It looks like I’m becoming a reviewer of pen cases.

Voodoo338 over on Instagram saw my Nock Sinclair review and asked if I’d review a Harris tweed twin pen holder that I’d posted up.

I thought that while I was at it I’d review a single pen sleeve made from kimono silk, and throw in a felt pocket-pen sleeve too.

Here’s the lineup, with Lamy 2000 and Pelikan M205 for scale.2017-01-05-20-07-16

Harris tweed

So, the tweed sleeve first.

I bought this for £17 in June 2015 from Etsy seller LifeCovers, based in Scotland. It’s sized to fit slim pens: the Lamy 2000 is a very tight fit, and the cap bands around the Pilot 912 or Platinum 3776 won’t go in. When I ordered it, the seller did offer a version for bigger pens.

The sleeve is a wonderful egg-yolk yellow Harris tweed, lined with rust-coloured linen or cotton. It’s very simply constructed, but the stitching is neat and aside from some fuzzing it’s stood up to use rather nicely.

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If you’re looking for a way to carry two full-size but slim pens, or a fountain/ballpoint or fountain/pencil set, this is a great option. It’s got character and a bit of fun; it fully encloses the pens in their own slots; there’s no zip or button or popper to worry about; and for me it’s handy because it’s not made of leather.

Kimono silk

I ordered this in January 2016 from Etsy for 2,500 JPY, from a seller called JapaneseHandMaden. It arrived beautifully wrapped with some origami and other little nice touches.

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The story is that these pen sleeves are made from kimono silk, and the range on Etsy was full of beautiful options. I went for an orange and green that wasn’t too feminine. You can also pick the length and size to fit your pen. Again, this one is pretty slim — the Lamy 2000 just squeaks inside, but the Pilot and Platinum don’t.

The attention to detail is simply gobsmacking. The sleeve is lined with patterned silk. The stitching is flawless. There’s a tiny green bead stitched at the entrance to the sleeve.

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The material has texture and shine. This would be a wonderful accompaniment to an urushi or other fancy Japanese pen. Don’t expect something you can chuck at the bottom of your bag, though.

Felt

This short felt sleeve is by e+m and I ordered it from CultPens in December 2015, paying something like £7.99 for it. It’s very simply made and finished, and it fits a Kaweco Sport absolutely perfectly. I wanted something super minimal just to stop my Sport from scratching my phone and to hold it upright in my pocket. This did the trick. It’s picked up some fluff and gone fuzzy, but it still works.