Making A Pen Case

[my63]

I was up early today and took the opportunity to dye some projects that have been sitting on my desk for some time as they were intended for my own use they just kept getting put to one side for other projects.

 

This is my three pen case here you can see the body and lid dyed black

 

IMG_9144_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here is the complete case with the yellow insert to position the lid

 

IMG_9147_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I thought I had a better picture of the inside there are three tubes inside wrapped in suede

 

IMG_9153_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_9156_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The stitching will be in yellow to match the three special pens it has been designed to hold.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[byggyns]

It looks good. I can't wait to see the finished product and what 3 special pens you are going to keep in it.

 

 

Also, a question:

 

What do you use for your final finish on the leather?

 

I've been tring out some different finishes lately and wondered what you prefer. The lastest one I tried was Resolene acrylic finish from Fiebings. That turned out pretty nicely.

Edited December 23, 2014 by byggyns

[my63]

Hi Byggyns

 

I am not sure when it will be finished so here is the picture I think you are waiting for

 

IMG_9174_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Finish wise I use Carnauba wax (fiebings) and mink oil I am not really a fan of a shinny finish unless it is my car , As I hand dye most of my leather I start applying the wax while the dye is still wet, It helps to balance out the dye and give an even colour by removing excess dye which stops it coming off on my hands.

I would like to see some of your work have you shared any pictures

 

Michael

[my63]

To everyone who has viewed and contributed to this and my other threads throughout 2014 I would like to say thank you and wish you all Merry Christmas.

I have some exciting ideas for pen cases which I will be starting soon

 

Thanks

 

Michael

[Tinjapan]

Merry Christmas, Michael.

[my63]

Thanks TinJapan I often wonder how your case is performing

[byggyns]

I would like to see some of your work have you shared any pictures

 

 

I haven't completed any pen / paraphernalia projects yet. The closest I've come so far is rebinding & replacing the cover on a Bible for one of my friends. Now that I have some more free time at the beginning of the year, I should have a chance to do some pen cases and notebook covers.

I have pictures of some of the knife sheaths & pistol holsters I've done, but they are only posted on facebook.

[my63]

I was reading a post about safely carrying a single pen daily on another thread where someone mentioned carrying a mobile phone around their neck and I started thinking about how I would solve this problem.

 

This is my first prototype I cut a slot in a piece of leather that I will use for the back of a case

 

IMG_9248 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cut a smaller piece of leather one end of which I shaped like a nib and fed the other end through the slot added a 'D' ring and glued it in place. I will sew through all three pieces later.

 

Thanks

 

Michael

[my63]

The next stage in this process is to dye the case the required colour as all of my dye has been stored for the holidays I had thought of leaving it natural but there was a blemish which would have been on the front I decided to dye it next week.

I found a used dauber on my desk which I thought was either black or dark brown it turned out it was purple never mind I soaked it in a small amount of water and applied as many coats as possible.

 

IMG_9254 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I forgot to take a picture before sewing the tab in place

 

IMG_9258 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here are the front and back pieces before they are joined together if you look at the first picture you can see the marks left by my finger nails it shows how easy it is to mark wet leather.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Edges dyed and polished

 

IMG_9289 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This case is large enough for a MB 149 size pen

 

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

One of my resolutions this year is to finish some of the projects that I have started

 

IMG_9303 by my0771, on Flickr

 

When I came up with the idea for this case I did not know enough about leatherwork to realise that it would be very difficult to sew together I had to cut a pair of needles in half to enable me to sew it.

 

IMG_9308 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Inside of the case there are three suede wrapped cylinders which hold the pens in place and stop them from rubbing against each other.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I read a post where someone was looking for a rigid pen case in a sleeve style without flaps or fasteners, rather than hijacking that thread with lots of pictures I thought I would post the construction here.

 

 

I lightly shaped two pieces of kydex to provide the rigidity I rounded the corners to prevent accidents when in the front pocket

 

 

IMG_9315 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

Inner suede and outer leather

 

 

IMG_9319 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

[my63]

Kydex pieces ready to insert into the front and rear pieces

 

 

IMG_9325 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

Ready for assembly

 

 

IMG_9327 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

Thanks for looking

 

 

Michael

 

[my63]

I am going to call tis one a failure I don't like the way it turned out. especially the closed end although it folded in ok.

 

IMG_9338 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This is the end I don't like

 

IMG_9334 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am happy enough with the open end I tried to make it slightly smaller to keep the pen inside the idea was to squeeze the two ends together to allow the removal of the pen

 

IMG_9336 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have a special box for this type of prototype after all they cant all be perfect.

 

Thanks

 

Michael

[Polyhistor]

Michael, I like that one! I've never worked with Kydex, so this might be a really stupid question: Can you use a single sheet and bend it into some kind of a U-shape in order to prevent the trouble with the bottom end? OTOH you could still insert an almond-shaped bottom piece of leather, which would mean more stitching, though ...

 

Your prototype box kinda reminds me of my "Drawer of Shame", full of Prototypes and early projects that weren't fully thought through.

[my63]

Hi Adam and thanks my issue with the bottom was with the stitching I marked a curve at the bottom and stitched around it unfortunately it was not even, It was always my intention to tuck the bottom out of sight so it would never be seen but I would always know it was there.

Please don't get me wrong I am not ashamed of it, It is just not up to my standard.

 

IMG_9315 by my0771, on Flickr

 

These are the pictures of the Kydex before it was sewn in to the leather and suede I heated it and put a slight curve into the Kydex if I had left it straight it would not have done its job and would have bent in the middle.

 

My next attempt is using thicker leather for the back which I will harden and see if that works.

[bogiesan]

Fabulous work and unique approaches. Thanks for letting us share your progress.

[my63]

Thanks for the complements,

I have had it in my mind to make another folding style multi pen case and yesterday I decided to form some leather

 

IMG_9341 by my0771, on Flickr

 

My original plan was to make a five pen case three on one side and two on the other I assumed I could form all five slots in one go clearly it was possible however once I had formed the section it seems a shame to cut it up so I am now considering leaving it and making a large 9 pen folding case / display stand.

In this style

IMG_7344_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Currently there are only two on in Australia and the other is in japan

 

IMG_7160_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Looking back I started this pair in January of 2014 and finished in May of that year, I did say that I would not make another but I might

 

Here is my second effort at the pocket pen case it was still wet when I took this picture

 

IMG_9354 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I plan on hardening the leather by drying it and then sealing it.

 

Thanks

 

Michael

Edited January 11, 2015 by my63

[my63]

I have started making a custom case for Oranges and Apples in the style of the one at the bottom of the picture above.

I cut out the leather and made a grove for the stitching front and back I then used a pricking iron to mark where each stitch will go.

After this I used an awl to make the holes for the stitches and glued the suede liner in place.

 

IMG_9368 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step was to sew the two pieces together.

 

IMG_9376 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I now need to soak the leather in cold water so I can form it to the correct shape to hold the pen once this is done I will apply black dye to the wet leather.

[my63]

The case is now finished the leather has been soaked in water to form it to the desired shape and dried slowly to allow the leather to harden I have sealed it with carnauba wax.

 

IMG_9398 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have thought about making a two pen version for smaller size pens and possibly an outer case for it to fit in to.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael