A utilitarian review of a few pen cases

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.

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 here, and here’s a brief write-up on leather quality if you’re short on time or patience:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Reconstituted & Recycled: Leather scraps are bonded together using polyurethane or latex. 

Here are a list of leather finishes:

1. Aniline: Dyes allow natural surface of leather to show through. 
2. Semi-Aniline: Similar to aniline but with added pigments.
3. Faux: Also known as PU, Vegan or Vinyl leather. Is made of polyurethane and made to mimic real leather.
4. 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. 

1. Vegetable tanning: This method uses natural materials or tannins derived from plants and bark, which are astringents. It’s an ancient, environmentally friendly process.
2. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

No	Cases	Type	Weight(g)	L X W (cm)	# of Pens	Available Width/Pen(cm)	Used Since	Purchased From	Made by	Buy Price (2024 US$)
1	TBC Leather Pen Capsule	Open	15	16.5x3.8	1	3	2023	theblackcanvas.in	The Black Canvas	$6
2	Endless Companion Pen Pouch	Button,Double Flap	45	16x4.9	1	3	2024	in.madebyendless.com	Endless India	$13
3	Cross Leather Single Pen Box	Magnetic Closure	46	15.8x4	1	3.3	2019	Amazon	Cross/Torero	$7
4	Custom Namiki Emperor Case	Flap with loop	20	16.5x3.6	1	3.3	2019	ashish.wakhlu@gmail.com	Dr. Ashish Wakhlu	$8

Multi pen cases

1. 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.
   
   
   
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. 
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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. 

No	Cases	Type	Weight(g)	L X W (cm)	# of Pens	Available Width/Pen(cm)	Used Since	Purchased From	Made by	Buy Price (2024 US$)
1	Arista Leatherette	Zipper,Single Flap	200+	15.5x14.2	6	2.2	2023	Amazon	Arista	$18
2	The Black Canvas Jotbox	Zipper	54	18.5x5.5	6-8	N/a	2024	theblackcanvas.in	The Black Canvas	$12
3	Aegean Leather for Namiki Emperor	Pen Tray, Single Flap	113	16x5	2	2.4	2024	Etsy	Aegean Leather Co (Turkey)	$200
4	Pelikan Leather 3 Pen Case (TG32)	Single Flap, Adjustable Dividers	36	10.5x5.1	3	1.6	2014	Martiniauctions	Pelikan	$47
5a	Visconti Dreamtouch (6)	Zipper,Single Flap	123	15x14	6	2	2015	Martiniauctions	Visconti	$100
5b	Visconti Dreamtouch (3)	Zipper,Single Flap	68	15x7.5	3	2.4	2019	Fontoplumo	Visconti	$72
6	Brown Bear Classic (2)	Single Flap, Adjustable Dividers	49	13x3.7	2	1.8	2024	Amazon	Brown Bear	$18
7	Essart Pen Case (Wood/PU)	Lid, Magnetic Buttons	400	24.5x19	10	2	2021	Amazon	Essart	$12

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

1. Leather grade and types

The Visconti Dreamtouch 6-Pen Case

I was looking for a quality pen-case for quite sometime, which could also serve as a handy storage of my fountain pens, outside their hefty boxes. Existence of nice fountain pens, necessitates invention of great fountain pen cases. I do use a Pelikan 3-pen case to carry my daily fountain pens, but I required something more secure, which can double up as a travel companion, if I ever intend to carry more than three pens at a time. The Dreamtouch leather series were launched sometime in 2012. For the leather pen cases, Visconti offers 5 variants in an ensemble of a compact and unique design, housing 1/2/3/6/12 pens.

PRESENTATION

As usual, there is a white Visconti fabric pouch, inside which the case rests once you take it out of the cardboard box. It ensures that the leather remains intact and unscathed before use.

DESIGN & BUILD (6/6)

The outside is made of aniline-calfskin with a clean and precise workmanship. Aniline leather making techniques preserve the natural surface of hide and render a soft natural feel of the same. The flip side is they do indeed carry the natural porosity of skin. When you look at the threads and feel the case you would instantly know, that you have landed upon great workmanship.

Then at the top of the flap, there is the V logo inside an ellipse, which is made of chrome plated metal. It seems minimalist aesthetically, but it does succeed in drawing your attention. The zip looks flat and compact, converging with the geometrical dimensions of the case. You will neither find the case too pliable nor you would find it too hard. A very compact case indeed!

The rear-end is plain and coveys volumes instead.

The flap converges with the overall flat design quite well.

The slider is chrome plated metal and sports the same logo which is present on finials of Visconti pens. The name VISCONTI lies within a mirrored V. 

The back-side sports an embossed VISCONTI with the name of its birthplace, the renaissance town FIRENZE. 

PHYSICS & PERFORMANCE (5/6)

The 6-pen case weighing around 150 grams and is quite light and easy to hold. It can hold a pen upto 15.5 cm of length. A thicker pen will of course displace the divider by a tiny bit. The flat design of the case, makes it a convenient storage box. I just love the compactness of this case.

• Length ~ 16 cm
• Width ~ 14 cm
• Depth ~ 2.7 cm

A 15 cm scale can completely rest inside with some additional pen-room.

You can observe that the dividers are placed at least 2.3 cm apart, which makes it capable of housing most of the pens. The inside linings are made of black velvet, a touch would reveal it's quite dense and should protect your pens well. One downside is that all the pens will not fit snugly inside these slots and there are chances of bumping inside it, in case you are travelling.

The finial of a rather large pen like an Izumo (>16 cm) can become exposed to the zipper material. Had it been a metallic finial with a flat top (say Pelikan), there are chances of scratches, due to lack of any additional protective lining on its insides. Although the zippers have plastic teeth, the slider with its metallic clasp still has to traverse along these lines.

From left to right : Pelikan m605, m805, Platinum Izumo Tagayasan, MB146, Pilot Custom 823 and a Visconti Homo Sapiens Maxi.

A dimensional comparison with a Pelikan TG32 (black/green) 3-pen case

ECONOMIC VALUE (6/6)

Although the 6-pen case retails in the market at around USD 120, I was able to win this one in an auction, at around USD 77. From time to time, I do find multiple auctions for these cases running on the bay.  I feel that's a good price for any aniline leather product.

OVERALL (5.7/6)

Overall, I do feel that the 6-Pen Dreamtouch case has been a nice buy, custom made to my requirements of compactness and aesthetics. It is subtle yet elegant at the same time. I would keep the large pens inside their boxes.

More pen and paraphernalia reviews here.