pen, there will be shipping charges, of course. International friends can certainly participate, but appropriate international shipping fees will apply.
10. These two materials will be exclusive to the Mina for a period of one year. We won’t be making any other Minas from these materials for one year to respect the “rules” of a Limited Edition.
Specifications
Standard
Extended
Weight w/ Cap
20 grams
23 grams
Weight w/o Cap
14 grams
16 grams
Diameter at thickest
.596″
.596″
Diameter at thinnest
.520″
.520″
Length Capped
5 1/4″
6″
Length Uncapped
4 3/4″
5 1/4″
If you have questions, please leave a comment, or email us.
We are proud to announce our 2015 Limited Edition Production Line Collier!
See the video and photos below….
This edition will be limited to 150 pieces.
Price is $159.
The material is Black Rose Acrylic, which has been a favorite in our Signature Line as a custom material for a long time, but we’ve never been able to find it in large enough quantities for a series of pens this large until now.
Since this is a Production Line pen, you will not buy this pen directly from Edison. Instead, you will buy this pen from any of our retailers that we list here.
