Design for custom pen pouch (with clip)

[Anton Emdin]

A little background: I like to carry pens in my front jeans' pocket. Usually I carry a modern Waterman's stainless steel, which is tough enough to take the amount of wear. But my collection has now grown, and I have a lot of nice vintage pens that I wouldn't want to subject to that sort of abuse, so they end up staying at home. Also, some twist caps end up unscrewed and stain the pocket.

 

I do have a normal, run of the mill pen leather pen case, but it feels bulky and is unsecured in my pocket. After searching everywhere for a pen case/pouch/holster with a pocket clip, I have come up fruitless. I've looked around at other items; mini maglite holsters, Blackberry pouches, but non are quite right.

 

Here is a quick sketch of what I have in mind:

 

 

I imagine it would be made from leather, but I guess any material is fine, as long as it is sturdy enough to shield the pen from stress or damage. The measurements are just a guide, too... I realise that sometimes things need to be adjusted to work in the real world.

 

Sooo.... do you know of anything like this out there? If not, anyone want to offer a quote for getting something like this made up? Or is there a good place to buy accessories to modify a regular pen pouch?

 

Any comments or advice would be appreciated appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Anton

 

 

 

 

 

[zwack]

Sooo.... do you know of anything like this out there? If not, anyone want to offer a quote for getting something like this made up? Or is there a good place to buy accessories to modify a regular pen pouch?

 

Any comments or advice would be appreciated appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Anton

 

Greetings, as an amateur leather worker who likes to do all of his stitching by hand, I think design B would be easier to make. Design A isn't impossible, it's just a little more work... If it's made from veg tanned leather then design B can be moulded easily to fit a stylised pen shape. Use a piece of Dowel of an appropriate diameter to wet mould it, and it will have a rough tube in it. Would you want the pouch lined? If so, what with, Lining leather, cloth, "ultra suede"?

 

Costs for parts are going to be minimal (a small steel clip is $3 or less retail, leather is $1 - $15 per square foot depending on animal, treatment and thickness). Work is what is going to increase your costs...

 

Personally I would consider making it out of either deer skin or elk skin because they are very soft, but strong and unlined. Or make it out of 4 - 6 oz leather and have it lined with cloth. If it's cloth lined the moulding should be done before the lining is added.

 

I am not offering to make it for you, however if you go to Etsy and look in their Alchemy section you can advertise for someone to make this for you. he more information that you can provide (like the design) the more likely someone will offer to make it.

 

I hope that this helps,

 

Z.

[Anton Emdin]

Thanks for that info, Z., there's some really good stuff there. I appreciate it.

 

I think lined would be good. I'm not really sure what lining is best. I guess something gentle on the pens.

 

I didn't know about Etsy - cool site. If I have no luck here I will definitely post a request there. I see that it asks for an 'ideal price'. I don't want to offend anybody, nor be overcharged. How much should I expect to pay for such an item?

 

 

[ZebraPenguin]

After a quick search on Etsy's listed items, I'd estimate USD$30 as relatively cheap, and USD$45-$60 as mid-range for a custom product. (Factoring the usual equation of Good/Fast/Cheap: Pick Two).

 

Note: I am no leather worker! The search terms were permutations of 'leather case', 'pen case', 'leather bag' and so on, judging based on thumbnail photos and occasional product page details. I did not search the alchemy section.

 

I'd love to know how this project goes!

 

Alternative option for a kitbasher personality:

Oddly enough, your design looks remarkably like an Inside-Waist-Band (IWB) magazine pouch for semi-automatic pistols. Modding an existing IWB mag holder might be an interesting way to go depending on how much you enjoy kitbashing.

 

I'm not very up-to-date on Australia's restrictions/regulations on firearm accessories, so I'm not sure if you'd have trouble procuring the IWB mag pouch in the first place... it would be an accessory for a Category H; I don't want to bring down bad juju with the suggestion.

 

If the average length of your pens = roughly 5.5 inches (14 cm), then a magazine pouch for a single-stack full size should be sufficient. Depending on retention, a divider could be added to fit two pens. I'm using a standard 7-round M1911 magazine as my reference model.

 

Not sure how much you would save on money unless you found the IWB pouch second hand (estimating USD$25-$30 for the pouch, plus $5 float for added materials depending on the base model).

[pen2paper]

suggestion, since this is by design a pocket holder..have the lining be a material that will wick away moisture, rather than draw it to the pen. Just assuming that Sydney may have high humidity at certain times of the year.

[Anton Emdin]

Good observation, pen2paper! Yep, in the summer months the humidity is quite extreme. Is there such a material?

 

And thanks, ZebraPenguin, that's a definite possibility, too. We do have military/gun supply shops here. I might do best to actually go in to one and have a look. I've found that with some of these items (I've tried mobile/cell phone pouches) the leather or material can be too thick for the pen clips.

 

Although getting a custom pouch is very tempting, I'm thinking the cheapest way would be to cut and sew a regular single pen pouch and add a clip.

[zwack]

I guess I should have noted that the prices I quoted are US $. As I stated materials, excluding lining will come to less than US $10. Assuming hand stitching and a rate of US $25 per hour. I would think that US $35 would be a reasonable starting price, US $70 would be an absolute maximum for a plain holder. As for lining, I would either leave it natural, or have it lined in (soft) cotton. I suspect that you have to worry more about water penetrating through the leather in than from the pen out, and a simple coating on the outside of the leather should reduce that.

 

I hope that this helps,

Z.

[Kelvandor]

 

Sooo.... do you know of anything like this out there? If not, anyone want to offer a quote for getting something like this made up? Or is there a good place to buy accessories to modify a regular pen pouch?

 

Any comments or advice would be appreciated appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Anton

 

 

I found this thread while looking for another, and it tickled my interest. After taking a shot at a custom leather pen case last year, this one would be much easier to put together.

 

A personal observation, though:

 

Where you have the case sitting in a jeans pocket doesn't appear to be the greatest place, at least for me. I carry a clip-style pocketknife in my jeans pocket where you have your pen case sitting in the pictures. At 2 3/4" long, my knife is about as long as I would want anything sitting in the corner of that pocket. Anything longer (for me) tends to want to get pushed out of my pocket when I sit down. Where I bend is right where that pocket is, and anything I put in it (especally long things) get pushed out the top, poke me in the hip, or get bent in half when I sit.

 

If that's not an issue, then I would go with zwack's suggestion; design 'B' and wet-mould it around a dowel of the right size. 3-5 oz veg-tanned works great for that, and it will actually stiffen up some after its dried from the moulding. Plus, it can then be dyed just about any color you want.

 

 

hrm...looks like I have another experiment to put up on the bench...

 

 

-Kel

[Anton Emdin]

Yeah, you're probably right about the placement. After breaking the clip of a decent pen, I've just started carrying a plastic drawing pen there and leaving the FP's at home. A single pen is thin, and moves around a little, which is good. A larger pen case, however, would definitely pose more of a problem. You've definitely got a point there.

 

Love to see what you come up with if you have a go at it! Please post pics if you do.

[WillAdams]

I'd be leery of carrying a pen there, since I had a Fisher pocket Space pen come disassembled in my pocket, resulting in my breaking the refill when I sat down.

 

William