Making A Pen Case

[my63]

it seems like some time since I made a single pen case.

I have altered the shape of the front of this form this is the first case from this form.

 

IMG_9575 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I shaped a piece of kydex to the form by heating an pushing it into place the next step was to soak a piece of veg tan leather and shape it to the form over the top of the kydex

 

IMG_9574 by my0771, on Flickr

 

To get the correct shape for the back section I used the previous case as a template

 

IMG_9578 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cut the shape of the end using a coin as a template and a very sharp knife

 

IMG_9581 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Once all of the components are cut and shaped it is time to add the dye which in this case was blue

 

IMG_9583 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After the dye comes the suede interior and then the whole thing is glued and stitched together for this case it took 4 1/2 hours to sew but I am very slow

 

IMG_9585 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This blue is very light so I may add a few more coats to darken it a little

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[stonezebra]

I like the blue as is - very cheery, not your typical blue. I was kind of hoping the interior suede would be that bright golden yellow color you used awhile back... can you tell I like color?

[JKelly]

Do you line all the inner surfaces, or just the flap? If you line the interior, do you shape the liner as you did the body before you glue it into place?

[my63]

Hi stonezebra

The blue colour is actually turquoise dye, I found this shade when I accidentally applied too much dye to another project and liked the result so I keep adding dye until it looks to dark then when it dries I get the vivid blue,

I must admit I prefer the brighter interiors but I was asked for a blue case with blue thread and a blue interior so blue it is.

 

JKelly

Sorry I did not photograph that part, everything is lined in suede once all the pieces are cut and dyed ready for assembly.

I lay the suede onto the form and apply glue I then apply the kydex ontop of the suede and fold the suede over the open end and apply more glue to the kydex. Placing the front piece ontop of that.

The next step is to glue the suede and kydex strip to the back panel then sew around the edges and trim off the excess leather and finish the edges and finally give it a polish.

I will make sure there are pictures of the lining on the next case.

[my63]

Here is the finished case all polished up and ready to go

 

IMG_9598 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

The next custom pen case is for three pens why is it custom well the pens are 8 inches long.

 

The starting point was three pieces of Kydex 60 mm wide and 210 mm long I used a 17 mm dowel as a form and rolled the heated kydex around it.

 

Once I had three tubes I fastened them together with tape and soaked the front piece of 5mm thick veg tanned leather in cold water.

 

IMG_9603 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_9600 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Using a little gentle persuasion I formed the leather over the kydex tubes

 

More progress soon

[my63]

it has taken me a little longer to update as I was unsure about the thickness of the leather and agonised over its suitability.

 

So now that we have an outside leather shell the next step is to sort the interior components this will be three individual tubes which will be wrapped in leather and then fixed together.

 

IMG_9643_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The tubes have been rolled and glued together after sanding to roughen them rather than smoothing for the glue

 

IMG_9645_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cut a piece of yellow Nappa leather to the outside diameter of each tube as they are all slightly different

 

IMG_9649_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have been trying different ways to wrap inside and outside tubes I have wasted many pieces of leather trying to get to a point where I am happy.

This is my best method yet which I found by accident I now glue the outside piece first then push the inside piece through and pull it over the outside at the bottom

 

IMG_9655_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have quickly taken another picture the leather has been glued to the top outside of the tube in the past I have always glued the inside part but if the top and bottom are glued then the inside has no where to go.

I hope this makes sense.

I have been told in the past not to show how I make things as people may copy them rather than buying my work well if anyone wants to make there own version of any of my work please feel free
If you do want to have a go and have a question then I will be happy to answer it and help in any way that I can.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I have dyed the outer pieces for the three pen case the closure method is going to be by a thong wrapped around I am not sure if it should be attached to the flap or to the base.

 

IMG_9659_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I am approaching the end of another project this is a three pen case for pens that are 8 inches long

 

IMG_9666_1 by my0771, on Flickrk

 

IMG_9668_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have had an enquiry about a two pen case so that may be next.

[my63]

Getting the stitching right is very difficult but if it was perfect then it would not be hand made.

