Kutsuwa Edwin Folding Pencil Case Review with LOTS of pictures

The pencil case can be found here:
http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/159_633/products_id/3933


This is a good pencil case but it has one major caveat. The larger pocket is nice and huge which is great - you can store about 30 pens/pencls in there. The problem is when you store 'thicker' items in the folding area as shown in the pictures below. When you store 'thin' items, you can close this pencil case properly. But when you try to store thick items (small post it notes stack, a thicker (pentel) eraser, etc, the case becomes a little difficult to close. When you have it closed, and put the velcro straps on, the top of the case stays open a little and the 'larger' items which you stores in the middle are exposed and can slide out.

I now store only small items in the folding area. I store small post-it note tabs, a smaller post-it note stack, my mono one eraser, refills for the eraser, a larger eraser, a case of pencil lead and a thin correction tool/pen. When I close the case with these items in it, you still have to sort of press it closed but it does close much easier than if I had placed larger items into it.

now - there is a small zippered pocket which is on the flap which rests against your table/desk when you open the pencil case. I store my MOST frequently used pens and pencils in here. All other items which I use less frequently go into the larger pocket. This way, i can have what I need to use often quicker than if I had it in the larger pocket. I would have to search through 30 pens/pencils in the larger pocket as opposed to simply opening the smaller pocket and seeing only 5 pens/pencils in there. This works out nicely.

For a pencil case, i rate it a 10 out of 10 because it's HUGE. you can fit 30 pens in the large pocket and between 5-8 pens in the smaller pocket. that's a lot of space!

For an accessory holder, i rate it a 4/10 simply due to the 'size' limitations on what you can put in there. I personally needed a place to put a lot of pens so I like this case. But someone that may want to use it for a lot of accessories may run into some problems like I did.

Also notice, in the pictures of the item on the website, none of them show the case closed WITH all of the display items in it. I think if you tried to close it, you'd run into the problem I had above.



Now what you've been waiting for - the pictures:


Pencil case with all pens taken out of main (large) pocket




Pencil case with all pens inside. I have 25 pens in here and there is room for 5 more easily - without squeezing it. Just keep in mind that my pens/pencils are of 'normal' or 'typical' width and not thick like quarters.



My glorious pen/pencil collection which i store inside this pencil case




Closed pencil case. The blue thing on the bottom is a 6" plastic ruler i keep there.




Pencil case with all contents of the inner pockets removed. Notice how thin they are - aside from the eraser which is a little thick.




Pencil case open with THIN contents packed up.




Aerial view (LOL) of the closed pencil case. Notice how exposed the contents are.

Looks like that pencil case could have benefited from a couple of velcro straps across the top instead.

Very informative review, love all the pictures!

Great photos! :D

The picture of your pens lined up makes me want to grab some and start testing. What is that little short pen kinda to the left of center?

Maksikka -excellent point about the velcro straps up top. That would have been perfect. Even a flap at the top would have been nice. That way, the middle section could hold larger items and it would be no problem if it 'bulged' out a little...

piper - the little pen is some cheapie staples pen. they have it in 12 packs for like $5 or something. It's staples brand. It's in my collection for no other reason than it's height. LOL. It's a gel pen because it says it on the side, right along with 'Staples.' here it is: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p1_Staples-MINI-Gel-Stick-Pens-Medium-Black-Dozen_152721_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH

*most* of the other pens are the ones I got last week - it was my 1st jetpens order. Now that I have narrowed down my favorite pens (jetstream and uniball um-100s), I will be placing a second order shortly.

There is a chrome cross pen in the picture that I found in my 10th grade english class. so i've had it now for about 13 years and it's still on the same/original refill as when i found it =]

Excellent review and the photos are really worth a thousand words! You might look into sewing some Velcro across the middle top or even sewing on a snap to keep those items safe. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, nice case and great review!

Thanks for the review, that sucker looks like it holds a lot and still keeps everything organized, pretty neat!

JetPens just got this pencil case

http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/products_id/4415

I feel this would be a far better case than the one I reviewed above. So if anyone is in the market, get the Nomadic pencil case.

fwiw.

Yep, just bought this case (the Edwin) and already considering replacing it with that Nomadic. I LOVE the case, and this is a great review, but I personally don't find it to be huge. It's slightly small for my taste, and the only reason I'd trade it for the Nomadic is because the Nomadic looks slightly bigger. I've got my Edwin packed with everything I need when sketching away from the studio, and while it all fits, its bulky, and there's no room for anything new that I'll end up buying the next time I check JetPens new arrivals. :?

Well, I caved and ordered the Nomadic PE-09, even though I had just purchased the Edwin 3 weeks prior. I have to say, I'm kind of sad to remove the Edwin from my arsenal because it's just so freakin' nice to look at, and the material is top-notch. But it's just slightly too tiny for my needs. The Nomadic arrived a few days ago, and I really love it so far. The material is nylon, of course, so I was (and am) a bit skeptical as to its long-term durability, but for now, this is the case for me (at least until the next JetPens shipment). The clencher is that there's more room in the Nomadic, and the small pockets remain useful even when the case is full (the Edwin has a bunch of little pockets that look great in the photos, but they become utterly useless once you fill the main compartments with pens, because the case gets too bulky to fit anything in them). So I second sh00k's advice; if you're in the market, go with the Nomadic over the Edwin.

Though, if you really have to have an Edwin, I might consider selling mine... maybe (it might be hard to part with) :)

Toon,

That's funny - I now also have both this pencil case and the nomadic PE-09. I keep the Kutsuwa in my desk drawer as storage for pens that I don't use that often while my nomadic PE-09 comes to class with me holding all the pens (about 15-20) that I use most frequently.

I agree, the Kutsuwa case really looks great and the build quality makes the pencil case really durable. The nomadic is a good size - large, light and portable. I am going to be carrying this pencil case around daily (started about a week ago) so I can come back with a review in like 6 months time.

i love the outer pocket of the PE-09. I keep like my 5-7 most commonly used pens in there while the others are in the larger compartment. it's very convenient especially since the current bag that i use for my school books/binders SUCKS and has horrible storage space...

A couple weeks in and this Nomadic case just grows and grows on me... I almost wish I had several of them, they're just that great.

^ LOL. I agree. My bag that i take to class really sucks for storage and this pencil case is a perfect fit in my bag. i dont even have to take the case out to get to my pens and pencils.

now you got me thinking about buying another one.... LOL.