Looking For The Perfect Pen Case

[Taverius]

I have Visconti, Girologio, Pineider, a few others. I'm not really happy with any of them.

 

The Visconti is soft and won't protect the pens if it's in a pocket and I bump something say, leaning over the car, also the zipper is unprotected on the inside.

 

The Pineider has the divider only 2/3 of the way so the caps can bump each other.

 

The Girologio has really rough fabric inside, it's unpleasant to touch. I keep pens I get for free in there.

 

Does anything exist that is:

 

- Rigid

- Fully divides the pens, all the way up

- Lined with soft, natural materials

- Either closes without a zipper, or the inside of the zipper is covered

- Capacity of 3

- Takes large pens, think 149 or m1000 size

 

Bonus points for leather, but at this point I'll settle for anything.

[irrigger]

Have you looked at this thread;

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/255117-making-a-pen-case/

[BaronWulfraed]

Only hard-side cases I have are discontinued Levenger products from the 80s and maybe 90s. One was a 4-slot reinforced "box" with suede lining and a soft flap closure. However, it is a NARROW pen case... Pelikan 200, Sheaffer Targa...

 

The other is three slot, using a foam insert (with velour top side) having holes for the pens. It has a hard cap that slides over the equally hard base -- so can accommodate fairly long/fat pens.

 

The majority of my pocket cases are the sewn-leather sleeves with fold-over flap. I've found the cases that don't use the sewn sleeve design tend to have ugly plastic tabs separating the pens. Some of the fold-over styles have fairly stiff leather and I'd consider them sufficient protection.

 

I don't know of any case that meets your combination of armor and luxury...

[austinwft]

 

Maybe the Franklin-Christoph 3 pen case would do. The internal loops are made of nylon, not a natural material but not rough to the touch, and runs the full length of the interior of the case.

 

https://www.franklin-christoph.com/1-2-3-pen-cases.html

[sansenri]

Fedon rigid cases fits most of your requirements, not all

 

https://www.fedon.com/eu_en/stationary/hard-leather-pencil-case-orange

 

YES- Rigid
YES- Fully divides the pens, all the way up
YES- Lined with soft, natural materials
YES- Either closes without a zipper, or the inside of the zipper is covered - magnetic closure, no zip, so pens will not risk being scratched
NO- Capacity of 3 - 2 pens only (a 3 pen rigid model exists but is less practical than the 2 pen model)
YES- Takes large pens, think 149 or m1000 size - possibly, I don't own a 149 nor a M1000 but my Stipula Etruria fits and that's quite a big pen

 

added plus: the internal soft liner can be taken out and the pen case can be used for eye glasses.

I adore them, never without when traveling to protect my pens from being squashed by the PC gear I lug around...

[DrDebG]

"Perfect" is always subjective.

 

I have two "Penvelope" pen cases - one for 6 pens and another for 13 pens. They make one for 3 pens.

 

- Rigid: YES
- Fully divides the pens, all the way up: YES
- Lined with soft, natural materials: Lined with a grosgrain materials which is soft enough to not scratch the pens, but rigid enough to keep everything in place.
- Either closes without a zipper, or the inside of the zipper is covered: Not a zipper but closes with magnetic snap.
- Capacity of 3: YES - there is a 3 pen version. You will get more for your money if you purchase a 6 or 13 pen version.
- Takes large pens, think 149 or m1000 size: YES. I have several large pens that fit very nicely in the case.

- Leather: YES - excellent tanned leather. Several colors available.

 

They also make other 2 and 3 pen varieties, including several made out of other materials.

 

For the money, I think they are superior.

 

(No affiliation with Franklin-Christoph. I just appreciate quality.)

[zaddick]

The best pen cases I own, and that meet all your requirements, were made by member MY63 jere on FPN. That's his thread mentioned above. If you budget is more limited Franklin Christoph make nice cases too, though I don't find them a rugged.

[Parker51]

Get a Pen Guardian, if you need a case for two or four pens and they are large pens. They are definitely not cheap, but are of the highest quality.

[Taverius]

Thanks, I'll take a look at that thread.

 

None of the commercially available options seem to be an improvement over what I already have for one reason or another.

[inkstainedruth]

What capacity case do you need? For storage I use some relatively inexpensive 24-pen cases from Rockler. For carrying stuff in my purse I have a couple of small leather cases and sleeves (one came from Parker, and the soft-side zipper case I bought from the Toys From the Attic booth at a pen show a couple of years ago; then last spring at the Baltimore-Washington Pen Show I picked up a sturdier 12-pen case from them as well (I think it's stamped "Girologio" -- don't know who made the smaller one, which they no longer seem to carry at Toys From the Attic).

I've been pretty happy with the 12 pen case so far, except for the fact it doesn't fit in my purse -- it tends to get used only for times when I really have to carry that many pens, which means generally just at a show or to a pen club meeting. I think I paid about $20-25 US for it.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos -- for some reason I didn't see this come up on the thread when I initially posted it

Edited March 9, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[hungrynerd]

You need a Musubi http://www.musu.bi/shop/pen-cases/regular-140-mm/seigaiha-waves

It only takes 2 pens, but meets all your other criteria.

 

It also contributes to a good cause: http://www.musu.bi/story

(Musubi is all about ethical production and social enterprise.)

[MalcLee]

It sounds like you need a Pilot x Somes 3 pen case. I got mine in the brown and it is developing a very nice patina with time. Check this one out.

[Tweel]

It sounds like you need a Pilot x Somes 3 pen case.

 

I agree it's an excellent pen case, but it doesn't meet a couple of the OP's criteria: it's soft, and the dividers don't go all the way down. (That said, I've been carrying one in my jeans pocket every day for 6 years, with zero damage to my pens.)

[Taverius]

Well, that and the fact that it wouldn't fit my ultrafat pens by all accounts

[bogiesan]

Are your pens glorious? Then find a local leather artisan and have a case custom made! It will suit not only your peculiar needs but also help sustain or elevate your pens’ glory. Might cost you $500, about half what you may have spent on a single superb fountain pen.

[Taverius]

As far as I know I'm the only local leatherworker in the area that can do something the way I want it.

 

The reason I don't do it is because I don't like mixing business and pleasure. It's too easy to spend all your life in the workshop.

[MalcLee]

I'm sorry for recommending the wrong case. I wouldn't want to have 3 fat pens in a Pilot x Somes case ( will not fit all 3 anyway) and even with a 149 or an Emperor sized pen + 2 smaller and / or slimmer pens - you run the gauntlet of the fatter pen intruding into the other pen compartment if that pen does not have a pocket clip to anchor onto the leather. But having said that, there is always that certain endearing charm with any vegetable (not to forget oak and spruce) tanned brown leather. You might need to go "bespoke", and being in Italy - what more can I say.

Edited March 10, 2019 by MalcLee

[Darth_Roo]

Have you tried Galen Leather in Turkey? Good quality, great range and very reasonable prices

[RubenDh]

I can recommend the Lamy 3 pen leather (black) case that fits your needs

[my63]

This is actually quite a difficult question to answer as only you know what you have in mind.

I would encourage you to have a go at making your own case I use a thermo plastic in my cases to give an impressive strength to weight ratio.

Making a case for another leather worker would be quite daunting