Now the edges have been dyed I think it looks better, most edges tend to be black but I like them the colour of the body

 

IMG_9690_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am thinking I may just use wax to seal the edges as edge kote will make them very shinny I don't mind shinny but it sometimes looks like plastic.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

The three pen case is designed to hold three special Japanese pens the owner also has a Nakaya pen so I have made a special case for it.

 

In fact I was not happy with the first one so I made another

 

IMG_9708_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_9709_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Just a few finishing touches required now

[my63]

I was asked if I could make a pen case to hold around 20 pens all of which would be inked, the other requirements were brightly coloured leather and space for brushes and other little items.

Here is what we have come up with, I have an old leather mini Gladstone type case unfortunately the leather is no longer supple enough so it will become the donor for this project.

 

Small gladstone bag by my0771, on Flickr

 

This is the model with one side fitted out for pens there will be two other sides for pens and a fourth for accessories

 

IMG_9744_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am going to use book binders grey board to make the interior sections this will be wrapped in leather with pen slots in it, there will be no need for reinforcement in this case

 

IMG_9832_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I will let you know the chosen colours as soon as they are chosen

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I think I can safely share one of the colours for this case with you the outside of the case will be piped in pink I have used suede as a spacer on another project but have neither made piping or used it before.

So I have made a sample piece just to see how it will work, I have cut out sections to allow it to turn 90 degrees

 

IMG_9840_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Making pieces long enough might be another challenge it has a 2 mm leather thong inside to give

it the round shape, I think a jig might be required to make the longer lengths.

[my63]

As well as bags and briefcases I still make single pen cases and multiple pen cases when asked so today I am starting two projects a pair of three pen cases and a combined single pen case with a spectacle case.

 

The three pen cases need to match so I have started with a measuring stick

 

IMG_0011_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

From that came this

 

IMG_0013_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is create the case in leather

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread I have encountered some issues with this project hopefully I have overcome most of them.

This project is for a pair of three pen cases with some particular requirements

 

IMG_9994_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

These are the pen clip holders there will be three on each case they will be made in a contrasting colour

 

IMG_0023_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_0027_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step was to make a wooden form and the I started with the lining leather on the form then I moulded some kydex around the form finally adding the upper leather

 

IMG_0028_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step was to dye the leather black and cut the slots for the pen clips

 

IMG_0088_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Sometimes things just don't work and I am afraid these cases do not work for me.
If you look at the picture above the slots for the pen clips are wrong the centre is ok but the other two are wrong they should have been centre of the space from the edge of the centre not where the actually are it is only 3mm out but it is out.

I sewed a case front to see what it would look like

 

IMG_0121_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The issues that came to light as well as the terrible sewing was the orange leather even though it was folded double it was not strong enough to take pen clips so it will need support.

Attaching the dividers was also very difficult.

 

To resolve these issues I have started again I have altered the position of the slots so they will look correct, the dividers will not come right to the top

 

IMG_0129_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This view is from the inside back so once the back has been fitted this will be impossible to see even though it has been padded and lined in leather there is also no stitching or anything else that may scratch a pen. I will glue little cushions in to the bottom before I fit the back. The slots are individual and made from kydex.

 

So although I have wasted the best part of a week I am sure I am on the right track now

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

In the post above I showed the orange thread I was thinking of using on this project but I wonder if it is too much.

 

As many of you will know already I could not carry a colour in a bucket

 

So if anyone would like to assist us the question is orange or black thread?

 

Thanks

 

Michael

[stonezebra]

Tempting as the orange may be, I vote for the black. I think that would allow the orange "highlight" to standout more.

[my63]

Tempting as the orange may be, I vote for the black. I think that would allow the orange "highlight" to standout more.

Thanks for taking the time to respond I think you are correct black may well be best.

 

As you can see from the pictures above moulding leather leaves crinkles in the edges this is because the leather is moulded when wet and it stretches to the new shape.

As the leather dries out it maintains the shape, the design of these cases calls for flat sides without a welt (the turned out part with the stitching) this means the sides need to be perfect,

In order to get the flat sides I realised that my mould was too small so I have made a new mould.

 

IMG_0138_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_0139_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

In this mould the leather is compressed and stretched at the same time when wet and left in the mould until dry as you can see from the slots the leather has stretched so I will wait until it has dried before I cut the slots next time.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael