Making A Pen Case

[my63]

There are times when I start projects that take a long time to finish. This N A S A box is one of them it started as a leather carving project and changed into a veneering one.

Anyway the last time you saw it I had attached the veneer to the top of the box. The box was made with a top bottom and four sides and needed to be cut in half to give a lid and a base.

 

DSC_0980[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As some of you may know my hands do not work very well the Japanese saw shown above is one of the few saws I can use this saw cuts on the pull stroke rather than on the push stroke like a European saw.

It is quite a difficult task to cut the box in half as it is very easy to go off line and wreck the hole thing.

 

The cutting went well the next step is to veneer over the edges I buy cut veneer and add my own glue after applying glue I use a standard iron to apply heat which cures the glue.

 

DSC_0983[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As the glue was fully hardening I turned my attention to the inside of the box I printed off the initials I wanted to emboss in the lid twice. One set were rough cut and stuck a piece of suede which I then cut out in detail with a very sharp knife.

 

DSC_0970[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

This is how I used the second set of initials to give the location of the initials inside the lid of the box.

 

DSC_0993[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Embossing is very difficult to show in photographs but I have done the best I can.

 

DSC_1003[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here is the inside almost finished the red dots will not be staying I will swap them for black suede

 

DSC_1008[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1014[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

Edited September 21, 2016 by my63

[zaddick]

Imagine you wanted to buy a luxury car, but on a middle manager salary. You poke around online and maybe check a few dealer lots out. You are thinking you can maybe afford a new low end Mercedes e-class or maybe a loaded up Toyota Avalon and some gas money. Then you spot something that looks a little interesting. You get a few photos. The dealer seems legit, if not one of the "big names" everyone has heard of, so you give it a go and pick one off the lot based on a few photos and some hope. You wait about a bit for delivery, and a week later a transport truck pulls up an offloads a vintage Bentely with hand built coachwork and opulence to spare. Holy moly! How did one get so lucky as to be able to wrap their loved ones in luxury and a solidness that cannot be found in a modern pretender to the throne?

 

So that did not happen with a car, but a pen case (and that is why I am posting it here). I had seen one of Michael's pen cases on an MB thread and he mentioned he was thinking of listing it. I reached out but had no funds at the time. Michael, being a gentleman, gave me one final opportunity before offering the case to others. We were able to reach a deal that made me happy, and, I hope, kept him for strongly disliking me.

 

It was actually only Tuesday this week when I stumbled onto this thread, and I read the ENTIRE thing. Basically, any free moments in line, while eating lunch, while warming up baby bottles, while pretending to sleep - all working my way to this post and watching with amazement as the craft and generosity of Michael was laid out through time. Today my case arrived. It was already highlighted here in previous posts so I will not rehash the details.

 

I bought this case because I have some rather large Japanese pens that need a special and safe home for transport to the office. However, I wanted to get some pictures up so I had to use the pens I had on hand.

 

First, the case. Notice how you can't really get a grip on the scale of the case without much to guide you...

 

Here are two pens inside. They seem to me like a small child wearing his father's suit. Or like little animal eyes peering out of a log...

 

What are these small pens I was using at work today? Turns out, not so small - a Pelikan M1000 and an Omas 360. But, look how small they appear when laid on top of the case. This is a mansion ready for giants.

 

More photos to come with pens that are more likely to live their life in the case.

 

In the mean time, thank you to Michael for the case and continuing to share so much with this community. It is people like him who inspire me with their art while aslo making me feel guilty I don't do more with my life.

Edited September 22, 2016 by zaddick

[my63]

Thanks for sharing your pictures Zaddick.

 

I am always looking for new cases to make I have decided to have another attempt at a cylindrical single pen case.

 

My usual starting point is a kydex tube which is normally glued together recently I have started welding them which gives a far stronger joint.

 

DSC_1051[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Kydex tube and piece of leather ready to go.

 

The top and bottom edges are cut to an angle of around 45 degrees to allow the end cap to fit later.

 

DSC_1054[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to cut the leather in half and make the groves for stitching.

 

DSC_1055[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Leather dyed and shaping started.

 

DSC_1058[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Being me I could not just cross the stitching over on the back of the case I hid the cross over stitches inside not easy at all.

 

DSC_1071[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

One of the draw backs to this type of case is the use of suede as liner the top sliding over the suede compresses the fibres of the suede which will turn it more like leather in time

 

DSC_1074[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1073[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I will make another case with a leather lining.

[my63]

The next attempt started the same way as the first a Kydex tube however rather than wrapping it in suede this time I used fine leather it is around 0.7 mm thick.

