I had 100% the same experience. The leather was extremely dry and creased. Was so disappointed. Thought, the issue was the flight / transport during winter from US to Europe. Thought of sending it back, but chose to try several layers of leather balm. Even warmed it up 😂. Now I like it a lot - and - we even have some of the same pens and stuff within it! Love this color series of the Mildliners. (tweezers, ruler, pencil, white Gelly roll, eraser, eraser for my black Pilot Frixion)
It does make me wonder what is going on with this particular item. I don't hear about overly dry leather when people talk about any of the other Superior Labor products. Why this one? And while we were clearly comfortable conditioning the leather on our pouches, clearly not everyone would be, so you would think there would be chatter about it on the internet if this is common. Did we just get the only two pouches with bad leather? So strange! 🤷♀ In any case, thank you for watching. I love those particular mild liners - such pretty shades. 😍If you like those tones, you should definitely check out the Uni-ball Night Cafe gel pens I pack in mine, too. My white Gelly Roll lives in my sliiiiiightly longer pouch which holds my Apple pencil and a couple Tombows...just for color reasons. LOL
@@snarkywordsworth I have to mention, I‘m not an expert regarding leather. But it seems we both have the natural color. Would be interesting, if this happened with other colors as well - maybe the dye prevents this - and/or the natural material is more sensitive to extreme weather conditions somewhere in the chain (hot/cold). However, after the balm treatment I would not give it away!!! I‘m glad you mentioned it - thought it was only my experience. 🤗
Hi, thank you for this video. I also have a love-hate relationship with TSL pen cases. They're different and I kind of like them, but have problems with every single one of them. For example, with the Zip Pen Case the pens on both sides touch each other and damage each other. With the vertical in tan leather the zipper is white and gets dirty in an unpleasant way over time. And with this Tool Holder the brass button darkens and has made a black spot on the leather on the cover and around itself. The design is ok, although it's not clear from the videos how wide it is (I was shocked). I also have the pen roll, but for the wonderful piece of leather, for fountain pens it gives not enough protection and it is so bulky when filled. I still haven't found my perfect pen case... Lovely greetings!
Thanknyou for watching, and it's somewhat comforting and disappointing to hear that there are others havingbissues with The Superior Labor. What's fascinating to me, though, is that the issues never seem to be with the craftsmanship. The people actually putting the products tofether are phenomenal. The issues lie in things like the design. 🤷♀️ So odd. If you are looking for something simple to just hold fountain pens in a classic way, I really like the basic cases from lepusleather over on Etsy. My very first video was a review for the 4-pen case. The maker is very accommodating, and even made the inner leather loops a bit larger so I could fit my larger pens in it.
@@snarkywordsworth Hi, thanks for your reply. Funny enough, I actually ordered there already in 2021, in mahogany. I love it, but I didn't think about it at the time and I don't have any dividers inside, it's just a pen case, the fountain pens in it are loose. Maybe I can order only a divider, although the color you ordered really appealed to me. Enjoy the day!
Might not be the smartest choice to make from an economic perspective but it’s very admirable because if you had exchanged it they probably would have trashed the one you rehabilitated which is pretty sad. So well done!
I had the light brown (not the tan that you have) and yeah it is wrinkly. I may take up on your idea on using some leather conditioner. any tips or hints to noobies on how to condition it properly?
I just got mine and found it to be extremely wrinkled and dry. Not at all like the photo in the website! Thanks for this video, I will try to condition it with a leather conditioner. Any tips for doing that?
If you don't want to have to condition your new pouch, you could try reaching out to the retailer for a return or exchange. I've been rehabbing leather goods for a long time, which is one of the big reasons I decided to just try my luck at fixing mine. If you do decide to condition it yourself, use a good quality leather conditioner. I prefer Blackrock Leather'N'Rich, but I've also used Renapur with good results. Plus, be patient. A lot of times you'll need to condition multiple times. Wait for the conditioner to soak in a bit before wiping the excess and reapplying if the leather is really dry.
Thanks for sharing. I have had my tool case for over a year. I still haven't "bonded" with it. I'll persevere thanks to your review. One question: Did you inform the seller of the condition you received it in? I'm just curious. Greeting from Germany, Kendra
Thank you so much for watching! I did not inform the seller, especially after I decided to try and rehab the leather myself. I really have no doubt that the seller would have been very quick to accept my return and request to exchange it, though - the ship is always very responsive and pretty reputable. Do you know what's keeping you from really loving your case? Is it the size? The design itself?
