Making A Pen Case

[mhguda]

Yes that does seem to be about the size I'm looking for. I do not quite understand what you mean by 70/30 split. Do you mean that the bottom part will be shorter? I'd think the bottom part would be just as long as it is in your prototype, but the top is longer so it covers more of the bottom part. That also means that as the pen inside is longer the whole case becomes longer. I hope that is clear. And I'm not so sure that 13mm is thin! thin would be 10mm or less, such as for instance my Parker 45.

Lastly, I think the color as it is, with darkening in time, will be perfect to my eye. It would mean that as it ages it would become more beautiful. I would like that very much.

[my63]

Ok Parker 45 I can work with here is mine with the measurement I need 14.5 mm is the outside diameter of this pen I would normally allow 2 mm clearance so the inside diameter of the case would be 16.5 mm. My 45 is 134 mm long 150mm is the length of the prototype and would give you the greatest range of pen sizes.

 

IMG_1460 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Yes the top will cover more of the bottom part than the prototype I think 2/3 will give you the look you want.

 

I don't normally make things in unfinished leather it is impossible to get an even colour across the item but I think that is the look you want.

[mhguda]

I don't have calipers so my measurement is not so accurate, and compared to yours at the clip I think my estimate is off by 2mm. The pen I am thinking about has no clip, but it is wider than the Parker with its clip. It is also longer than the parker, at least a centimeter. That would not bother me because the design allows for a range of lengths. If the case is not wide enough for this pen there are others I would be happy to have in there, so if 16.5mm is what the case inner diameter is I think it will work for me. And yes I want the look of the unfinished leather. It is very handsome.

[my63]

Watch this space

[my63]

I offered a pen case as prize in the Fountain Pen Day raffle well a winner has been selected and we have discussed the colour choices available.
But before we get to that we need to do this bit.
A piece of kydex was heated and wrapped around a dowel the seam was then glued together and when fully cool I will start to apply the suede.

 

IMG_1480 by my0771, on Flickr

 

More to follow soon.

[my63]

I was going to wait until tomorrow for this part but I got a little carried away

 

IMG_1490 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The kydex is wrapped in purple suede and once dry it will be ready for its outer coat of veg tanned leather.

If anyone is wondering why the suede goes all of the way down the outside when only 5 mm will be seen it I ended the suede halfway down when I mould the outer leather it will show through as a step.

[my63]

One of the things I love about custom cases is that I don't have to make any decisions about colours.

I must apologise in advance for the quality of the pictures.

 

This is the Fountain Pen Day competition winners case the inside is a light purple and the outside is orange light colours are always difficult to dye as there is a point when you apply too many coats that the colour is lost. what I mean there is that orange will suddenly turn an interesting brown colour very quickly.

 

Here is the freshly dyed leather the lower piece is formed around the kydex tube which is wrapped in the purple suede

 

DSC_0475[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The still wet leather has been glued to the suede covered tube.

 

DSC_0480[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The lid section has been formed loosely around the lower section it cannot be fully formed until the main body has been senw and trimmed to size.

 

DSC_0482[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitching holes have been marked and are ready for sewing

 

DSC_0484[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The top and bottom sections sewn and finally left to dry over night

 

DSC_0496[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0499[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I am sure people are getting tired of seeing the same cases over and over again so here are the 5 I am finishing this weekend.

 

DSC_0507[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

These include the winners case above and two for a member here the yellow and navy blue. And two that have been sitting on my desk for some time.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[benji77]

I am sure people are getting tired of seeing the same cases over and over again so here are the 5 I am finishing this weekend.

 

DSC_0507[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

These include the winners case above and two for a member here the yellow and navy blue. And two that have been sitting on my desk for some time.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

 

These are super!

[my63]

For those who read this thread regularly I thought I would let you know I am going to put two cases in the classifieds this week.
They are both in the picture above.

 

Blue and yellow it will hold a pen 18 mm in diameter and 130 mm long This is a bright blue made by multiple coats of turquoise dye and has a bright yellow interior.

 

The red and yellow this case is a special one as it has yellow accents but also has yellow dye under the red dye on the outside it is designed to look worn I really like it and if my Danitrio fit in it I would keep it.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Here is another two pen case slightly different in design.

 

As usual I started with a kydex tube the inside is going to be wrapped in leather rather than suede it is about 0.5 mm thick and is very soft.

 

DSC_0526 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Both tubes are wrapped in the freshly dyed orange leather they now need to dry out over night

[my63]

The design of the two pen case has been refined and now requires a mould.

So mould production has begun.

 

DSC_0533[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As you can see I have marked out the required dimensions on some 9 mm ply wood (because it is what I had) I need just over 25 mm so I will laminate three pieces together.

 

DSC_0535[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0537[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

There that was easy 27 mm blank I just need to cut it out now I have added some screws for extra strength as there will be some pressure applied during the moulding process.

[my63]

That was the easy part the next stage is to cut out the two parts of the mould.

 

IMG_1504 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After cutting out the blank from the centre I have to remove more material to give a clearance all around of about 3 mm I am about half way the curved pieces are done leaving the straight edges.

I will also round over the upper edges of the inner piece and the lower edges of the outer piece where it will come into contact with the leather I will also sand the inner part of the centre piece.

[my63]

I shared this on Instagram today and thought it might be of interest it is not a pen case but I don't want to bore people with another thread so here it is.

 

My children are both in college now and are looking for a way to store revision information on index cards. This is what I came up with it is based on the Arc system this is my first prototype the final version will be wrapped in leather.

 

DSC_1524[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

After lots of sanding it is time for a test pressing this is a slightly lighter weight leather than I intend to use for this case but it will show any high points on the mould.

 

IMG_1527 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I hope to make the real case tomorrow all being well

[my63]

I have removed the top section of the press to check for scratches or other marks in the leather I am pleased to say that everything looks fine what I thought was a mark on the front face turned out to be dust

 

DSC_1532[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1529[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to make the real thing.

Edited November 27, 2015 by my63

[my63]

I was very happy with the test pressing and have now moved on to the real case.

 

DSC_1542[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1540[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I sanded most of the red dye that had transferred from the test off the mould before I began this process.

 

There are a number of ways to make the inside either with tubes or arches of kydex wrapped in leather or suede. There is also an idea in my mind for a kydex strengthened outer case with a soft inner. lots to think about

[my63]

I prefer to dye my cases when wet but don't like to re wet them once they are dry so as soon as the colour began to return to normal I removed the mould and was pleased to see no damage to the surface.

Before the leather could dry out I started applying the navy blue dye to both pieces here you can see the main body I may add more dye to darken the colour.

 

DSC_1562[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

In the second picture you can see the current favourite for the interior the final version will end 15 to 20 mm from the edge of the case to allow finger access to remove pens.

 

DSC_1567[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am also considering a strip of leather along the back of the pen slots to allow smaller pens to be clipped in place more on that later

[benji77]

Yum Yum!

[my63]

Here is the interior complete with its orange leather wrap

 

DSC_1571[1] by my0771, on Flickr