Franklin Cristophe Penvelope 13 or 20 Pen Case?

[tiffanyhenschel]

Please help me decide which of these to order. I have been over thinking this way too much and cannot make up my mind. If you have personal experience with either, what are the features you like most? Thanks!

[KrazyIvan]

I think Eric had one and Dan bought it from him. Maybe they will chime in.

[Truppi327]

Get the 20!

If you get a 13 you'll fill it and then wish you had more space.

You'll be happy either way. F-C leather cases are wonderful. I love my 6 Penvelope.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Get the 20!

If you get a 13 you'll fill it and then wish you had more space.

You'll be happy either way. F-C leather cases are wonderful. I love my 6 Penvelope.

I already have more than will fit in the 13 Penvelope. These are the ones that I want to be portable. Thanks for the opinion. Can you say what it is specifically that you love about your 6 Penvelope?

[Truppi327]

I already have more than will fit in the 13 Penvelope. These are the ones that I want to be portable. Thanks for the opinion. Can you say what it is specifically that you love about your 6 Penvelope?

I think it is incredibly well constructed, nothing cheap or halfway about it - I don't think it will ever fall apart. My pens feel very secure in their slots and I'm not at all concerned that they will rattle around or slip out. The leather is extremely pleasant feeling in the hand and looks better as I break it in, Eric describes Scott Franklin's as looking "better for the wear" in this post and I absolutely agree.

I first learned about these cases after reading Okami's review on her blog Whatever . The pens she keeps in it are MUCH larger than the ones I keep in mine so I also love the versatility of this case. If you are strategic about the size of the pens you choose to carry in this case you can fit more than the 6 it is intended for by utilizing the space between/ in front of the slots and on the side. Mine carries 10 currently!

I also like that by buying from Franklin-Christof I'm supporting a small business and an American pen manufacturer (no slight meant to non-American pen companies because I support them too.)

My wife got me my boot brown one for Christmas and I have not been disappointed in the least. It's just a hell of a case - it really is.

[peterpen53]

I can only echo Truppi327's comments. I won't discuss why you would want to carry 13 pens around, but if that's how many you want portable, I think a Penvelope is the way to go. I can only add that your pens would be more easily accessible than in a zippered case, while the magnetic closure is very solid at the same time. Please be aware, though, that it really seems to be a hand-made product, so not all pen-slots are identical. Any given pen may or may not fit as easily or as snugly in any of the slots, but any average size pen should be no problem. But if you own a Delta Dolce Vita Oversize: THIS. JUST. WILL. NOT. FIT. Whatever you do. But e.g. a 149 will, although initially a bit more effort or some stretching of the slot may be in order.

Cheers,
Peter

[JustDaveyB]

I think it is incredibly well constructed, nothing cheap or halfway about it - I don't think it will ever fall apart. My pens feel very secure in their slots and I'm not at all concerned that they will rattle around or slip out. The leather is extremely pleasant feeling in the hand and looks better as I break it in, Eric describes Scott Franklin's as looking "better for the wear" in this post and I absolutely agree.

I first learned about these cases after reading Okami's review on her blog Whatever . The pens she keeps in it are MUCH larger than the ones I keep in mine so I also love the versatility of this case. If you are strategic about the size of the pens you choose to carry in this case you can fit more than the 6 it is intended for by utilizing the space between/ in front of the slots and on the side. Mine carries 10 currently!

I also like that by buying from Franklin-Christof I'm supporting a small business and an American pen manufacturer (no slight meant to non-American pen companies because I support them too.)

My wife got me my boot brown one for Christmas and I have not been disappointed in the least. It's just a hell of a case - it really is.

I love the boot brown one as well - I don't worry about it getting scratched or scuffed in the work bag as the more marks on it the better it looks. I use 2 x 20 and 2 x 40 FC pen cases to store my collection.

See image of 40 case http://justdaveyb.com/2012/04/23/pelikans-galore/

[tiffanyhenschel]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I don't carry 13 pens every day, but there have been many times when a five pen roll is just not enough. I have pens for grading in two different colors, different ones with dry ink for annotating, highlighting pens, a pen with blue black for signing documents, and nice flexy letter-writing pens. Add a pencil, and if I happen to want them all on the same day ... Well, it would be nice to be able to keep them all in one place when I am at work. Leaving some at my desk is not an option.

[Jimmy James]

For me, I think the three pen fabric case is where I'll start. I like the zipper, which I think suggests that I personally would prefer the 20 pen case.

[KrazyIvan]

I am looking at the 6 pen case. I have a 12 pen case (Not F-C) and for the most part I try to keep it half full. It will be easier to do if I don't have the extra room calling to me.

