Mr. Lentz Leather Notebook/Passport Covers - A Review

Whenever I learn of a new (well, new to me) leather maker I always get excited. Something that pairs nicely for daily, ongoing use in our world of stationery or every day carry items is leather. It is durable (when well made), ages in unique ways as it is used, and protects things we care about from being damaged.

A company I was unfamiliar with called Mr. Lentz reached out to me and asked if I'd like to take a look at some of their leather passport/notebook wallets and, of course, I can never refuse to see someone's handwork.

Mr. Lentz products are created by a real guy, Mr. Evan Lentz, who has been making and selling his wares for several years also being featured in several publications as well as being a featured Etsy seller. Needless to say, he seems to have garnered a reputation for care and quality in his work from a wide range of audiences.

The Mr. Lentz brand and products have a very pronounced cowboy and country theme (although Evan does say he loves 90's dance music in his bio...which is awesome) that admittedly is a bit outside of my own personal aesthetic, but doesn't dissuade me in the least from appreciating and enjoying what he has created. Practical, attractive, and well-made goods are always appealing.

On his site he even says:

A smart cowboy once said ‘Buy nice, or buy twice.’

Couldn't agree more partner!

Evan was kind enough to actually send me two different passport/notebook covers to review. Should we do a giveaway for one soon?... I think we just might.

For his work Evan uses full-grain vegetable tanned leather purchased through one of the oldest US tanneries, and the leather is made from some of the toughest parts of the cow's hide making it highly durable. The leather the covers are made of isn't abrasive in any way (but also not soft/supple), but they are stiff and tough before their first use, waiting to be broken in.

I requested the Western Brown dyed leather which is a nice chestnut color, but they can also be made in an un-dyed natural or dyed black.  

The color is uniform on the pieces themselves, but when comparing the two the colors are slightly different, one being darker than the other. I'm not a leather maker so can't attest to whether this is due to different dye batches, the original leather having a starting color, curing time?... Either way, this is not offensive to me as they aren't designed to be a set. 

Each of the covers also has multiple slots for debit/credit cards, ID's, or business cards. The double passport sleeve is designed to really be an all in one carry solution when traveling.

Included with each cover is a small chrome ballpoint pen (really, really small) by a company called Derringer (maybe like the small gun?) that is tucked into two punched holes at the spine of the cover. For quick notes I could see this being a good solution, but I know one of the first things I'd do is stretch the holes out a bit more to fit a CH4 Space Pen (also know as the Shuttle Series), the slimmer cousin of the original AG-7 Space Pen flown on the Apollo missions. A little more expensive of a pen, but may be a longer term investment.

Also included is a small passport sized lined notebook that would work great to get someone started with the cover. I love the fact that he takes the time to include these items.

With every piece, Evan also sends along a small tin of his leather care balm, which is a really nice consideration.

When thinking about the stationery community in general, only one concern with the notebook situation came up: size. Many of the pocket notebook brands (Field Notes, Doane Paper, Story Supply Co...) make a 5.5" tall book, while the covers are designed for a 5" book which means they stick out slightly during use.

I didn't see availability for buying additional books through Evan, although, another notebook producer here in the US, Scout Books, has always used the 5" size so they are a perfect fit and would be my recommendation for refills.

In the notebook only cover, the book can either be tucked into its little pocket and removed during use, or, the back cover can be slipped into the same "pocket" to allow it to be used in the cover. The double passport/notebook cover would likely require the removal of the book from the cover due to there being card sleeves on both sides. Still, keeping everything tidy during transport.

Something unique to Evan's leather covers is them being fastened together with brass rivets rather than sewing the edges. This gives a completely different look to the pieces and does add some of the Western flair for sure.

Again, not being a leather maker myself, I can't say whether stitching or rivets will last longer, but I suppose it depends on execution. A poor stitch job will unravel just like a poor rivet job will pop through. Regardless, I like that he has gone this route for his brand and his work is tight and of high quality.

