Leather 3 X 5 Card Holders- Your Experience

[dapv]

RenArt is all about FP friendly paper.

[swduncan]

Levinger has a "pocket briefcase" for its 3 x 5 note cards. Crane has a similar leather holder for its note cards. has anyone seen or used either or both and can provide any insight as to differences between each? thanks.

 

I have one of the simpler Levenger ones. I probably got it in the middle to late 90's. I don't think the holder is as important as how well 3x5 cards fit your needs. When I was an engineer I used a lot of scratch paper. I'd be out on the production floor and record drawing numbers that needed changes, or part numbers or whatever. For that, the pocket briefcase concept worked well. I'd keep the cards and that was nice insurance. When I got into the habit of dating things it was even better. It's also great paper to have near the phone. One of the keys to it's usefulness is that the card is easy to hand to someone else.

 

Later, when I left engineering, I used them much less and found a notebook much more useful. I needed history more than speed, so a notebook made sense. It remains that way today.

 

Based on my experience, a pen loop was not so useful as I carried the case in a shirt pocket. I needed a spot for new cards, a spot for used cards, and that was it. the Levenger model had that and worked well. At the time I bought the grid cards from Levenger, but now I'd take a ream of 120lb cover stock to the local printer and have it cut. Much cheaper, and the lines never really added value.

[arcaneradio]

I like using 3x5 cards for jotting notes especially if I'm making a short shopping list or I need to give someone written information. That way I'm not tearing more paper out of my notebook. I use library card pockets that I glue in my notebook front cover to hold a few.

[lovemy51]

I had the Levenger but found I did not use it. I ended up selling it here. I also have a Renaissance Art 3"x5" 3 ring binder with pen loop in black leather with blue leather interior. I don't use that one much either.

 

http://www.renaissance-art.com/images/products/alternateviews/Binder_3X5_basic_side_3-4_NL.jpg

 

I just rather slip some index cards in my folio or in the back of a notebook.

this one looks cool!

[dapv]

swduncan: I liked the insight and experience you offered about 3x5 cards and was wondering, re: "I used them much less and found a notebook much more useful. I needed history more than speed, so a notebook made sense. It remains that way today." which notebook do you use and in what format? Thank you.

Levinger has a "pocket briefcase" for its 3 x 5 note cards. Crane has a similar leather holder for its note cards. has anyone seen or used either or both and can provide any insight as to differences between each? thanks.

 

I have one of the simpler Levenger ones. I probably got it in the middle to late 90's. I don't think the holder is as important as how well 3x5 cards fit your needs. When I was an engineer I used a lot of scratch paper. I'd be out on the production floor and record drawing numbers that needed changes, or part numbers or whatever. For that, the pocket briefcase concept worked well. I'd keep the cards and that was nice insurance. When I got into the habit of dating things it was even better. It's also great paper to have near the phone. One of the keys to it's usefulness is that the card is easy to hand to someone else.

 

Later, when I left engineering, I used them much less and found a notebook much more useful. I needed history more than speed, so a notebook made sense. It remains that way today.

 

Based on my experience, a pen loop was not so useful as I carried the case in a shirt pocket. I needed a spot for new cards, a spot for used cards, and that was it. the Levenger model had that and worked well. At the time I bought the grid cards from Levenger, but now I'd take a ream of 120lb cover stock to the local printer and have it cut. Much cheaper, and the lines never really added value.

[swduncan]

For a while I used accounting record books. They're usually pretty high quality, have decent paper, are easy to find. They're all ruled, but that was ok. When Moleskine became available I started using those. I bounced between blank, ruled, and grid and settled on grid until very recently. Now I've switched to the dotted pattern Leuchtturm1917, and I'm happier than ever.

 

I first used the pocket sized Moleskine, but then switched to the 5x8 size. It's big enough to not look silly on a boardroom table, but small enough to carry easily. When I travel, sometimes I will take a thin pocket sized book just for that trip because I don't want to risk losing a whole book. When I was working on more secret stuff that was an issue, but the work I do now has very little of that.

 

swduncan: I liked the insight and experience you offered about 3x5 cards and was wondering, re: "I used them much less and found a notebook much more useful. I needed history more than speed, so a notebook made sense. It remains that way today." which notebook do you use and in what format? Thank you.

[dapv]

Appreciate your thoughts, thank you.

