Making A Pen Case

[Anne-Sophie]

Thank you for sharing all of your projects Michael!

 

Gorgeous as usual.

 

Lovely of you to share your bulldog pen case, Amberlea.  

[my63]

Thanks Ann-Sophie

 

I made this case for fun I did not have any orders for pen cases so I made a twin Emperor pen case. It is oxblood red with a black dilute dye over it.

 

2022-02-20_06-27-52 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-02-20_06-28-04 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Just after I started making this case an order was placed so I have been making that too.

 

2022-02-20_06-28-25 by my0771, on Flickr

[Anne-Sophie]

The Cherry color is gorgeous!

[my63]

Thanks Anne-Sophie looks like both cases may be on offer at the London pen show.

 

Next up is athree pen case for Montblanc 149 fountain pens. The Kydex sheet has been cut and molded into shape.

 

2022-02-27_11-04-17 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Starting to wrap the kydex pen tubes in red suede.

 

2022-02-27_11-04-25 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Kydex wrapped inside and out, Time for the leather.

 

2022-02-27_11-08-30 by my0771, on Flickr

 

[Anne-Sophie]

Beautiful work! 

 

The craftsmanship needed to make such a beautiful item is second to none, its strength is even more of a asset and somehow compliment its look.

 

No matter how much pieces you make, you always manage to give them a touch of class.

[my63]

Three pen case for Montblanc 149 fountain pens, It takes me about 4 hours over two days to hand stitch a case like this. Here you can see the holes made for stitching.

 

2022-03-06_03-54-41 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Starting the stitching process.

 

2022-03-10_07-20-24 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitching finished, edges have been shaped, sanded, dyed, sealed with pure bees wax and finally polished by hand. 

 

2022-03-10_07-14-29 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Another case finished, my pen case order book is empty.  

[Anne-Sophie]

 

Time to get in touch with Michael, if you want to gift a truly unique pen case, box or heirloom leather item restored for a special someone, this spring or summer.

[my63]

Thanks Anne-Sophie I have been busy restoring my daughters new home it needed some work before she could move in. (almost finished after 6 weeks)

 

I was asked to make a case for four pens. In this picture I have already molded the kydex into the required shape and wrapped them in red suede.

 

2022-04-23_07-35-52 by my0771, on Flickr

 

As this is the first case made in this size it needs a mold to shape the outer cover.

 

2022-04-23_07-36-31 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have found the mold needs top be slightly smaller than the insert it is going to cover.

 

2022-04-23_07-36-42 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then you simply  soak the leather and pop it in the mold and apply pressure.

 

2022-04-23_07-37-00 by my0771, on Flickr

 

At this point I read a report from the London pen show where someone had lost a case containing their pens at the show, They were reunited with their pens by a kind dealer at the show. I had messed about with trackers some years ago but they were quite tricky to fit into a case. Tile kindly sent me a set of their newer trackers to help out wit molding. Sorry about the picture, The tracker is 2mm thick

 

2022-04-23_07-38-07 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I mentioned this to the customer who thought it was a great idea, Then it turns out he prefers the Air Tags so I started looking at how I could make it work.

There was a trial run with a scap of leather well two scraps actually.

 

2022-04-23_07-37-36 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This gave me the dimensions I needed to fit the Tag in place. Not sure where the lines came from but they disappeared as the case dried out.

 

 2022-04-23_07-38-23 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Assembly next.

[my63]

As I thought the lines disappeared as the dye fully dried.

 

2022-04-25_08-23-48 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Clearly, as the Air Tag is 8mm thick and the leather is 2.2mm thick I need to hide 6mm somewhere, After making the hole I thinned the edges of it and the surrounding leather.

 

2022-04-25_08-24-25 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After gluing the components together I was able to mark out and make the stitching holes before stitching with red Lin Cable thread.

 

2022-04-25_08-24-48 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-04-25_08-25-02 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to trim the case to size and finish the edges with dye and bees wax.

[my63]

Another project is finished and ready for packing. The pocket for the Air Tag was not as simple as it looks due to the shape of the tag, but I got there in the end.

 

2022-04-26_07-05-35 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-04-26_07-04-37 by my0771, on Flickr

 

So at least one owner will no longer have to worry about losing their pens.

[Anne-Sophie]

Dear Michael,

 

It has  already been couple of months since I have been on FPN, busy.

 

Thank you for sharing your beautiful work! 

 

I hope your daughter's house renovation is going well.

 

Everyone order bespoke cases for special occasions, there is still time to get a special pen case for someone headed to university, in the fall.

[my63]

Hi Anne-Sophie, I have not been around much either. My Daughters new home is coming along nicely. All of the building stuff is done the final item was to make a new awning over the front door.

Before moving in a new bed was required. She wanted under bed storage rather than wardrobes, Of course no one makes such a thing, so I designed my own.

I wont bore you with the details but it is a plywood box with drawers.

 

IMG_2058 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG-2100 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The last picture is the inside of the drawers before the bottoms were fitted.

 

I have made some pen cases I will share when I have a little more time.

 

 

  

[amberleadavis]

1 hour ago, my63 said:

Hi Anne-Sophie, I have not been around much either. My Daughters new home is coming along nicely. All of the building stuff is done the final item was to make a new awning over the front door.

Before moving in a new bed was required. She wanted under bed storage rather than wardrobes, Of course no one makes such a thing, so I designed my own.

I wont bore you with the details but it is a plywood box with drawers.

 

IMG_2058 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG-2100 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The last picture is the inside of the drawers before the bottoms were fitted.

 

I have made some pen cases I will share when I have a little more time.

 

 

  

 

Wow that is a great use of space.

[my63]

Thanks Amberlea each drawer holds 83.5 liters and there are 12 drawers, lots of storage.

