Making A Pen Case

[my63]

Hi Zaddick

It is a little bigger in both dimensions. Not by much though

[zaddick]

Thanks. I hope the new owner will be as happy as I am with mine. I have had mine in rotation for a while now and using them adds to the pleasure of the hobby.

 

Keep up the awesome work.

[Tinjapan]

Wow! Great cases. Glad to see you are still at it and improving.

 

T

[jmccarty3]

I like my cases as well. This new one is a real beauty!

[my63]

@zaddick I am really pleased that your case has increased your enjoyment of your pens.

 

@tinJapan one of my earliest supporters thanks I hope that your cases are still doing well.

 

@jmccarty I am pleased that you like your cases and appreciate the support of everyone on FPN as ever.

 

I am working on some new prototypes at the moment especially for oversize pens which I have shared on Instagram I will. Sure them here in due course.

 

Thanks again

 

Michael

Edited January 29, 2017 by my63

[my63]

​I am always looking for ideas for pen cases as most of my orders are for cases for larger pens. Whilst looking at an idea for a pen wrap like this

 

20170117_182059[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I started trying larger pieces of board this picture shows a front back and spine board

 

20170117_190058[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Eventually I ended up with some extra pieces on each end I also tried mini rare earth magnets to work as a closure method.

 

20170117_192024[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

When folded it looked like this

 

20170117_192705[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is making an inner section.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

Here are the pieces to make the inner section a light black suede for backing a heavier black suede for the flaps and a nice turquoise for the pen slots.

 

20170129_092608[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

First pen slot stitched in place two more to do.

 

20170129_092953[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Inner section complete

 

20170129_183234[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

A strap and a Sam Browne stud completes the case I am not sure where to cut the end of the overlapping piece

 

20170131_091606[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

The owner of the Emperor's case has kindly given me permission to post one of his pictures here

 

 

 

I suspect at some point he is planning on adding a second Emperor to his collection he did order a double case

[Tinjapan]

The cases and portflioes are standing up very well, thank you.

[zaddick]

The owner of the Emperor's case has kindly given me permission to post one of his pictures here

 

 

 

I suspect at some point he is planning on adding a second Emperor to his collection he did order a double case

 

Hi Michael. I have my Namiki urushi #50 (commonly referred to by most as an Emperor, though Namiki makes a point that undecorated pens do not use the label emperor) and it is a great fit into my case. the pen has just a tiny little bit of room lengthwise but withthe clip the diameter is about as tight as I would want it. I could probably wrap a bit of silk or other sheer cloth around it if needed.Basicaly I could not have asked for a better fit fo this model of pen in particular. Here is a photo of itinside:

 

 

One thing I could suggest for future cases of a similar design is some padding/suede on the top plane of the cap to the case. As it is just formed leather, it can expose the pen top to the potential for scuffs upon impact or normal jostling from travel. I had not though it it before because to date I have mostly used samller pens, those where I don't care as much about them, or used a velvet pouch to keep them from moving around a bit. this is not a necessity, but would make a luxury touch. If it is also in te contrasting color to match the suede, it can give the case anothe nice pop of color. You should be able to make one after the case is formed and then just adhere it to the inside. A little think foam and suede or even just a few layers of suede should do the job.

[my63]

Thanks Zaddick the owner of case number 2 asked a similar question whilst I was making his. There s very little room for the pen to move around in either of the cases or space for extra padding. Your suggestion of one or two layers of suede might well work it will certainly prevent any scratching. I would be happy to send you some strips of suede to try.

I did once try to line the lid section of a single case but the fine fibres of the suede made it very difficult to remove.

[zaddick]

No need to send me any material. For today I simply just put a little bubble wrap down there as a stop gap. I may try some foam pad I can steal from my daughter's art supplies.

 

It's more about cushion than crush resistance. The case itself is unassailably rugged.

 

By the way, a new jumbo pen arrived in the mail today and it found a home in my empty slot of your case.

[my63]

Thanks Zaddick I am trying to find some suitable material to have small pouches made if possible maybe something like Kimono silk I will let you know how I get on.

 

My current project is a smaller version of your case for one pen and a Viscontti traveling inkwell I will post an update later.

[my63]

I started off this week with two cases to make one single and one double both with orange linings.

 

The process starts with a flat sheet of 0.6 mm Kydex which I formed into tubes of the desired sizes and welded the seam.

 

20170205_181107[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Tubes wrapped in orange suede in this picture the outsides were not glued.

