Some people pretend to be what they are not. Whether they seek undeserved praise or personal enrichment, they are trying to get something they don’t deserve. Then there are people like me; deniers of the truth, no matter how obvious that truth is.

“No, I’m not a pen nut! I like a nice pen, but I don’t collect them or obsess over them. Okay, my journal habit may be a little over the top, but with all of these journals, I obviously need a good selection of pens!“

But then one day I noticed that my various pen cups were too full, and that some of my nicer pens were knocking up against other pens. So I bought a soft case that holds “a lot” of pens. After putting my special and specific use pens into the case, it was already starting to look full. And my daily use pens (a.k.a. EDC pens) weren’t even in there. Never mind the pens that seem to follow me around.

That’s when I learned I was a collector of pens. A seeker of “special” writing instruments. A lover of fountain pens and bottled ink. A man of the stained-fingered ilk. A Stylophile.

If admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, perhaps I’ll get over my love of pens soon. However, I’ve always felt at home in stationary or office supply stores and I used to have every color of Flair pen fifty years ago when they were popular. I also went though a phase with the Big Red brand pens, and used to buy Cross brand pens when I came “across” them at yard sales, so maybe this has been going on too long to ever overcome.

Meanwhile, since you are here, I hope you find interesting things to read and view as I post photos and thoughts and reviews of pens and inks and papers.

That forlorn look comes from knowing there’s a wonderful pen somewhere in a drawer that needs to be rescued and loved and written with.

But when I find and acquire that glorious pen, it’s just like Christmas morning!