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PRELUDE A search loop for the perfect ONE and then the more perfect OTHER With great fountain pens comes an even greater responsibility of carrying them around in this mortal world, where inadvertent scratches, dents, and corrosion become inevitable. Thus begins my search for sheaths and containers to protect these fine instruments, which have earned a reputation for being mightier than the sword; at least for the past 175 years. I digress; I wonder why the keyboard was never celebrated in the same way when it emerged around the same time as the original quote. If you like a pictorial blogger view, here is the link: A utilitarian review of my pen cases BACKGROUND AND OPINIONATED TRUTHS Experiments, measures and opinion I like to use a few fountain pens during my travels for note-taking and journaling. While I could use the original boxes for my limited collection, they tend to take up unnecessary space in my cupboard. Some of these cases are beautifully made, while others are more ordinary. That's where a storage pen case comes in handy. One advantage is that you can see multiple pens together to help with selection, or perhaps just to avoid making a choice. For example, I often tell my Opus 88 Jazz to just lie there, which has been my unfortunate treatment of that pen ever since I got it. In my case, the search has usually been for a value-for-money options. It’s rare to find a case that costs as much as a pen, but this highlights the absence of worthy alternatives. Another aspect is that in India, leather goods are available at a fraction of the cost compared to the West, although there is less general understanding of the premium quality of higher-grade leather materials. By a stroke of luck, a couple of us met Michael, a leather importer based in California, who sources leather from India, China, and Thailand. He supplies leather to some well-known premium brands, with the final products ranging from premium car seat covers to women’s bags. He explained what typically gets exported versus what is consumed domestically in these countries. Michael also described the leather qualities and grades he looks for when evaluating a shipment from the tanneries. By the way, you can check out some interesting expositions on leather grades and types , and here’s a brief write-up on leather quality if you’re short on time or patience: Full Grain: The highest quality. A cut of leather consisting of the outer layer of hide, left unsanded and unbuffed to retain its natural imperfections. It has a strong and durable surface. Top Grain: The top layer is sanded to remove imperfections, which reduces some of the strength and water-repellent qualities of full grain leather. It is commonly used in handbags, wallets, and shoes. Corrected: A broader term often referred to as genuine leather. It can be any layer of hide that has been treated to create a uniform surface. Commonly used in belts, wallets, bags, gloves, and shoes. Split Grain: A layer cut from the lower levels of top grain leather. It is not as dense, tight, or durable as full grain or top grain leather. Reconstituted & Recycled: Leather scraps are bonded together using polyurethane or latex. Here are a list of leather finishes: Aniline: Dyes allow natural surface of leather to show through. Semi-Aniline: Similar to aniline but with added pigments. Faux: Also known as PU, Vegan or Vinyl leather. Is made of polyurethane and made to mimic real leather. There are many more types (12+), but they may not be relevant to our search for pen cases and sleeves. Leather tanning is the process of treating hides to clean them of dirt, blood, and hair. This process alters the protein structure of the hide to make the leather durable and less susceptible to decomposition. Vegetable tanning: This method uses natural materials or tannins derived from plants and bark, which are astringents. It’s an ancient, environmentally friendly process. Chromium tanning: Chromium sulfate is used for a faster and cheaper tanning process, offering more color options than vegetable tanning. The hair and flesh are removed before the tanning process. Leather hides are graded as 1, 2, 3, or non-tannable, depending on the imperfections in the hide. The top-of-the-line branded pen cases are made from full grain cowhide leather with an aniline or semi-aniline finish. The case proliferation in my situation is rather proportional to the larger pen dimensions rather than the number of pens in my relatively limited collection. I found it increasingly inconvenient to carry flagship pens like the Wahl-Eversharp Decoband, Pilot Custom Urushi in the Pelikan TG32 three-pen case. While the Decoband fits inside Visconti Dreamtouch comfortably, the Custom Urushi does not. These pens could be a part of an everyday carry unlike a Namiki Emperor, unless you of course dare to carry it. In this situation, the Cross Leather Pen Box came to my rescue, but its dimensions pose a problem for my laptop bag if I want to carry two or three more standard pens. Given the rapid progress in design, manufacturing and evolving human desires, here are my standard set of guidelines, refined over the years, while looking for pen cases (YMMV): OBSERVATIONS & EXPERIENCE In Context Here are the pen cases I have acquired over the years: Single pen cases The Black Canvas Pen Capsule: Soft case. I got the English Violet variant which is made of top-grain chrome-tanned leather. The inside of the pouch is soft and velvety. Endless Companion Pen Pouch: Hard case. The company uses the term genuine leather which may indicate corrected leather. However, it seems well-made for standard pen sizes (such as a Lamy 2000, and it can stretch to fit a regular Montblanc 146) and has a matte buffed finish. The pen itself rests in a felt-like soft compartment, and the case is fastened by two buttons. They ensured that there is a felt-flap covering the exposed parts of a pen where it's buttoned. Cross Men's Leather Single Pen Box-Black: Hard case. Again corrected leather, but with ample space inside to house a Custom Urushi or WE Decoband. The flap is fastened with a magnetic closure, which is a nice touch. I have noticed some leather coming out off the edge of the flap from the newer of the two boxes, but this is what it is. Custom pen case for Namiki Emperor sized pen: Soft case. This was custom-made by fellow fountain pen collector Dr. Ashish Wakhlu for my Namiki Emperor pen. It’s good enough to protect the pen from minor scratches. From the texture, it seems like top grain or full grain leather with an aniline finish. It has some protection at the back. Multi pen cases Arista Leatherette Case for 6 pens: Hard case. I have two of Arista pen cases that I got from Amazon, primarily for storage. They’re lined with felt and have a partial over-layer to protect the finials from brushing against the zipper. It’s somewhat partial towards the pens in the first and last slots. Made of polyurethane, it closely mimics Saffiano leather and has a nice touch with bumpers at the base. The Black Canvas Jotbox: Soft case. A nice box for keeping pencils, parallels, and rulers reminiscent of the good old school days. It’s made of top-grain leather, and is pretty well made. Aegean Leather Case for Namiki Emperor/Pilot Custom Urushi: Hard case with pen tray. This is the most expensive case I own and it’s excellently made from Italian buttero leather. Full-grain, vegetable-tanned, aniline finish - this case checks all the boxes. I bought it to carry the Custom Urushi in my bag, may be sometimes the Emperor too. Pelikan Leather 3 Pen Case: Hard case with soft flap. Top notch full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather with aniline finish, but for medium sized pens. It’s good enough for a Pelikan M800/1000 or a MB 149. Visconti Dreamtouch Case for 3/6 Pens: Hard case with zippered flap. Felt inner lining. This is my favorite case and checking all boxes for full-grain, vegetable-tanned, aniline finish leather. The one with 6 pens hasn’t seen much motion, but it’s absolutely defies ageing, even after 10 years. I occasionally use a standard neutral shoe cream to polish them. Brown Bear Classic Pen Case for 2 Pens: Hard case with magnetic closure. By the looks of it, the case seems to be full-grain with an aniline finish. Its pretty sturdy and well made, with a single soft divider. The dimensions are good enough to hold a Pelikan M8XX sized pen. Their men’s wallets made of nappa leather hold well too. Essart Pen Case for 10 Pens: Hard Case with magnetic button for the flap. The lid has a transparent portion to get a quick account of pens inside. The frame is wooden and sturdy, with each pen slot lined with felt. It’s pretty & perfect for storage. Methodology The pictures below depict the way in which I have measured the inner length and available versus total width of these pen cases. MY TOP PICKS If I had to pick one It would be the Visconti Dreamtouch Pen case. Thank you for going through the review. You can find other pen and paraphernalia reviews here. REFERENCES Leather grade and types