 

20170205_191619[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am not sure how the next picture will show the colour as the leather was still wet.

 

20170207_124717[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Using my modified metal workers clamp I have formed the leather around the Kydex and then formed the top section around the lower section. I placed the top section in a plastic bag after this picture was taken to slow down the drying process.

 

20170207_144355[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here you can see the formed lower section and the lid section in its plastic bag

 

20170207_150657[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitching holes marked with a pricking iron waiting for the awl and stitching

 

20170207_160720[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After marking and then making the holes I stitched the lower section unfortunately my stitching was not good enough so I cut out the stitching and decided to form the lid .

 

20170208_134436[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After some practice I stitched both pieces and was pretty happy with the result. the difference in colour is the top section is still wet.

 

20170209_103400[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

More to follow

 

Michael

[my63]

Progress at last the stitching is sorted and the top is almost dry toggle / pen rest finished it is made from sapele wood which is like mahogany.

Once the top is fully dry I can check the fit and finish it off.

 

20170210_204159[1] by my0771, on Flickr.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

As I mentioned in my previous single pen post I was also making a double pen case so from the point where I showed the three pen tubes wrapped in suede. the double pen case gets an extra coat of thin leather.

 

20170207_114540[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Two pieces of leather are stitched up the centre line and soaked in water so the leather can be formed around the tubes

 

20170207_114540[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

20170207_115236[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once I was happy with the shape I added some colour and stitched the edges together.

 

20170207_213754[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The completed pair of pen tubes were then sealed in plastic film and encased in the leather that would form the outer cover and clamped.

 

20170209_103619[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After 24 hours in the clamps I drilled a series of holes around the outside edge to assist in aligning the pieces after cutting.

 

20170210_103922[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I marked the two halves with tape on the inside and cut the two pieces in half. using the marked holes I used contact cement to glue the two halves together.

 

20170210_143420[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cut a strip of leather to cover the joint I marked out the holes and stitched the strip in place.

 

20170210_211619[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

This case is for a single fountain pen and a Viscontti traveling inkwell

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

Edited February 10, 2017 by my63

[kiavonne]

So cool to see you still working on these.

[my63]

Thanks Kiavonne I hope that i have improved over the years.

 

This weeks project is a single pen case of the flat backed style with a flap closure.

 

I could not find the right sized mould so i made a new one I started with 3 pieces of marine plywood which i laminated together with contact adhesive and some screws for good measure.

 

20170216_143457[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Having marked out the size of tube I wanted to create I cut it out.

 

20170216_150942[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Shaping and lots of sanding

 

20170216_160437[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Forming the Kydex

 

20170216_194302[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here are the first three

 

20170216_201334[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Pen tube wrapped in turquoise suede.

 

20170216_210802[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

After wrapping the kydex pen tube in turquoise suede I cut some leather (1.8 mm shoulder) there is a mistake here which I will come back to.

 

20170217_140320[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I shaped the top edge of the largest piece which will form the front panel I also dyed all of the leather pieces black

 

20170217_155229[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As the shaping progressed I used the original mould to keep everything together. I used a wooden tool to form the leather around the mould this working causes the leather to become burnished (shinny) so I continued this over all of the leather.

 

20170217_205416[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

20170217_213138[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

At this point I realised that when I had cut the back panel which is also the closure flap to the size of the inner pen tube and had not allowed for the thickness of the outer cover on each side so a replacement piece was cut and dyed black

 

20170217_221912[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

There is a strip of kydex under the suede on the back panel which will meet the edges of the pen tube kydex when the pieces are stitched together.

 

Almost there, thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I did say almost there, stitching is next this involves marking the line where the stitches will go and then going around with a pricking iron to work out where I want the stitching to lie especially around the step between the front and back panel. Then the stitching holes are punched ready for the awl and needles and thread.

20170218_114821[1] by my0771, on Flickr

The case with a length of thread for those interested this is Lin Cable a French linen thread that is made from multiple strands cabled together it is also very expensive.

Stitching is quite relaxing once you are in the swing of it. I counted the number of holes to put the strap one third of the way down clearly I did not count correctly.

20170218_142916[1] by my0771, on Flickr

Unfortunately I did not realise until I had stitched all around the case so I spent an unhappy hour unpicking the stitching until I could straighten up the strap.

20170218_160310[1] by my0771, on Flickr

Strap corrected and stitching finished I used a pair of dividers to mark out the edges and trimmed them to the correct size. Shaping and sanding next.

Thanks for looking

Michael