A special thanks to Mr. Lentz for sending these my way for review! Outside of notebook covers, Evan carries a wide range of other leather wallets, bags, and other accessories at reasonable prices. Definitely give his wares a look.

Karas Pen Co Decograph Fountain Pen

It's pretty hard to believe that Karas Kustoms (AKA Karas Pen Co) has been creating and making pens for close to 6 years. Still one of my all-time favorite pen designs is their original Render K in an aluminum barrel.

For the last few years Karas has introduced some new models and variations on their all metal pens like the EDK, but their most recent pen soon to hit the market is a dabble into an entirely new world for these guys altogether. They call it the Decograph and they were kind enough to send me over one of the first production models to review here on the blog.

The Decograph is Karas' first step into the acrylic barreled market like those you'd find from Franklin Christoph, Edison, or private makers like Shawn Newton, but still with a very "Karas" feel to it.

If starting at the experience, what you receive the pen in is pretty extraordinary, and something I've really seen no other manufacturer do (unless you're heading into the really pricey territory). They've machined (yes, machined) a custom aluminum tube that acts as the pens safety "capsule" for delivery and it is awesome. I was actually blown away by how cool this was! On the capsule are machined a couple of decorative lines and a "K" shield logo.

After a few turns of the capsule, the Decograph emerges, standing at attention within a foam insert that prevents it from banging around inside the tube. With a good firm tug, the pen is removed. Usually pen packaging is either cheap or on that fine line of "do I throw it away?.." Not this packaging. Nope.

Holding the pen, it looks like a Karas pen, although is a lightweight in comparison to the aluminum, brass, and copper models we're used to but it feels sturdy and well made. All inked up it comes in at just 0.7 oz.

One thing I'll note about this pen is that it looks manufactured, but not mass produced. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but it is a good thing. Like, even though it is produced using machines, it still has an element of subtle character (not flaws) that makes it stand out. It is a polished execution, but it still seems to have some "makers soul" to it.

For starters, Karas will be offering just a couple of acrylic colors, but I received a glossy black with aluminum accents. The black is shiny, but not a mirror finish and the aluminum accents have a soft metal look to them.

With about 3-4 turns, the cap comes off to expose a generous section and a #6 steel Bock nib. New to Karas Pen Co is the ability to post the cap to the barrel (it is designed to do so) and it fits snuggly. Generally, unless a pen is pocket sized I don't post my caps even if they are meant to be. Call me weird, but they usually make the pen to long or too top heavy.

While using the Decograph, going unposted puts the barrel, section, and nib at just around 5", but posted jumps this up to around 6.5" which could be a considerable amount for some people. For me, I wouldn't say posting is uncomfortable, just not preferred due to the length.

For the nib I went with medium steel Bock and loaded up the included converter with Bungbox Blue ink and it has been a perfect writer from the get go. On my Leuchtturm 1917 notebook it is a wet writer with some subtle feedback.

The clip of the pen is a large, monolithic structure (in a good way) that is a two part system. The main outward facing piece a faceted, machined aluminum that is really impressive. There are subtle angles, edges and tapers that make it to be a work of machined sculpture almost on its own. This piece is then riveted to a piece of bent steel that is then held in place by the aluminum finial. 

Referring to the "character" of the pen above, I feel like the clip is a key piece to that aesthetic.

The pen is finished off with a subtle makers mark, the "K" shield logo being engraved into the small aluminum end cap that wraps up the barrel. This is the first time that Karas has put their logo on a non-limited edition pen, and I think they did so with class.

Pricewise, the Decograph with a steel nib is said to be running around the $160 range which I feel is a fair ask when comparing to other pens of this kind. This being Karas' first attempt into the acrylic pen world, I feel they hit the mark pretty well.

These aren't available right this minute, but I've heard that they'll be releasing to the public this coming Friday the 15th. Keep tabs with Karas Pen Co as I'm sure they'll be making some announcements. 

Thanks again to Karas Pen Co for providing the Decograph for review!