I had 100% the same experience. The leather was extremely dry and creased. Was so disappointed. Thought, the issue was the flight / transport during winter from US to Europe. Thought of sending it back, but chose to try several layers of leather balm. Even warmed it up 😂. Now I like it a lot - and - we even have some of the same pens and stuff within it! Love this color series of the Mildliners. (tweezers, ruler, pencil, white Gelly roll, eraser, eraser for my black Pilot Frixion)
It does make me wonder what is going on with this particular item. I don't hear about overly dry leather when people talk about any of the other Superior Labor products. Why this one? And while we were clearly comfortable conditioning the leather on our pouches, clearly not everyone would be, so you would think there would be chatter about it on the internet if this is common. Did we just get the only two pouches with bad leather? So strange! 🤷♀ In any case, thank you for watching. I love those particular mild liners - such pretty shades. 😍If you like those tones, you should definitely check out the Uni-ball Night Cafe gel pens I pack in mine, too. My white Gelly Roll lives in my sliiiiiightly longer pouch which holds my Apple pencil and a couple Tombows...just for color reasons. LOL
@@snarkywordsworth I have to mention, I‘m not an expert regarding leather. But it seems we both have the natural color. Would be interesting, if this happened with other colors as well - maybe the dye prevents this - and/or the natural material is more sensitive to extreme weather conditions somewhere in the chain (hot/cold). However, after the balm treatment I would not give it away!!! I‘m glad you mentioned it - thought it was only my experience. 🤗
@@SabineRiegler i have the light brown and i have the same issue
Hi, thank you for this video. I also have a love-hate relationship with TSL pen cases. They're different and I kind of like them, but have problems with every single one of them. For example, with the Zip Pen Case the pens on both sides touch each other and damage each other. With the vertical in tan leather the zipper is white and gets dirty in an unpleasant way over time. And with this Tool Holder the brass button darkens and has made a black spot on the leather on the cover and around itself. The design is ok, although it's not clear from the videos how wide it is (I was shocked). I also have the pen roll, but for the wonderful piece of leather, for fountain pens it gives not enough protection and it is so bulky when filled. I still haven't found my perfect pen case... Lovely greetings!
Thanknyou for watching, and it's somewhat comforting and disappointing to hear that there are others havingbissues with The Superior Labor. What's fascinating to me, though, is that the issues never seem to be with the craftsmanship. The people actually putting the products tofether are phenomenal. The issues lie in things like the design. 🤷♀️ So odd. If you are looking for something simple to just hold fountain pens in a classic way, I really like the basic cases from lepusleather over on Etsy. My very first video was a review for the 4-pen case. The maker is very accommodating, and even made the inner leather loops a bit larger so I could fit my larger pens in it.
@@snarkywordsworth Hi, thanks for your reply. Funny enough, I actually ordered there already in 2021, in mahogany. I love it, but I didn't think about it at the time and I don't have any dividers inside, it's just a pen case, the fountain pens in it are loose. Maybe I can order only a divider, although the color you ordered really appealed to me. Enjoy the day!
Might not be the smartest choice to make from an economic perspective but it’s very admirable because if you had exchanged it they probably would have trashed the one you rehabilitated which is pretty sad. So well done!
Thank you for watching!
I had the light brown (not the tan that you have) and yeah it is wrinkly. I may take up on your idea on using some leather conditioner. any tips or hints to noobies on how to condition it properly?
I just got mine and found it to be extremely wrinkled and dry. Not at all like the photo in the website! Thanks for this video, I will try to condition it with a leather conditioner. Any tips for doing that?
If you don't want to have to condition your new pouch, you could try reaching out to the retailer for a return or exchange. I've been rehabbing leather goods for a long time, which is one of the big reasons I decided to just try my luck at fixing mine. If you do decide to condition it yourself, use a good quality leather conditioner. I prefer Blackrock Leather'N'Rich, but I've also used Renapur with good results. Plus, be patient. A lot of times you'll need to condition multiple times. Wait for the conditioner to soak in a bit before wiping the excess and reapplying if the leather is really dry.
Thanks for sharing. I have had my tool case for over a year. I still haven't "bonded" with it. I'll persevere thanks to your review. One question: Did you inform the seller of the condition you received it in? I'm just curious. Greeting from Germany, Kendra
Thank you so much for watching! I did not inform the seller, especially after I decided to try and rehab the leather myself. I really have no doubt that the seller would have been very quick to accept my return and request to exchange it, though - the ship is always very responsive and pretty reputable. Do you know what's keeping you from really loving your case? Is it the size? The design itself?
@@snarkywordsworth I think it's the design. I'm not sold on the closing strap.