Leather Pen Cases - Vegetable Tanned Vs. Chrome Tanned?

[paperskater]

I have been searching for a nice, affordable leather pen case. During my searches, I've seen two specific kinds of leather being advertised - vegetable tanned leather and chrome tanned leather.

 

My primary concern is whether one type of tanning is preferable to the other when it comes to carrying pens around in them. I looked up the differences in the types of tanning and the different "feels" of the leather produced, however I am worried about if different types of tanning will harm the exteriors of my pens in the long run.

 

Can anyone give me some advice? I have a pen case in mind that I would like to purchase, but I don't feel comfortable with the idea of storing my pens in something that has the potential to harm or discolour them.

[yachtsilverswan]

There are a number of reports on FPN of rapid tarnishing of pens carried or stored in Chromium tanned leather. There are also some warnings from pen repair experts that Chromium tanned leathers may damage ebonite and celluloid pens beyond the tarnish problem.

 

Vegetable tanned leather seems to be safer.

 

Though if simply transporting a pen to and from work, I doubt the tanning process makes much difference. If a pen is to be stored in contact with the leather, then I would expect a greater chance of problems with chromium tanned leathers.

[Gojira]

Chrome-tanned leather may tarnish or corrode metal and other materials. I think vegetable-tanned leather is safer although there is a member here selling chrome-tanned leather cases that are supposedly quite good ( and cheap). I've experienced some tarnishing on gold-plated pens with the leather cases I use so if you really want to stay safe, why not look for nylon or cloth cases? The caveat is that all my leather cases were, err, shall we say, economical options, so the quality may be hit-and-miss. Perhaps you can look at some branded cases. Pelikan cases are pretty cheap and I think some sellers here had a hefty discount for Delta cases.

 

Just out of curiosity, which pen case were you considering?

[gillyohan]

Ditto on the vegetable tanned leather seeming safer. That's what I heard. That said, I try to go for cases that have some type of fabric lining in the slots.

[D.C. in PA]

I've heard similar cautions regarding chrome tanned cases from knowledgeable pen folks whose opinions I consider to be well informed.

I have several cases for which I do not know the tanning method, but I do not keep pens in them for long periods - just to and from work or other locations. The one case that rides in my briefcase and is always full of pens has a cloth liner - I don't know if that is sufficient to protect from tanning issues, but I have not experienced any problems. If I need to replace any cases going forward and have the information and the choice, I will go with vegetable tanning - just to be safe.

D.C.

[Yoda4561]

Vegetable tanned, when dealing with leather in contact with metal is preferable. That said, chrome tanned can be okay, but it depends on the leather maker properly neutralizing all the tanning salts used in the process, most don't, so unless you have a line on a leather maker that will guarantee their chrome tanned is safe on soft metals I'd avoid it.

Edited December 27, 2010 by Yoda4561

[paperskater]

Thank you for all the feedback, everyone! I don't have plans to keep my pens in the leather case for extreme long-term storage, but I plan to keep my usual daily pens in the case so I can easily transfer them from bag to bag. I shall go with the vegetable-tanned leather. Right now, I keep my pens in a nylon Nomadic pen case from JetPens that works well, but I'd like to upgrade to a more sturdy case.

 

Just out of curiosity, which pen case were you considering?

eBay seller "coastocoast" has some that I am interested in. I am specifically looking for a case that holds 4 pens. However, I'm not too keen on the stitching between each pen space. It looks strange. I would really like one that has a smooth, one-piece front and back side, without the "gutters" between each pen slot.

Edited December 28, 2010 by paperskater

[BamaPen]

I recently purchased an Eversharp Skyline pen and pencil set that came in an all leather case. These are the Skyline version with the 10K YGF caps and plastic barrels. The pen, pencil, and case are all imprinted with the same person's name, and the case is "molded" to the shape of the pen and pencil, so I assume that these have probably resided in that case since they were new in the late 1940s. The case is labeled "Genuine Morocco Pat. Pend." and is an unlined, single thickness case, so the "raw" side of the leather touches the pen and pencil. I don't know what tanning process may have been used, but I can say that the pen and pencil look as good as new, so it is for sure that properly done leather does not damage the materials this pen/pencil set is made of.

