In February’s Nib Noise, the monthly newsletter put out by RichardsPens.com, Richard Binder announced that he will no longer be accepting pens for repair or nib customization as of June 1st, 2012. But, pens that are bought from RichardsPens.com will still be able to receive tuning and nib customization. Here’s the quote from the newsletter:
Thanks to you, our loyal clients, our retail business continues to grow. In fact, it’s grown so much that we simply no longer have time to do all that we want to do to serve you in the manner that you deserve. It is therefore with some sadness that we must announce that as of June 1, 2012, we will no longer be accepting pens for repair or nib customization. We will complete all work on pens that arrive before the beginning of June, but we won’t be taking in any more pens for repair after that date.
BUT WE’RE NOT GOING AWAY! We will continue to offer the selected pens and accessories we currently have, and we will of course continue to Binderize every pen and nib that we sell, and we will still be happy (for the usual additional charge) to customize nibs, creating italics, needlepoints, ItaliFines and other specialty points that you can’t get from your friendly neighborhood pen manufacturer.
We are also looking into the possibility of offering some sort of repair workshops in the future; these could include basic repairs as well as
nib repair and customizing. Watch this space!
This is a sad day for folks with strange, old fountain pens that need repair. While there are many other very skilled pen repairmen out there, Richard was one of a select few that could come up with new, one-off techniques for repairing that never before seen fountain pen. I’m sure his June 1st cutoff date probably takes care of just the pens on his wait list. But, this could be a boon for up-and-coming pen repairmen and “nib meisters” as customers look for somewhere else to send their pens. Read the full issue of the February edition of Nib Noise at RichardsPens.com.
Thanks to Mr. Roossinck for sending this in!
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wow… It's sad to hear this announcement. Mr Binder restored several Parker 51's I received from my grandfather…. that was the start of my love for fountain pens. The first new fountain pen I ever bought was a Pelikan 205 with one of his custom nibs. He is a true gentleman and while his services will be missed I'm glad his business is thriving.
No worries, guys. Glad to help out, and thought this was pretty noteworthy stuff. Kids, if you've got pens that need fixin', now's the time to get packin'. Richard has done absolutely first-rate work on oddballs of mine that needed special handling, and if you've got one that's in similar condition, you need to get it in to his queue before June 1.
Geeks, thanks for the scoop. I guess the ninjas were working late again last night?
We're always "on call".
But will he still be doing grinds at pen shows??
Boy aren't you glad in this instance you aren't Jim Baer Richards's
apprentice?
Yes, he will still grind nibs at pen shows.
Definitely too bad, but can sure appreciate his decision — and at least he'll still be doing nibs at shows.
BTW, the June 1st cutoff isn't to cover his wait list (as mentioned in your last paragraph) — he indicated he'll be *accepting* pens for repair and nib customization up until June 1st.
I didn't mean to imply that the date Richard gave was to cover only the pens in his wait list. I was trying to say that he probably has so many pens currently on his wait list that he would have work until June. I'm aware that he will be accepting pens until that date, at which he'll probably have work for the next year.