Baron Fig has made quite a mark on the stationery and productivity communities in the short time since they established their first product, the Confidant notebook. Championing their motto, "Tools for Thinkers," they created a number of unique and refreshingly modern tools for writers, stationery geeks and entrepreneurs alike. Baron Fig launched the Confidant on Kickstarter in 2013, garnering the support of over 4,000 backers. The team delivered thousands of Confidants on time, setting the tone for what would be a great track record on Kickstarter going forward.

Fast forward to 2017 and Baron Fig have since launched 7 unique product lines (with 3 new bags on the way), 3 fully funded Kickstarters, and a new subscription service (unfortunately, just recently discontinued) for their loyal fans - the fans even have a Facebook group! Needless to say all of these things caught my attention, and I knew I had to give Baron Fig a try. One of the more recent products they have released is a companion to their Squire pen, the Pen Sheath. I just picked up the new Experiment Squire (review coming soon!), so I wanted to protect it with the new pen sheath.

The Yellowgold pen sheath (Photo via baronfig.com)

The Baron Fig Pen Sheath comes in two different colors: the interestingly named Yellowgold (read: tan) and Slate. I have to admit I was a little bummed when I realized the Slate is actually a slate blue color and not slate grey. Being that both Squires are in different shades of grey, I would have expected the Sheath to have a grey option as well (perhaps in the future, Baron Fig? :)). Regular readers of the blog will know that I have an affinity for grey, so take my gripe with a grain of salt. Regardless, the slate blue isn't a bad color at all. The sheath is made of a nice sturdy leather, that is more on the stiff side. Though it's not as nice feeling on the hands, the stiffer leather does offer more durability and protection for your pen. The packaging is elegant and simple. Just a card stock envelope with a nice tissue paper wrapping on the inside to protect the leather.

The Sheath itself is roughly a half inch taller than the Squire, and is about an inch wide when laid flat. The front side is stamped with the "mighty sword" logo of the Squire, and the back side has the Baron Fig logo stamped at the bottom. The stitching is nice and even, with double stitching where the two sides split, which protects from loosening when pulling the pen in and out over time.

When I received my sheath, I was disappointed to find that there was a nick in the leather on the front of it. Not sure if this was considered an acceptable amount of damage to still let it pass QC (I would hope not) or if it was just a miss - it does bother my OCD a bit, though. Aside from that, the sheath looks amazing and fits the Squire perfectly. I have carried it for the past few weeks and it has developed a nice little "pocket" where it has broken in with the Squire inside. It alleviates my fear of my limited edition Experiment sliding out of my pocket and getting damaged. I believe the sheath would protect the pen if it fell from a pretty good height, unless it fell directly on the top where the two side could split open and expose the top of the pen. The chances of it falling at exactly that angle are pretty slim I'd say, so all in all it offers great protection and looks nice to boot.

I have a couple other pen sleeves that I carry consistently - specifically, the Aston Leather pen sleeve (the early, soft leather ones from Goulet), and the Kaweco ECO leather sleeve. In comparison, the Baron Fig is a really good, sturdy quality. I prefer the feel of the Aston Leather sleeve more, just because it's easier on the hands; but the Baron Fig sleeve definitely outshines the Kaweco sleeve by far, and gives a superior feel of protection compared to both.

I would definitely recommend the Sheath to anyone wanting to carry their Squire outside of a pen case and still keep it protected. I'll definitely be keeping this in my carry anytime I have my Squire with me. If you're interested in picking one up for yourself, head over to baronfig.com and snag one for $24.00.

Thanks for reading!
- Lori

(Baron Fig has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review. My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).

Kaweco Leather Traveler's Case
Size: 5.75" x 4.5"
Capacity: 6 pens + a few accessories
Material: Tan leather (outside) & tan suede leather (inside)

Most of you that have followed me probably know that I have a loyalty to Nock Co. and their awesome pen cases. It would really take quite a bit for another case to pull me away from those, unless it fit a pretty specific use-case that Nock doesn't cover. Still, I was eager to give this Kaweco case a try, because I love the products that Kaweco produces. Unfortunately, this case isn't going to be replacing anything in my rotation any time soon. Let's talk specifics...

The Kaweco Leather Traveler's Case is nice and portable in it's 5.75" x 4.5" stature, and features a slightly toothy camel-colored outer leather cover. It feels like there is sturdy cardboard or maybe even some sturdy plastic inner liner for stability. On the inside it features a nice suede tan leather inner liner, as well as a protective flap of the same material and a net holder for accessories. You'll only be able to fit small things in the net like ink cartridge boxes, converters, etc. Not a ton of room there, but those are the typical things you'd probably be carrying in there anyways.

This case isn't a terrible case at all. On the contrary, it's fairly well built, and protects pens quite nicely. I did, however, find the pen slots to be fairly narrow and tight, which made it a little bit frustrating to use. There's something to be said for a balance between being snug enough to hold the pens securely, and being just loose enough to be able to move them in and out without much fuss; this case kinda fails in that way. I used this case for about 2 months, and the elastic of the pen slots loosened only ever-so-slightly - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If your pens fit perfectly, you really don't want them to loosen up, but I found it really difficult to get them in and out. The slots are also pretty close together so once you get your pens in there, they're practically touching. I can't help but think they intended this to be used with their line of pens only, which as you know are quite a bit smaller than most - Liliputs, Sports, etc. - even though the Sport even struggles to fit in there.

The flap lays off-center, to the left, even when pulled tight without pens in the case.

Another thing that bugged me a bit about the case was the protective flap on the inside. It wasn't the flap itself, I actually find that to be a nice addition for extra protection. The issue is that when the flap was sewn into to case, it was sewn just a tad off center. So even when the case is empty, the flap lays off to the left slightly. It may just be my OCD, but it does bug me. With pens in the case, it can exaggerate the issue, and it can sometimes put the off-center flap in the way of the zipper.

Speaking of the zipper, the case does have a very nice leather pull on the zipper, making it easy to find when you're ready to zip/unzip the case. I did find the zipper to be fairly stiff. An (almost) square case like this doesn't lend to a very responsive or smooth zipper, because it tends to stop or "hang" at the corners; but I do think this one is especially stiff when compared to something like a YKK zipper that I've seen on other products. This one doesn't have any markings on it, so unfortunately I don't what brand it is.

I hated giving this case a somewhat negative review, because when I first saw it I thought it was beautiful and I couldn't wait to try it out. In use, it just didn't push my buttons like I thought it would. The case wasn't a failure on the whole - it was just a number of small issues that bothered me enough that I just can't use this in my daily carry. Along those lines, we should talk about the price. This case retails for between $107 to $118 depending on where you purchase it. I honestly do not believe for a second that this case is worth that kind of money. As a rule, leather cases are quite a bit more expensive than most, but this case only holds 6 pens and has a couple fit and finish issues - I just don't see the value there. If you like leather, you can pick up an Aston 10 pen case for $64 and an Aston 20 pen case for $90 from Goulet. If you prefer no leather and some added color, go for a Nock Co. case - you can get the Lookout 3 pen case for $25, the Brasstown 6 pen case (plus extra storage) for $40, and others - all made in the US. Both the Nock and Aston cases have more comfortably sized pen slots and are quite a bit less expensive. I would really only recommend the Kaweco case if you love the look of it, and have some money to burn.

(Kaweco has provided this product at a discounted cost to The Desk for the purpose of review. My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).

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Accessory Review: Baron Fig Pen Sheath

Review: Kaweco Leather Traveler's Case