Making A Pen Case

[XYZZY]

Michael, I've been off and on FPN (mostly off) for at least a year, but it's always nice to log in and see your pen cases under construction.  From the recent pictures it looks like I might have started something when I asked you to do the red-black finish to match my boots on that dual emperor case that you made for me.  Which, by the way, is used every day and still looks fantastic!☺️

[my63]

Hi  XYZZY yes indeed you did start something with your black cherry case. 

 

2021-04-10_01-16-54 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I do my best to make cases that will last. I would love to see a picture if you can. 

[Anne-Sophie]

13 hours ago, my63 said:

Hi  XYZZY yes indeed you did start something with your black cherry case. 

 

2021-04-10_01-16-54 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I do my best to make cases that will last. I would love to see a picture if you can. 

 

So, that is the case that started it all!

 

[XYZZY]

On 7/2/2022 at 12:02 AM, my63 said:

Hi  XYZZY yes indeed you did start something with your black cherry case. 

 

2021-04-10_01-16-54 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I do my best to make cases that will last. I would love to see a picture if you can. 

 

It's a dreary day, lighting is poor.  Here it is with pen.  Poking out of the case you can see the No 50's little brother, a Pilot Custom Urushi.  The case is long for the Custom Urushi, but it's a large pen of similar diameter to an Emperor so is not a bad fit.

 

[Anne-Sophie]

Such a wonderful trio/quartet, Michael's pen case, your beautiful Emperor and  Pilot Custom Urushi and you big notebook.

 

What kind of notebook is it?

 

 

 

 

[XYZZY]

15 hours ago, Anne-Sophie said:

Such a wonderful trio/quartet, Michael's pen case, your beautiful Emperor and  Pilot Custom Urushi and you big notebook.

 

What kind of notebook is it?

 

Thanks Anne-Sophie. It's not actually a notebook at all.  I recently bought 2000 sheets of loose leaf 52gsm Tomoe River for a project of copying the Bible. The sheets are A3 sized (a little bigger, actually) so when folded I have A4 pages.  Poking out from under the left page is one of my guidesheets.

[amberleadavis]

You are very creative!

[XYZZY]

22 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

You are very creative!

Aww shucks.  Thanks Amber!  But FPN is full of creative people.  Most definitely including the dude who made my pen case.

[manolo]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:12 AM, Anne-Sophie said:

 

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!

 

Yes, those pen cases look like if covered with urushi...wonderful looks.

[my63]

Thanks for noticing the technique it is not new. It is called burnishing and is most often used on edges. You can see my custom made tool which is a piece of oak which has been turned to the desired shape. This one is much larger than any you can buy, this makes it easier for me to grip.

 

2022-07-06_05-10-40 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-07-06_05-10-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I hope the picture shows this to the right has been burnished to the left is just dye. The process if done when the leather is wet will compress the fibres and provide a deep shine which I hope you can see. 

 

[XYZZY]

9 minutes ago, my63 said:

Thanks for noticing the technique it is not new. It is called burnishing and is most often used on edges. You can see my custom made tool which is a piece of oak which has been turned to the desired shape. This one is much larger than any you can buy, this makes it easier for me to grip.

 

2022-07-06_05-10-40 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2022-07-06_05-10-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I hope the picture shows this to the right has been burnished to the left is just dye. The process if done when the leather is wet will compress the fibres and provide a deep shine which I hope you can see. 

 

That's really neat to see.  Even more interesting than the product is the tools that craftsmen invent to do their job.  I assume you hold the burnisher in your hand by the conical end?

 

 

[my63]

I dont often mention this but I have limited use of my right hand that is why the tool is much larger than those commercially available.

The grooves are set to the sizes of the edges of my cases, I have a rounded ege and a square edge this has never really been used. The pointy end does all of the work with its long edge. If anyone fancies having a go be careful as it is possible to make a mark in leather especially when wet that cannot be removed.

 

2022-07-06_05-51-15 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The edges of leather are able to absorb moisture so I use pure beeswax to seal them 

[Anne-Sophie]

I have heard of burnishing, but I had never seen the tools used, thank you for sharing.

 

Spectacular work! 

[my63]

I was just starting to get back into the swing of things.

 

2022-07-07_05-39-34 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have just got my long covid clinic appointment for next week. 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

So sorry, healing thoughts your way and feel better soon.

[my63]

I hope I dont have to go through that again, after three weeks I still dont feel great but I have improved.

 

The next case requires a new mold so off to the workshop, I used to be able to make a mold in an hour or two this one took six hours over two days. But it is done and here it is with the leather in place.

2022-07-30_06-07-52 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Formed leather out of the mold.

 

2022-07-30_06-08-22 by my0771, on Flickr

 

And it fits.

 

2022-07-30_06-08-37 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Dye applied.

 

2022-07-30_06-09-06 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Assembly is next. 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

I was worried about you, so I went onto your website, but no news.

 

You cannot imagine how grateful I am that you thought about posting here, now that you feel a little bit better.

 

Take all the time you need to complete this next order, bespoke items are supposed to come to life, very slowly.

 

Make sure to rest and drink plenty

[my63]

Thanks Anne-Sophie, It has taken me some weeks to recover enough to think about cases. I am sorry to say my website is totally out of date.

This was the end of the first day all components have the first coat of dye applied, Even though I count the coats of dye and all three pieces are from the same hide they appear to be different colours, or rather shades of the same colour.

 

2022-07-30_06-09-06 by my0771, on Flickr

 

End of day two, actually it could be day three as I have made the inserts.

 

2022-08-01_10-52-53 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

 

[JulieParadise]

Thank you for letting us peek into your atelier and please take good care of your health! Get well soon!

[my63]

26 minutes ago, JulieParadise said:

Thank you for letting us peek into your atelier and please take good care of your health! Get well soon!

Thanks for your message I really appreciate it. I now have a small list of cases to make and will be building up slowly to part time making.