 

Here it is cut to size and dyed black The inside will overlap but the outside will but up edge to edge

 

DSC_1081[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The ends of the tubes will have pieces of leather cut to size and stitched in place I am going to show a little detail of how they are made.

 

Cutting circles in leather is quite difficult the method I use is to use a template and cut a series of straight lines the picture may explain this better.

 

DSC_1082[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After cutting out the circle I used a pair of dividers to mark a line equal to the thickness of the leather I have marked it in red to make it easier for you to see.

 

DSC_1083[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I used this line to help me to cut the angle to 45 degrees to match the edge I cut earlier

 

DSC_1087[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Finally I smoothed the edges ready for dye

 

DSC_1089[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here is the finished end cap waiting to be stitched in place

 

DSC_1094[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The finished case

 

DSC_1090[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1091[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_1092[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am not sure if I will be offering this style of case but I will test it for some time to see how it stands up to wear

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

Edited September 28, 2016 by my63

[zaddick]

The new tube looks good. I like the second one with leather better in terms of how it appears in the photos. Contrasting leather would make it pop.

[my63]

Hi Zaddick thanks for responding I agree a contrasting colour would look great. I made a case for my beloved M B 149 s.

The reason I have never made any more of this style is because the dye transfer where the friction fit parts meet.

The best way around that is to make both parts the same colour or to wrap them like with your black and red case.

 

DSC_1096[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

These type of case are difficult the suede lined one has wear issues it is also very difficult to open as the fibres on the suede grip the inside of the leather.

The leather lined case has the opposite problem as the top moves over the leather lining it will get smoother and my concern is it will get quite loose.

 

These are large cases and the pens may be heavy I would not want to make a case that could accidentally open that is why I add thongs and toggles to the other friction fit cases. I think a thong would spoil the lines of this case and magnets would be hard to hide but if anyone can think of a way to add some security I would love to hear it.

[my63]

I have started two new cases today this is the starting point two dowels larger that the required size but not too large. I need an overlap for my new welding process.

 

DSC_0038[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Kydex sheet cut to size

 

DSC_0040[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

A little heat and gentle persuasion and we have a kydex tube. And with some additional direct heat we have a welded seam this is as strong a joint as I have ever made with kydex

 

DSC_0044[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After some sanding we are ready to start wrapping the tubes in suede

 

DSC_0046[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Its a wrap sorry for the poor attempt at humour

 

DSC_0048[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0049[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

We all know that only 2 or 3 mm of the outside suede will be seen but I don't want any joints to be seen either so I wrapped the whole tube.

 

DSC_0049[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Once the tubes were wrapped in the suede I turned my attention to the outer leather cover here are all of the pieces laid out after cutting

 

DSC_0050[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After sealing the tubes in black saran wrap to protect them I soaked the leather and started forming the outer covers

 

DSC_0052[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then I started to dye the leather

 

DSC_0054[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0055[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I do not allow the leather to dry out once I have started dying and I count each coat of dye to keep the top and bottom the same colour.

The top pieces are placed in a plastic bag to slow down the drying process and allow me to finish the bottom sections so I can form the tops around them. Gluing the inner section in place was the next task

 

DSC_0056[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0058[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0057[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0059[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

When I was happy I marked the stitching holes and saddle stitched the joint by hand.

 

I freely admit I am not the best at saddle stitch and one side is always better that the other and yes I do get obsessive about each stitch in my search for perfection but as a friend once told me if you want perfect stitches use a machine.

So here is the good and well the other side.

 

DSC_0063[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0060[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I decided to cut out all of the stitching I had done previously and start again. I also trimmed the edges of the bottom piece to allow me to form the upper section.

 

DSC_0065[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0068[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to trim the upper section and dye all of the edges

 

DSC_0070[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After this I marked out the stitching holes on the upper section and stitch everything together.

 

DSC_0072[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0073[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am only showing the back as the front is the same as yesterday I am a little happier with todays efforts.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Once I was happy with the stitching I cut some thong and dyed it and started to cut the wood for the toggle/ pen rests.

I don't have a set size I make a toggle that suits the size of the case and therefore the pen I don't have a template I just round the ends and then use sand paper around a dowel and make the pen rests. I do sometimes use a dremel type tool but these were entirely hand made.

 

DSC_0081[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0089[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0096[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I think each one takes around an hour to make.

 

DSC_0084[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0087[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0090[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0094[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

The last time I showed this cylindrical case I was waiting for some fine thread to stitch around the top and bottom edges. As these edges are mitred then a saddle stitch is used at 45 degrees through both edges I find this stitch particularly difficult to do.

