Has Anyone Heard Of Henry Simpole 2015

[Truffle Finder]

It's not the warm fuzzies I was thinking about!

It was more the comfort and the temperature of my nether regions that I was concerned about!

Truffle Finder.

[esterbex]

[Beth Treadway Author]

Tiptoes quietly away

[Truffle Finder]

I am very happy to report that I had a very good Saturday up at Portobello Market yesterday.

Fairly shortly after I had arrived at my booth and unpacked my things, two French gentlemen approached my stand, and pointed to the two giant overplayed pens which were in the display cabinet. [one was the C/S Great Exhibition Pen, and the other one was one of the Namiki Copies that I made for 'M' a while ago.] Anyway, they asked me who made them, and of course, I told them that I did! Then they asked me about some of the other overlaid pens that were on display, anyway to cut a long story short, they departed with two silver O/L pens, having paid me in US Dollars!

A few other people came to see me during the course of the day, to pick up their pen repairs, and that was about it, except for one man who wanted to replace his Parker 75, which he had sadly lost a while ago.He was very pleased to see that I had the same model of that pen in my stock.

All in all, it was a very good day!

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

I had a tricky situation happen whilst I was attending my stand at Portobello over the last few weeks.

An oldish gentleman came to my stand [a few weeks ago] and explained that I had met him before [quite some time ago], and I had restored his old Parker 51 for him. He then produced another P 51 from his pocket, and told me that his best friend's widow had given it to him, as she had no use for it, and he would probably enjoy having his old friend's pen to use.

He then asked me if I would service it, and replace the nib with a round headed medium one, which he liked. I wrote down his details, and put them and the pen in an envelope.

When I got back to the workshop, I couldn't find the envelope anywhere! Assuming that I must have left it at my stand, I left it at that, but the next Saturday I still couldn't find it! So, when I returned home, I thought that the best thing to do, was to replace his friend's missing pen with one of mine, from stock.

I did this, and when he returned to pick up his pen, I told him about having misplaced the pen, and he seemed to accept my apology, he then tried the replacement Parker 51, and he liked it very much.

Last week, I was explaining to my friend Tim all about this story, and as I was doing so, I bent down, and looked underneath the stall that I sit on while I am up there at my booth, and guess what I found? It was the gentleman's pen!

I phoned the man earlier this week, and told him the good news, and he was delighted to hear about what had happened. He will be coming to see me this coming Saturday, but he has told me that he wants to keep the other Parker 51, as he loves writing with it so much!

I can't wait to see him again!

Truffle Finder.

[Ghost Plane]

Time for the annual turf out & spring clean

[esterbex]

Time for the annual turf out & spring clean

You mean "first" annual....

[Truffle Finder]

I had a surprisingly good day yesterday, up at Portobello market.

Several pen collectors came to see me, some of whom I had seen before, but some of them were newcomers to my stand.As a consequence of there being so many visitors, I hardly looked at my book that I am currently reading!

By far the most memorable customer who came to visit, was the older gentleman who came to collect the 'missing' Parker 51, which I had restored for him. He was so grateful that it was almost embarrassing to hear him thank me.

I was very glad that I had chosen to tell him the truth about having lost it [if only temporarily]!

Happy days indeed!

Truffle Finder.

[billydo]

Well, well... a new SSSimpole SSSnake has ssslithered into town!

 

[Ghost Plane]

Want! What's the base pen? That's a bodacious stub.

[Truffle Finder]

Thanks for responding so quickly Ghost Plane!

The base pens are made up after the overlays are completely finished, by my friend Graham, who used to be in charge of the production on the factory floor at the now defunct Conway Stewart factory in Plymouth.

So as a consequence, they are 'no-name' pens, but are beautifully made!!!

The one in this picture has got a lovely broad italic C/S nib, one of very few that I have left. But as my C/S nibs ebb away in the fullness of time, I will be using Bock standard nibs in my overlaid pens. Bodacious Stubs and Italics included!

Truffle finder.

PS. Many thanks Neal for the excellent photography, once again!

[RMN]

Yummy....

 

D.ick

[esterbex]

It also has a nice heft to it....all that gold I suspect....

[Truffle Finder]

On closer inspection, it looks like it's a standard Bock nib in the pen, it is Italic though!

Truffle Finder.

[da vinci]

What a wonderful pen. Nice work Truffle Finder

[View from the Loft]

So as a consequence, they are 'no-name' pens, but are beautifully made!!!

Never 'no name' - surely as yet unnamed?

 

It's another of your works of art, and with the pen also being artisan made, it is worthy of a name/marque that pays tribute to the skill involved.

[esterbex]

Never 'no name' - surely as yet unnamed?

 

It's another of your works of art, and with the pen also being artisan made, it is worthy of a name/marque that pays tribute to the skill involved.

I agree, View....Surely the pen is a "Henry Simpole" if nothing else, no?

[Truffle Finder]

Yes, of course it's a Henry Simpole pen!!!

Truffle Finder.

[Ghost Plane]

Cartridge filler? Are the dimensions on your website anywhere?

[billydo]

Hi GP, it's a real beauty isn't it. It's a cartridge / converter filler. With the cap on closed it measures approx. 159mm top to bottom. From the tip of the nib to the end of the barrel it's approx. 143mm.

 

Both snakes are 18K gold... and emeralds for the eyes!

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

Neal.

Edited April 5, 2015 by billydo