[rogerb]

Well, I have had my black leather Kenneth Cole 2-pen case for 26 years ....although it still looks nearly like new, I'd imagine that any 'nasty stuff' has evaporated, or whatever, by now

I recall it was very expensive, an extravagance .... I think I bought it on a visit to Colorado, or it may have been DC or MD.

[mandarintje]

How very interesting !!! I had discovered this very fact, without knowing the reasons behind it. Certainly the chrome tanned leather tarnishes gold, gold plate and sterling silver. I have 3 leather cases that I bought via FPN and these exhibit the problem. A different leather case does not have this problem. Turns out the problematic ones are chrome tanned.

[Gojira]

Thank you for all the feedback, everyone! I don't have plans to keep my pens in the leather case for extreme long-term storage, but I plan to keep my usual daily pens in the case so I can easily transfer them from bag to bag. I shall go with the vegetable-tanned leather. Right now, I keep my pens in a nylon Nomadic pen case from JetPens that works well, but I'd like to upgrade to a more sturdy case.

 

Just out of curiosity, which pen case were you considering?

eBay seller "coastocoast" has some that I am interested in. I am specifically looking for a case that holds 4 pens. However, I'm not too keen on the stitching between each pen space. It looks strange. I would really like one that has a smooth, one-piece front and back side, without the "gutters" between each pen slot.

 

Ah, I have 2 cases from this seller, a 3-pen case that is my usual take to work case and a 10-pen case which I use for storage. I have not experienced any problems with them although a Pilot 74 and a Sailor 1911m experienced slight tarnishing on the gold-plated clips. However, I suspect that this is more likely due to the humidity of my storage area. I currently have a black and gold Sheaffer Legacy 1, a TWSBI Diamond 530 and a Lamy 2000 stored in the 3-pen case, more than perfect fit for all. Incidentally, my case is a solid design, without the "gutters" you mentioned. There are internal separators for the pens though, which I feel are a must.

 

Oh, I noticed that the seller does sell cases advertised as being vegetable-dyed and chemical-free.

[Kelvandor]

The cases that I've made have all been from veg-tanned leather due to it being more friendly to tooling and dying.

 

As I recall, the main worry with chrome-tanned leather is the reactions between the residual chromium sulfate salts used in the tanning process and the metals in pens. Even the best of tanning houses can't completely remove all the chromium salts from the leather, and these salts can degrade into other sulfate compounds. Some of these are gasses, and those gasses are the worry.

 

Even though gold itself is inert and non-reactive, the other metals that are mixed with it (mostly copper, as I recall), or that the gold is plated over, are reactive to various chemicals. Gold plating can be slightly porous, and will allow the sulfur compounds to the base metal below the plating. Sulfur compounds can also attack the metals mixed with gold in gold alloys. The resulting tarnish is the concern, as removal of the tarnish can be damaging to the underlying metals.

 

I've read in other threads here that chrome-tanned leather isn't the only material to worry about; some felts are also bad for 'out-gassing', and folks here have warned others not to use felt in any form of pen storage.

 

...just my $.02 worth

 

 

-Kel

[Warriah]

Someone could suggest me a 10-to-12 pen case? I found on eBay some up-to-$40 nice stuffs but I really fear bad tanning thus I don't know where to look... Unfortunately I don't like wraps.

 

These would be OK http://cgi.ebay.com/Luxurious-Fountain-10-pen-case-w-divider-New-/370449955590?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564089bb06 , http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300508375778&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT , http://cgi.ebay.com/Fountain-Pen-Case-12-Leather-New-/160523621682?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255ff41532 on your opinion ? :hmm1:

 

This Libelle pen case http://www.pensandleather.com/images/view.aspx?productId=312 seems very nice but I don't know whether is is chromium tanned or not, and €45 plus shipping is bit too high for my up-to 80€ pens collection.

Edited January 1, 2011 by Warriah

[jpl]

I bought a leather case that came from India and damaged by Visconti Divina.Are Visconti cases chrome or vegetable tanned?

[Koyote]

How can you tell the difference between leather that is chrome tanned and vegetable tanned?