[MicheleB]

I have the Levenger pocket briefcase and I love it and use it almost everyday. I keep it handy to jot down notes or grocery lists or where I parked the dang car! What I have done to make this the perfect jotter for me:

 

1) cut a slit in the back of the leather so I can slide a FP in there. This way I always have a pen handy. Just slit the leather, not the silky liner. Pen slips between leather and liner so you can still use the slots for cards etc.

 

2) carry a Namiki Decimo (te VP is too big) which is quick to pull out and jot a note with

 

3) got bulk card stock, cut at UPS store into perfect 3x5 cards. I selected Domtar 65 lb. Search FPN for preferred "index card" stock - there are many threads such as : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/161116-best-index-card-for-fountain-pen/

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/MicheleB1/briefcaseopen800.jpg

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/MicheleB1/briefcasefull800.jpg

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/MicheleB1/briefcaseside800.jpg

[blopplop]

I'm not going to knock Levenger because I know they have great stuff. I've used their products for years. But for my money, I don't think you can beat the line up of 3x5 card stuff from Renaissance Art.

 

I carry index cards every day and here are the two I use and have used for several years.

 

http://www.renaissance-art.com/catg121/category.aspx

 

Plus their return policy for damaged stuff is the best. If your dog chews the thing to pieces, they'll fix it for free.

 

http://www.renaissance-art.com/Content.aspx?ID=182&L=1

 

 

 

Dave

[dapv]

blopplop: couldn't agree more about RenArt. Not sure which two you use as there are three shown in the pic. I keep thinking if I get one, then it should have some kind of pen attached to it. What are your thoughts about a pen sleeve, etc? Thanks.

[teeniebeenie6]

I own a Levenger one and think the quality is top notch. I wanted to mention that you may want to check out Ebay. Levengers pocket briefcases come up frequently in new condition for MUCH cheaper then on Levenger.com. Their older versions also show up many of which did have a pen slot.

[dapv]

My gut tells me having a pen somehow attached is important. What do you all think?

 

Also, I wonder if the 3x5 version might be too big, hence I'm considering Levenger's Slim Wallet Writer which is 2 3/4" x 4 1/4", uses business card sized cards which are 2" x 3 1/2". What do you all think?

 

Thank you.

 

 

[Classics]

I have one from Colonel Littleton and use it daily.

 

I bought some 3x5 cards from crane and they work great with the fountain pens.

 

John

[Inka]

Those Renaissance Art holders are really sharp looking, I really like the Rustic with Lace version that has a Bomber Jacket look to it!

I can't see myself needing a leather pouch large enough to hold 100 3x5 cards though, I use cheap plastic snap-closure $1 Store boxes that come with lettered separator tabs for card storage.

 

The best I've yet to come across is the following, sold at Staples back @ 2009, an all-leather Note Jotter for 3x5 cards [item #746308].

I've never seen them listed on their online store/ Website, only found them in the actual stores with other items listed as "M by Staples".

This is mine, has an elastic pen loop that's held up very well considering I use the Pocket Jotter daily and have pulled that Pilot Capless out and replaced it more times than I can count.

It came with a metal medallion with a Staples "staple" logo in it, so I Dremeled out the logo and inlaid a mixture of ground Arizona turquoise and "glow-in'the'dark" 55 micron V10 [strontium Aluminate] powders with a brightness rating of 33,000 as seen as a greenish stone in the lower right front corner.

Why make the medallion glow-in-the-dark? Why not, the SA blends with the ground turquoise perfectly and looks like a semi-precious gemstone, but turn off the lights and it has a nice green glow that makes the kid in me smile!...

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/MustardizedPocketJotter02.jpg

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/MustardizedPocketJotter03.jpg

 

The inside is roomy enough for several 3x5 cards and a nice pen, the nicest feature to me being the fold-over feature that protects the pen and the cards while carrying it in my pocket as it folds closed like a book.

The pen I carry in it is seen in the middle, the Mustard-color Pilot Capless in the elastic loop, while other pens are only there as a reference to what I was writing with a few years ago and from another post...

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/MyQuad01.jpg

 

I can see a real market for another Pocket Jotter that meets the same criteria, that is if Staples has indeed discontinued this one.

The inner liner of Herringbone-patterned cloth is also very soft, adding to the pens' protection once the Jotter is folded closed and slipped into a pocket...