[peterpen53]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I don't carry 13 pens every day, but there have been many times when a five pen roll is just not enough. I have pens for grading in two different colors, different ones with dry ink for annotating, highlighting pens, a pen with blue black for signing documents, and nice flexy letter-writing pens. Add a pencil, and if I happen to want them all on the same day ... Well, it would be nice to be able to keep them all in one place when I am at work. Leaving some at my desk is not an option.

I get your point, Tiffany. Seeing this, I think the ease of access of the Penvelope is made for you.

[dannzeman]

I have the Penvelope 6 (2 of them, actually) and the zippered 20. They're both made incredibly well so don't worry about that. It really all depends on how many you want to carry and how large your pens are. As was previously mentioned, if you have a Delta Dolcevita OS or similar sized pen then the Penvelope won't work for you. The elastic bands in the zippered 20 will hold several very large pens right next to each other. But, if 20 is too many then consider checking out Markiaro. They make either a 10 or a 12 pen zippered case of excellent quality. I've handled them at pen shows and they're pretty outstanding. They're a little bit more expensive than FC but that wouldn't stop me from buying one. Bryant from PenTime will probably have the best deal on one.

[tiffanyhenschel]

I have the Penvelope 6 (2 of them, actually) and the zippered 20. They're both made incredibly well so don't worry about that. It really all depends on how many you want to carry and how large your pens are. As was previously mentioned, if you have a Delta Dolcevita OS or similar sized pen then the Penvelope won't work for you. The elastic bands in the zippered 20 will hold several very large pens right next to each other. But, if 20 is too many then consider checking out Markiaro. They make either a 10 or a 12 pen zippered case of excellent quality. I've handled them at pen shows and they're pretty outstanding. They're a little bit more expensive than FC but that wouldn't stop me from buying one. Bryant from PenTime will probably have the best deal on one.

Ahh! Choices! I was all set to decide on the Penvelope, but this makes me hesitate. My largest pen right now is a 149, but I carry it with other semi-large pens at the same time. (Homo Sapiens, Edisons) I do not have a Delta Dolce Vita OS yet, but that pen is on my short list for the future. And in all of this perusing of the FC website, I had to order a model 66. So, even though I don't have the Delta yet, maybe the Penvelope won't work with the combination of my bigger pens all together?

I had not heard of the Markiaro before, and it looks very nice. This will take more thought. I don't really want to carry 20 pens around. Well, actually, yes I do. I am just afraid to!

[dannzeman]

The Penvelope cases should be able to fit pens as large as the 149 in every slot at the same time. When I had my 149 I could fit that and two Delta Dolcevita Stantuffo's (which are basically the same size in diameter as the 149) all next to each without problem.

Here's the link to the Markiaro catalog. They do have a 12 pen zippered case so if you don't want to (or are just to afraid to ;-) ) carry around 20 pens at once, this would be a good option and would be able to fit that eventual Dolcevita OS.

Do keep us posted regarding your decision.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Thanks for everyone's input. I seriously considered the Markiaro case, but I ended up having a credit with FC for a nib I exchanged. That made FC much more attractive. I've been thinking about the Penvelope since I firsts saw a picture of one a few months ago, so I went with my instinct and chose that. I'm glad I did. It is smaller than I imagined, which is a good thing, and it is a work of art. I've attached a picture of it filled with the pens that are regularly in the rotation.

[dgator]

Nice picture! Enjoy the case.

[KrazyIvan]

That looks so nice. I keep putting the 6 penvelope in my cart and it sits there mocking me.

[peterpen53]

Thanks for everyone's input. I seriously considered the Markiaro case, but I ended up having a credit with FC for a nib I exchanged. That made FC much more attractive. I've been thinking about the Penvelope since I firsts saw a picture of one a few months ago, so I went with my instinct and chose that. I'm glad I did. It is smaller than I imagined, which is a good thing, and it is a work of art. I've attached a picture of it filled with the pens that are regularly in the rotation.

Good for you! Is it boot brown? Will only get better over time. I see you already found the spaces between the slots

That looks so nice. I keep putting the 6 penvelope in my cart and it sits there mocking me.

That's what you get if you let it sit in the cart.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Good for you! Is it boot brown? Will only get better over time. I see you already found the spaces between the slots



That's what you get if you let it sit in the cart.

You know, KrazyIvan, if you go ahead and buy it, it will stop mocking you. All will be forgiven, and it will be happy and content holding your pens.

Yes, I did get the boot brown. There was a glossy black one on their disount page that tempted me for a few minutes because of the discount, but then I realized that this case is something I will use for decades. It is worth getting exactly the one I want.

[KrazyIvan]

I will, eventually, just not now. I have a perfectly good pen case and would rather use the money towards pens at the moment. I can deal with the miocking for a bit longer.