Kaweco Elite Fountain Pen (with optional 14k nib)

One thing that Kaweco does well is holding true to their heritage and roots. There seem to be a lot of your “classic style” fountain pen brands that have been around for 100 years (thinking Shaeffer, Parker, Waterman), but none seem to be quite as quirky (in an endearing way) as Kaweco.

At this point, I’ve lost count of how many Kaweco products I’ve reviewed here on the blog, but they always intrigue me. 

One such pen I’ve been wanting to try and review is one of the Kaweco Elite series fountain pen, especially with one of Kaweco’s 14k, size 250 two-tone nibs. Kaweco was kind enough to send this my way on loan for review.

Similar in size to one of Kaweco’s other larger, nicer fountain pens, the Dia, the Elite is a full sized pen, but not too big, and extremely comfortable.

While I feel the Dia has some definite Kaweco styling it tends to fit in with the crowd, but the Elite embraces the uniqueness of the brand which is another reason why I was anxious to check it out.

This pen is one of the higher-end, luxury models in the lineup, but the overall aesthetic of the Elite is a bit difficult to describe. It has a bit of flash and glitz with its polished chrome cap and piano black acrylic barrel, but then blends it with a octagonal barrel to break up the cylindrical shape, and then finished the end of the pen off with some ridges (likely paying tribute to previous models where this may have actually worked as a piston filler).

Each end of the pen is garnished with an inlaid, chrome Kaweco logo finial.

I am extremely fond of this design. It isn’t over the top in any way, but is definitely not boring. Elegant, but not garish.

With the cap being chrome, and the barrel being a polished piano black, it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet. The price we pay for luxury... 

On a side note, I would love to see a line of pens from Kaweco that incorporate a piston mechanism again. Much of their vintage line were piston fillers, so it would certainly be possible!

They did release a limited (and very expensive) acrylic Sport model several years back, but there doesn’t seem to be anything on the horizon for piston fillers that we’ve seen.

The Elite is a standard cartridge/converter, but the catch is that a normal Schmidt converter doesn’t fit which is a bit of a shame, but understandable from a proprietary standpoint as Kaweco sells their own, thinner converter systems. The pen comes with some Kaweco standard international short cartridges, but I opted to put in a international long.

I don’t currently own any of Kaweco’s other converters, so I’m not certain the feel and quality of theirs when compared to those by Schmidt, but is something I should look into.

In contrast to the other pens (except the Supra) in their lineup which share a smaller nib, the Elite comes standard with a larger, size #6 steel nib, but I requested to review the pen alongside their 14k two-tone version.

This 14k nib is a medium which has been a relatively wet writer, but has been so enjoyable. I haven't experienced any hard stops and it has a nice blend of a mostly glassy, but with some occasional feedback. The medium is definitely a European medium with a relatively wide line.

I filled it with a Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine long cartridge and have been writing on a Leuchtturm1917 A5 softcover notebook (although a Rhodia Ice pad shown here), one of my favorites for fountain pen writing.

The cap can post during writing, but I've found it extends the pen too much and is uncomfortably top heavy.

From a price point, the Elite fountain pens with a steel nib can be found online ranging from $130-150 on average, but to add the 14k nib it jumps to more than twice that much and depends on whether the retailer you work with has the larger nibs available. The Kaweco 14k nibs, even for the smaller sizes, tend to be a little steep in price in comparison to others like Pelikan and Lamy (again, depending on the retailer), but we're talking a difference of $30-40 usually for a comparable replacement.

I don't consider the pen with a gold nib to be over or underpriced really when compared to pens like the Pelikan M405, just sans the piston filler.

For example, before shipping if you lived in the US to buy the Elite with the added 14k nib from Most Wanted Pens, the final price would be close to $300 at the moment.

Anyhow, enough about price analysis... Overall, I really enjoy the Elite and this one may not be heading back to Kaweco...

Special thanks again to Kaweco for sending the Elite my way on loan for review! What are your thoughts on the Elite?.