My favorite pen cases are those made by Nock Co. Today, Nock announced, via their blog, price increases on three products:
We have hit that inevitible time in Nock's growth where material and manufacturing costs have risen and a few price changes are needed. Effective June 1st, the below cases will be priced as follows:
- Lookout $25.00
- Brasstown $40.00
- Sinclair $40.00
While the Brasstown is out of stock until late June, you can still pick up a Lookout and Sinclair for $5 less than the new pricing that takes effect next month.
Even with their new prices, I highly recommend all three of these cases. They are more than worth the price. Nock cases are well built, made in the USA, and feature ingenious designs and thoughtful detail. I carry several Nock cases every day. My favorite, at the moment, is the Lookout, but the Brasstown may be the most versatile of all the Nock cases.
Nock also announced that they will temporarily limit the number of colorways offered to Midnight/Foliage, Steel/Blue Jay (my favorite), and Barn Red/Navy. Additionally, Nock will phase out the original Chimneytop pen cases in favor of the slightly larger Chimneytop XL cases. Nock redesigned the Chimneytop XL case to better accomodate longer woodcase pencils. I use my larger Chimneytop XL case to hold an entire set of 24 Prismacolor Premier colored pencils along with a T'Gaal multisharpener and a Prismacolor plastic eraser and colorless blender pencil.
Given how frequent many Nock cases seem to be sold out, and considering how much handwork goes into each case, this price increase is long overdue and perhaps even a little too low. Maintaining long-term sustainability as a business sometimes requires difficult decisions. Thus, it's nice to see Nock recognize a bit more value in their products.