 

Sometimes I am asked to make things that I cannot share which is a shame. So when I get an order for something I think is special that I can share I am going to show you every step.

I have made some huge pen cases in diameter 28mm finished internal size, and a pen length of 180mm is the largest so far. This project is only 23mm internal however it is 228mm long.

 

2022-06-13_07-32-58 by my0771, on Flickr 

 

There are two marks on this dowel the one on the left is emperor size on the right is the next project.

In the mean time here are some of the cases I have made this month.

 

This is a four pen Emperor pen case.

2022-06-13_07-37-42 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This case is for a pair of Pilot Custom Urushi fountain pens. I have to be honest I have made this case twice as I got the size wrong on the first one, fortunately the owner decided to keep both cases. 

2022-06-13_07-37-31 by my0771, on Flickr.

 

Each case is lined with hard Kydex which has been wrapped in high quality suede then encased in wet formed veg tanned leather. 

[Anne-Sophie]

12 hours ago, my63 said:

Hi Anne-Sophie, I have not been around much either. My Daughters new home is coming along nicely. All of the building stuff is done the final item was to make a new awning over the front door.

Before moving in a new bed was required. She wanted under bed storage rather than wardrobes, Of course no one makes such a thing, so I designed my own.

I wont bore you with the details but it is a plywood box with drawers.

 

IMG_2058 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG-2100 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The last picture is the inside of the drawers before the bottoms were fitted.

 

I have made some pen cases I will share when I have a little more time.

 

 

  

 

 

That is very handy and much more useful that a dest of drawer.

 

It keeps a space for a reading table, vanity, or just a bigger bed.

 

 

[Anne-Sophie]

1 hour ago, my63 said:

Thanks Amberlea each drawer holds 83.5 liters and there are 12 drawers, lots of storage.

 

Sometimes I am asked to make things that I cannot share which is a shame. So when I get an order for something I think is special that I can share I am going to show you every step.

I have made some huge pen cases in diameter 28mm finished internal size, and a pen length of 180mm is the largest so far. This project is only 23mm internal however it is 228mm long.

 

2022-06-13_07-32-58 by my0771, on Flickr 

 

There are two marks on this dowel the one on the left is emperor size on the right is the next project.

In the mean time here are some of the cases I have made this month.

 

This is a four pen Emperor pen case.

2022-06-13_07-37-42 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This case is for a pair of Pilot Custom Urushi fountain pens. I have to be honest I have made this case twice as I got the size wrong on the first one, fortunately the owner decided to keep both cases. 

2022-06-13_07-37-31 by my0771, on Flickr.

 

Each case is lined with hard Kydex which has been wrapped in high quality suede then encased in wet formed veg tanned leather. 

 

One word: gorgeous! 

 

They look like they are made of urushi. The two tone is especially spectacular in that effect.

 

The first, I have never seen chimering leather, a first!

 

[my63]

On 6/13/2022 at 9:02 AM, Anne-Sophie said:

 

 

That is very handy and much more useful that a dest of drawer.

 

It keeps a space for a reading table, vanity, or just a bigger bed.

 

 

Anne-Sophie It is a Kingsize bed I worked out there is just over 1,000 litres of storage space, under the bed.

 

I was not sure if I wanted to share this case but my new motto is why not.

So here it is, Nine years ago when I first started making cases and boxes there were two people who helped me, one of them was a member here who sadly passed away I think in 2020. Henry Simpole was well known for pen repairs and for his silver overlaiys either on his own pens or many by famous makers. Henry also made pen boxes and this is how I got to know him. he was very generous with his timeand helped me to start on the right track.

I am pleased to say I did make a pen box for him which he used to display pens on his stall.

Untill now I have never made a case for one of his pens, I was delighted to be approached by someone who has recently purchased one of the Conway Stewart Great Exhibition fountain pens.

The pen is 200mm or 8 inches long and around 25mm in diameter so one of the larger single cases I have made. 

I have rolled and welded a Kydex tube which has been wrapped in fine black suede.

 

2022-06-16_06-46-53 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After forming the tube and wrapping I allowed it to dry overnight before starting to form the outer covers around it this ensures a perfect fit.

 

2022-06-16_06-47-13 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Dye is next.

 

[my63]

After applying dye I marked and punched the stitching holes and stitched the case together.

 

2022-06-24_08-41-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-06-18_06-18-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-06-24_08-42-01 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It has been a pleasure to make a case for one of Henry's beautiful pens. It made me think back to when I started making cases and pen boxes. And of course of my conversations with Henry or Truffle finder as he was known here.

 

 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

Yes, I remember Henry Simpole and his beautiful overlay pens, one of them, was member Ghost Plane bespoke design.

 

She and Henry Simpole shared the process of making such a beautiful and intricate design, first on paper then translate it in 3 dimensions, it was just fascinating !

 

Because being a French person in the U.S, I know how irritating to be asked if I know that "French person" that also lives there, I didn't think of asking your if you knew Henri Simpole.

 

He made a thread about his booth and his subsequent decision to close it and only sell online or with the help of other vendors, I think.

 

On the same thread, I also learned of his passing by a friend who posted for him. 

 

The case is breathtakingly beautiful, I don't know if you found a new dye, a new technique or the weather is different in the U.K but your newest cases have an urushi like quality to their colors.

 

 

[my63]

Thanks Anne-Sophie I cant claim that Henry and I were friends as we never actually met, We did speak on the telephone for a couple of years and the online stuff of course.

So this is the final picture from me of the case for the Conway Stewart Henry Simpole Great Exhibition fountain pen.  Those of you who follow social media will no doubt see it in the future.

 

2022-07-01_06-50-27 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This is the Emperor case I made along side the larger case.

 

2022-07-01_07-01-56 by my0771, on Flickr