[professionaldilettante]

Thank you for all the feedback, everyone! I don't have plans to keep my pens in the leather case for extreme long-term storage, but I plan to keep my usual daily pens in the case so I can easily transfer them from bag to bag. I shall go with the vegetable-tanned leather. Right now, I keep my pens in a nylon Nomadic pen case from JetPens that works well, but I'd like to upgrade to a more sturdy case.

 

Just out of curiosity, which pen case were you considering?

eBay seller "coastocoast" has some that I am interested in. I am specifically looking for a case that holds 4 pens. However, I'm not too keen on the stitching between each pen space. It looks strange. I would really like one that has a smooth, one-piece front and back side, without the "gutters" between each pen slot.

 

Ah, I have 2 cases from this seller, a 3-pen case that is my usual take to work case and a 10-pen case which I use for storage. I have not experienced any problems with them although a Pilot 74 and a Sailor 1911m experienced slight tarnishing on the gold-plated clips. However, I suspect that this is more likely due to the humidity of my storage area. I currently have a black and gold Sheaffer Legacy 1, a TWSBI Diamond 530 and a Lamy 2000 stored in the 3-pen case, more than perfect fit for all. Incidentally, my case is a solid design, without the "gutters" you mentioned. There are internal separators for the pens though, which I feel are a must.

 

Oh, I noticed that the seller does sell cases advertised as being vegetable-dyed and chemical-free.

Everything has chemicals... :hmm1: ... including vegetable based chemicals. What does that mean? Pointless advertisement...

[inkstainedruth]

How can you tell the difference between leather that is chrome tanned and vegetable tanned?

 

Chrome tanned leather cannot be stamped or tooled: it will shortly revert back to a flat surface, and won't hold the surface design. If you want to decorate something that has been chrome tanned, you have to paint it (acrylic paints). OTOH, vegetable tanned leather *can* be tooled.

I learned that weird bit of trivia from a guy who used to be the assistant manager of the local(ish) Tandy Leather a few years ago. Annoyingly, I have a bright yellow belt that I can't decorate the way I wanted, because I asked the vendor to see which type of process was used, and it turned out to be chrome tanned.... :bonk:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[professionaldilettante]

How can you tell the difference between leather that is chrome tanned and vegetable tanned?

 

Chrome tanned leather cannot be stamped or tooled: it will shortly revert back to a flat surface, and won't hold the surface design. If you want to decorate something that has been chrome tanned, you have to paint it (acrylic paints). OTOH, vegetable tanned leather *can* be tooled.

I learned that weird bit of trivia from a guy who used to be the assistant manager of the local(ish) Tandy Leather a few years ago. Annoyingly, I have a bright yellow belt that I can't decorate the way I wanted, because I asked the vendor to see which type of process was used, and it turned out to be chrome tanned.... :bonk:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Not all veg tanned leathers can be tooled, and not all chrome tanned leather are tooling resistant. I know my messenger bag has the company's logo embossed on it, but the leather they use is chrome tanned leather.

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

Everything has chemicals... :hmm1: ... including vegetable based chemicals. What does that mean? Pointless advertisement...

 

Yeah and most everyone realizes the chemicals that are in tap water aren't nearly those that are in battery acid too.

 

When it comes to pen storage, it's far from Pointless advertisement. (If it is a statement in fact that it IS vegetable tanned.)

 

Chromium tanned leather can cause gold furniture on pens to tarnish though a good tight fabric lining that fully shields the pens from direct contact will slow the tarnishing down. It usually isn't permanent damage but it definitely can be a PIA.

 

Vegetable based tanned leather doesn't cause the same reaction.

 

If all the pens in the case are clipless/trinmless or trimmed in steel it's probably not as much of an issue.

 

The fact remains though that in addition to the lack of pen reaction, the vegetable tanned cases are generally just much nicer cases. They can usually go for 2x-5x the price of a similar case with the cheaper to tan leather so they seem to do a nicer job with the nicer leather.

 

But, to say it's irrelevant with pen cases is far from a true statement.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[professionaldilettante]

 

But, to say it's irrelevant with pen cases is far from a true statement.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

True, but it's like saying whole milk doesn't contain gluten. Wait. What?! Milk never contained gluten to begin with.