Born and raised in Iowa, I grew up in the small town of Oskaloosa. Upon graduating high school, I attended William Penn University on a golf scholarship where I met Kisha, my wife-to-be. I transferred to Iowa State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Soon after graduating, I stumbled upon a fountain pen in an antique store and it brought back a wave of memories of my grandfather using them, specifically the coffee cup full of fountain pens on his desk. I knew nothing of these mystifying writing instruments at the time, but, thanks to Google, that soon changed. I bought my first three fountain pens all at once (a Faber-Castell Ambition, a Retro 51 Scriptmaster II, and a Retro 51 Tornado) during a sale at a local art store. Then, I discovered FPN and met a local enthusiast who ushered me into the fanatical world of fountain pens. This fine individual is the man responsible for my early introduction to vintage pens, which has always remained the core of my collection, even today.

I began buying Parker Vacumatics and “51”s off eBay by the handful. I would restore them, use them, then sell them and buy more. That eventually led to adjusting and grinding nibs, first for myself, then friends, then publicly.