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/MustardizedPocketJotter01.jpg

 

Mine holds @ 7+ 3x5 cards tightly in the writing area, by top & bottom [side-to-side, I meant to say] stitched leather strips, has a pocket underneath that area that comfortably holds at least another 10 cards, a leather flap to the left that holds at least another dozen and has a business card/ credit/ATM card slot, and on the backside yet another full pocket that holds at least another 10-12 3x5 cards, so it can hold @ 37 cards total w/o any problems, plus a mid-size pen like the Pilot VPs.

I've been looking in my local Staples ever since and have yet to see them again, no idea if a call to Corporate could result in any possibility of getting them special ordered.

It's like anything else at Staples I've ever liked, such as their loose-leaf 3-hole sugarcane bagasse paper being no more, things seem to become discontinued shortly after I've taken an interest.

So it's been my experience, limited as it may be, that this type of 3x5 Pocket Jotter is the most practical and useful designs I've ever seen.

If I had the machinery/ materials to do fine leather stitching I'd definitely make more, give them as gifts or market them for sale, as since getting this one I've never left home without it!

Edited October 19, 2011 by Inka

[jk0592]

I have the Levenger pocket briefcase in bomber leather. It fits in my side pocket, and has been with me every day for more than two years. I use a Space pen instead of a fountain pen in part because of the bulk, in part for fear of an ink disaster in my pants.

[magnet]

edit to add-- are the crane cards any good? or does anyone else have a fountain pen friendly 3 by 5 card they can recommend? (I would imagine that the OP is interested in this too!)

 

I carry the Levengers International Pocket Briefcase in my right back pocket. On the right side, I have 4 or 5 notecards in the frame and store an additional 4 or 5 in the area behind it. I also have a small Rhodia notebook in there, with it's back cover and a few pages slipped into the same place as my spare notecards. That adds to the bulk.

 

On the left side I keep some of my business cards and the business cards of people I meet. I really need to take those out and catalog them. I don't keep a pen in the pen holder. I carry this in my back pocket and that isn't a great place for a pen IMO.

 

Now, to the note cards I carry and you asked about. The Levengers cards used to be good. Now they are not. The Crane cards have never really been good. I have tried dozens. The only ones that are any good are the Rhodia, Exacompta and Clairfontaine "Bristol Fisches." I first "discovered" them in a papeterie (paper store) in French St. Martin (Marigot, Rue de Liberte) and I bought a bunch. I bought more on a trip to Belgium (my business associates are looking up bars - I was looking up stationary stores) and when I ran low, I found a great source of supply in Canada that ships to the US. I was in St. Martin in July and bought about 5 more boxes.

 

To buy a box, go to http://www.nota-bene.ca/ (Papeterie Nota-Bene). Their website isn't great for navigation. Go to "Shop/Boutique" on the left, then scroll down to Exacompta Record Cards. What I use are the 75 x 125mm squared record cards. They also have plain and lines, with and without holes and in white or assorted colors. The 75 x 125mm will perfectly fit standard notecard holders (it's very close to 3x5 inches). The card stock is great for FP ink. The lines are crisp, the ink doesn't feather or smear. When I was an independent consultant, I had a printer put my contact info on one side, kind of like the Levengers options, but not boxed. Plenty of room to write notes. I still get calls from people from those cards. Try it!

[RussG]

thanks. that's easy to navigate.

[DrPJM1]

The leather holders are very nice but I do not like anything thick on my pockets, so I use a very thin semi-rigid clear plastic 3x5 sleeve from Levengers, comes with a pen loop and is rigid enough to use as a writing surface.

[jkingrph]

I have been using one of Levengers pocket briefcases for the last couple of weeks as a case for my new I Phone, until the Otterbox I have ordered arrives. It acutally is a very good fit, loose enough to come out easily, and when the case is folded shut, secures the phone nicely.

[Mr Tutt]

I had a Levenger 3 x 5 that I bought used from their eBay store--they're a bit pricy. I found was too wide to fit easily in a shirt pocket. I then got a Buxton version at Office Max I believe for $10. I'd had one of those years ago and literally wore it out. It's a tad smaller, but no less useful. These days I often carry a smaller version from Levenger that holds business card size stock. It's the best yet, with three pockets for business cards, stamps, credit cards, etc. I got it as a return with someone's initial on it at the eBay store for not too much. It's very useful and leaves room in my pocket for a pen and a phone.