(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
As an avid pocket pen user, I was excited to try the Shibui Pocket Pen 12-Pen Case in hopes it would help transport my mini pens in style. My usual pen sleeves are too long to conveniently carry my pocket pens, and I always have at least a few pocket pens inked, so I was hoping for a gamechanger. I found this case to be a mix of excellent innovative design, and some design decisions that ultimately didn't work for me, but might for you.
The case is made from high-quality, full-grain leather. It is very well stitched, everything lines up nicely, and it's sturdy and protective without being too heavy or inflexible. The zippers are metal and pull smoothly, even around the corners of the case.
The best feature of this case is the trademarked Pull-Tag that allows the user to adjust the tension of each pen loop so that the case can accommodate pens of any circumference. Since I have pocket pens that range from a slim Kaweco Liliput to a chonky Pen BBS, that's an amazingly useful feature. It also allows clip-less pens to be cinched in snug and sound, so the case will work for a variety of styles.
The case holds 12 pens, with six inside each side of the clamshell opening and a padded, soft divider between them. The divider is velvety on one side, and has six card slots on the other. Personally, I'd rather have the velvet on both sides. I don't quite understand the need for pockets in this case, unless you want to carry the ink swatch cards for your currently inked pens. I can see the use case for that, though it's not something I do. Whatever is in those pockets will be touching the pens on that side.
Ultimately, for me, this case works better for storage than carry. That's because I don't carry a dozen pocket pens at once. If I'm carrying a pocket pen, it's usually just one or two, and I've picked them because I'm going for a minimal carry or a light load. It would be good for bringing a collection to a pen show, so it may be the perfect thing if you visit a lot of shows. It's also worth noting that it can fit shorter standard pens. A full-size TWSBI was too long, but it would fit most pens smaller than that.
While I don't find myself carrying this case, I think I'd use something similar in a two-pen design. I will definitely use this one for storage, though, and I don't hesitate to recommend it if you're hauling a lot of wee pens around. The case is currently priced at $85, which is fair considering the design, materials, and construction. I often try to guess the price of something before I look, and this was half the cost I expected. I think my pens will be very happy in this case while they nap between uses.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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