Has Anyone Heard Of Henry Simpole 2016

[Truffle Finder]

Thankfully, the summer season is over, and hopefully things might liven up today at Portobello.

I have received information that I have got two people coming to see me today, so, with a bit of luck things should be a lot better than it has been over the last few weeks.

I'll keep you 'posted' as they say!

Truffle Finder.

[billydo]

Well here it is for your assessment folks... the Waterman 58 with a bespoke Henry Simpole overlay. I love it, it's a very striking pen, large but not excessively so.

 

I've included my Waterman 52 (with an original Waterman overlay) alongside for comparison. The 52 is just a fraction bigger than a regular sized Parker 51.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

[my63]

Great pictures Neal and stunning pens Henry

[da vinci]

Great pictures Neal and stunning pens Henry

Couldn't agree more - thank you both!

[Truffle Finder]

Many thanks for your comments, and I must compliment Neal once again on the quality of his photography, he really is terrific!

This overlaid pen was quite a task to do, mainly because it was a 'start from scratch' type of operation, which in itself is takes a great deal of work, both in the design of the overlay, but also the working of the metal, where there is very little room for any tolerances.

The two most critical parts were the fitting of the clip, and the piercing out of the filling-lever slit in the barrel, [there is no room for error when cutting out the metal at that point!]

The other part that is a little 'nerve-wracking', is after the overlays have been curled and silver-soldered, is the fitting onto the cap and barrel of the pen. In case you have never thought about it before, I can assure you that it is absolutely critical to get the circumference of the cylinders correct as it involves a great deal of work to make any corrections if they do not fit right first time round!

So, having received the pen back in this morning's post, and had a good look at it, I am very pleased with how it has turned out!

Truffle Finder.

[Ghost Plane]

[Truffle Finder]

Good to hear from you again Ghost Plane!

Long time no hear!

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

I am pleased to say, that it does look as though we are over the long hot dry summer period for another year [i am talking about the holiday period during July and August, when business becomes a quiet time].

Today one of my favourite customers came to see me yet again, while she was over here for her holidays, and having picked out a few pens with suitable nibs, we came to a 'deal' which was appreciated by both of us!

Two Australians came to see me, [quite independently] one I have known for more than ten years, and the other was a comparative 'new-comer'. My 'older' collector friend was tempted to go for a Black and Pearl Watermans Patrician pen which I showed him, but decided that his wife would not approve if he decided to buy it, and the 'new-collector' decided that he would buy a black Mont Blanc 149.

So, one way and another, it was a good day at Portobello.

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

Only one thing to report this morning!

It's been a very quiet week, but I did manage to convert a necklace jewellery box, [both the base and the lid] to house the Watermans 58 overlaid pen. Crushed red velvet looks really very 'plush', in contrast to the 'Harrods' green over the exterior of the box!

I'll report back when I return from Portobello later today!

Truffle Finder.

[da vinci]

How has the day gone Truffle Finder - well I hope?

[Truffle Finder]

Yesterday turned out to be really quite busy at Portobello.

A few people came to see me to drop off their personal pens for repair, and a few came to collect their repaired pens.

Most of the pen customers who arrived, were complete strangers to me, except for one, [the lady from Israel], who has visited me for the last two Saturdays, and this time, she chose a black and burgundy Parker Vacumatic pen.

I bought a rather nice Watermans [number five 'Red' nib] pen and pencil set, in it's original box, which will be a welcome addition to my stock at the London Pen Show, in two weeks time!

As is quite usual for me nowadays, I felt rather tired, by the time I went to bed last night, but today I am off to the Wanstead Festival, to see if there are any fountain pens on the bric-a-brac stall!

Truffle Finder.

[da vinci]

Sounds like a pleasant day Truffle Finder. 2 weeks will pass all to quickly I suspect. I need to book my return ticket to London asap!

[Truffle Finder]

Sorry to be saying the same thing as usual, most Saturday mornings!

Actually, the last 3 Saturdays have been quite good [forecasting-wise] but today, I'm only expecting to see two people who will [hopefully] be collecting their treasured pens from me, which I have repaired for them.

Still, you never know quite what is likely to happen in this business, someone once told me that the only thing that is predictable in this business, is that it is totally unpredictable!

The weather is good, and I checked that there are no 'planned engineering works' going on the Underground system today, at least not on the Central Line, so things could be a lot worse.

I live in hope!

Truffle Finder.

[View from the Loft]

Truffle, trust me, I will tell you if there are planned works that will affect your trip to Portobello - and there are none within the next 6 months. There are also no planned works that will affect trips to the pen show next week (so I'll see you there).

 

I'm off out now to Rettendon Common to spend a day with horses. The good news about this is that in comparison, pens and inks are so much cheaper that the odd purchase passes without comment from my husband. The bad news is that it makes saving for one of your overlay pens much harder!

[Truffle Finder]

Well, View from the loft, how did the horse-trading go?

My day up at Portobello, wasn't very busy, but I suppose that was not surprising really, with the London Pen Show being on next Sunday.

I was offered several vintage fountain pens during the course of the day. So, starting with the oldest one, a Mabie Todd black hard rubber dip pen, with a MT No; 5 nib, probably about 1900.

A Parker Sonnet with 18ct gold nib.

3 Mont Blanc pall-point pens, [one large and two small sized].

It wasn't a bad day really.

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

This being the week before the London Pen Show, I have been thinking about what I will need to have with me at my stand at the show next Sunday.

The arcade where my booth is at Portobello, is normally only open on Saturdays, but they do allow access [to re-arrange stock] on Fridays, if stand-holders wish to do so, but the problem that I have at the moment, is to decide whether to go up there this coming Friday, and [if I do go] which things do I bring home with a view to taking them up to the Pen Show on the Sunday?!

On the one hand, I want to display as much stock as is possible on Sunday, but on the other hand I don't want to deplete the display at Portobello on the Saturday!

Like a lot of things in life, it will have to be a compromise, but I am quite sure that if I decide not to go to Portobello on Friday, I will almost certainly regret it because there is only so much room in my 'wheely-case', so, during the course of writing this, I have decided to make the journey on Friday, and hopefully it will have been worth it when I set up on Sunday at the Pen Show!

For those amongst you who are going to the Pen Show, do come up and say 'hello', I don't bite, and it would be nice to meet FPN people 'in the flesh'!

See you there!

Truffle Finder.

[esterbex]

Ooooh!!!~ Wish I could be there. Maybe next year.

 

Do have an enjoyable time and give your Tim my warm regards!

[Truffle Finder]

Very often the day before the London Pen Show is not always as good [business-wise] as one would hope. I think that some of the 'browsers' who come along on the Saturday, prior to the show, are looking to see what you have got in your stock, but they tend to want to 'keep their powder dry' until the 'big day'!

Anyway, I had a bit of luck this week, as a film prop buyer called me to discuss buying three fountain pens [1940's vintage] to be used by Winston And his wife Clementine Churchill in the film that is to be made. The buyer has agreed to meet me at my stand at about 11.00am.

So, it looks as though it might well be quite a good day at Portobello tomorrow!

Truffle Finder.

[esterbex]

Happy to know that the word is out that you are THE Pen Man to sort their needs out.

Good luck and enjoy the show!

[View from the Loft]

Well I will certainly head over to your table on Sunday. The Duofold Junior that I bought from you last year turns heads in the office as the green colour is very different from the boring black or the more usual cheap stick biro.