 

Anyway here are the pictures

 

DSC_0130[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0122[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0123[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I like this case since I have altered the stitching the top is more secure and makes a popping sound when removed having said that it is too large for any of my pens at 170 + long internal and 26 mm internal diameter. I have yet to decide what I am going to do with it.

[my63]

I started making this pocket case for one of my Montblanc 149 s way back in the summer after I made a pocket case for someone else.

 

I started by forming some kydex over my large form I also cut a deep slot to allow for the 149 clip

 

DSC_0420 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Wrapping in yellow nappa leather

 

DSC_0423 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cut and formed a piece of leather using some spare thread to keep the edges in place

 

DSC_0426 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I left the top section to dry for ......5 months then wondered what had happened to it I found it under a load of rubbish on my desk and dyed it black.

 

DSC_0144[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I don't know if my phone camera is not working very well or if it is just bad photography

 

DSC_0151[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I often show final pictures before the edges are finished so this is just to show that I can do them.

 

DSC_0157[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The idea of this design is to allow a fragile fountain pen to be carried in a front pocket without damage.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

As some of you may know I am a little obsessed with pen cases until now I have always made super strong cases to protect pens recently i was asked if I could make a leather sleeve for a pen without kydex.

Not being able to resist a challenge I have spent the last two days designing one from scratch.

 

My first effort was not right as I did not make a template so I cut a template from card and used that to cut this spare piece of leather

 

DSC_0203[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After lining in suede and some stitching I had this

 

DSC_0205[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

A MB 149 fitted fine but there was a little more space around the top than I wanted

 

I made another template and produced this

 

DSC_0209[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next thing was to add a little length a small space at the end will help squeezing pens out.

 

DSC_0210[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After making template three I used a slightly nicer (in my opinion) piece of leather this is from Italy and is very soft lined in red suede.

 

DSC_0202[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After marking a line all around with my dividers I punched stitching holes through the top is single and the stitching is just for show so those holes were stitched first then the case was folded in half and glued.

 

DSC_0229[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The rest of the stitching was cross over stitching which looks like this

 

DSC_0230[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0232[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

Edited November 27, 2016 by my63

[my63]

Now I am happy with the design I have made a couple more sleeves.

 

This one is red Italian leather with yellow stitching and yellow nappa leather inside

 

DSC_0252[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0256[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I still had the edges to finish when I took this picture

 

The next sleeve is also the red Italian leather but this one has straight saddle stitch in red with a blue suede interior

 

DSC_0251[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0249[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0260[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

These will be in a classifieds section near you soon

[my63]

Here are my first pen sleeve orders the red is pre dyed Italian veg tanned leather with black suede inside the black one is hand dyed Kip leather with cobalt blue suede inside both with black Lin Cable stitching.

 

DSC_0279 by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0283 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I have made a little batch of pen sleeves in the hope that I might get some into the classifieds although some have sold already.

 

DSC_0021[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0018[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0013[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

When I started making this pen sleeve my first version had the same curve at both ends this fit the pen nicly however it did make it a little difficult to remove the pen. I am sure that I am not the first maker to come across this but as my design evolved I added some length and increased the taper towards the closed end.

 

DSC_0035[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The longer taper and wider opening at the top allow smaller pens to also be carried in this sleeve the picture shows a Parker 51 in place the taper grips the end of the pen so even upside down the pen stays in place. the larges pen I have is a Montblanc 149 which also fits in this case easily.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[Anne-Sophie]

 

 

Beautiful new designs and works, Michael.

[my63]

Thanks Anne -Sophie

 

Here is one of my recent projects

 

I was commissioned to make a case large enough to hold a Namiki Emperor or two in the style of a cigar case I have made a similar case before however it was a little smaller.

 

Starting with the protective Kydex and a dowel to form it around.

 

20170118_141700[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Formed and welded

 

20170118_155751[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Wrapped in red suede

 

20170118_195410[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

First thin leather cover

 

20170119_140842[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Forming the outer cover around the pen tubes

 

20170120_170610[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After allowing the outer cover to dry

 

20170120_123244[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Outer cover stitched

 

20170121_182306[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Oak toggle ebonised

 

20170122_111634[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Just before final assembly with a MB 149 for size comparison

 

20170125_105154[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Finished

 

20170125_123444[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As ever the full details are on my blog

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[zaddick]

Another great job Michael.

 

How is this one bigger? More length or diameter?

 

If they get much bigger you are either going to have to put a shoulder strap or wheels and a telescoping handle!