I have a shamefully large collection of pen cases, ranging from very inexpensive Japanese pencil cases to MontBlanc, Pelikan and Visconti leather cases. I have had my favorites, but no pen case has stimulated real aesthetic admiration like the Atelier Musubi cases that recently appeared on the market. I had seen their handsome journals at the San Francisco Pen Show, but I am not a journal-keeper. I do travel with pens in cases though and am always looking for a better solution. The ideal case will protect my pens but also be compact and light in weight. The Musubi cases are all of those and covered with beautiful Japanese fabrics to boot. The cases come in two sizes. I got both. They each hold two pens of appropriate length. I have fit a variety of pens in these cases. My principal objective in this review is to illustrate which case is most suitable for which pens. Let's see some photos. Side-by-side comparison of the two sizes The smaller case with pens it will hold. The smaller case will hold an OMAS Ogiva and a Pelikan M800 and snap shut without stress, but these pens are at the limit of the case's capacity because of their length. An Aurora Optima and Pelikan M600 fit in the smaller case with room to spare. The larger case with some of the over-size pens it will hold very comfortably. The larger case with a Nakaya Naka-ai and a custom Shawn Newton pen. At the time I purchased these cases, they were available in four colors. All were in this traditional pattern. I would love to see the cases in some of the other fabrics Atelier Musubi uses for their journals. I hope you find this information useful. Atelier Musubi's web site and store are at: http://www.musu.bi/ I have no affiliation with the company other than a happy customer. Happy writing! David

Hi, everyone. I was just transferring my Lamy Dialog 3 Piano White from one storage case to another, and I noticed that the pen has got these stains running up and down the length of the body. These stains are a bit of a surprise to me since I've pretty much babied this thing and have used it sparingly. At this point, I'm thinking that the staining is something that happened while the pen was in storage in one of three Franklin-Christoph pen cases that I have and use. Attached are two photos that show the staining. I tried to rub this off with some distilled water and a microfiber cloth with the hope that the staining was just on the surface. But no dice. It looks like the stain is set in there. Questions and thoughts on this: 1. Has anybody experienced the same thing with the Lamy Dialog 3 Piano White getting easily marked or discolored or stained? If so, is there a way to get these marks off? 2. Has anybody ever experienced a discoloration or have anything happen to the surface of their pens because of being stored in a Franklin-Christoph pen case? I'm learning the hard way that I've been quite careless in how I've been storing my pens, as I was assuming pen cases to be good enough for medium to longer term storage. Thank you for your help.

I am looking for a pen (pocket) case that holds three pens, and in particular can hold a pen that is 6.5 in length capped. Do you have any recommendations?

Link to my September (latest) newsletter! https://federalistpens.com/blogs/news/summer-summary-federalist-pens-papers-20 -New Site -New Products -Pen Shows -Oster Inks -Girologio Leather Products Thank You! Frank-Fed Pens

FOUNTAIN PEN DAY DISCOUNT! In celebration of Fountain Pen Day, November 4, Pentaloons is offering a discount of 20% on all wraps, NOW THROUGH SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (Eastern Std Time). Use coupon code FPD20 at checkout.

Does anyone know where I can find some plastic pen cases for shipping/storage of my pens. Like the cases Montblanc uses for their repairs. See attached image/example.

Pen Pouches, Cases and Rolls! Pen Boutique Presents an exclusive video on Pen Pouches, Pen Cases and Rolls. Check them out!!

I have a bunch of pens which I'd like to display somewhere, but my budget is on the small side. Most display cases I see are $100 and up. Any suggestions for cheaper display cases?