Making A Pen Case

[my63]

I spent a lot of time making sure my first cuts were perfectly square, Whe it came to fitting the lock I was able to fold the flap over and position the lock. As I have used thick leather to make the case the origional rivets would not fit. I had some larger rivets I purchased for another case.

 

2023-04-24_07-03-00 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I made a mounting disc for the lock to prevent it ever being able to come into contact with the contents of the case, I also added some thinner leather to cover the back of the lock mechamism.

Previousley I had only tacked the front panel in place to allow the lock to be fitted, now it was time to attach the front perminantly.

 

2023-04-24_07-03-17 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

 

[Anne-Sophie]

A beauty in the making!

[my63]

Sometimes plans change, I had some issues fitting the hasp for the lock, the rivets that came with it would not work so replacements were sourced and fitted. The rivets on the back of the hasp did not look pretty, I decided to cover them with a thinned piece of leather. clearly it needed to be fixed in place glue would be ok but not ideal stitching would be ideal but should it be black or blue.

This seemed to take forever to resolve in my mind, but I have got there in the end.

 

2023-04-30_02-11-56 by my0771, on Flickr

 

As you can see I tried to continue the shape from the stitching on the lower part of the case, And then follow the shape of the hasp on the upper part.

 

This picture shows the two components of the case together for the first time. The pen stand fits perfectly in the outer cover, of course it was made to fit  

You may have noticed some of the stitching has been removed this was necessary to fit the lock, It will be replaced starting today.

 

2023-04-30_02-12-05 by my0771, on Flickr

[Anne-Sophie]

Soo beautiful!   What a meaninful object with state of the art craftsmanship!  

[my63]

This is the biggest project I have undertaken for some time, It is something I have had in my mind for a long time and was delighted to find a customer who wanted it. I am now in the final stages of making this case.

 

The handle is now fully attached, I think the little details matter.

 

2023-05-04_07-09-13 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Those of you with eagle eyes will notice that the front flap which was previousley stitched is now not stitched, This is not a continunity error, In order to fit the lock I had to remove one stitch, this stitch would have rubbed on the side of the lock and I was concerned it would snap in the years to come.

 

2023-05-04_07-08-28 by my0771, on Flickr

 

You will also notice the edges are for want of a better term a little fluffy. I am not a fan of edge paint and usually burnish the edges of my cases and seal them witrh pure beeswax. For this case I am using edge paint with a matt finish to which I am going to add the usual beeswax. all will become clear as we proceed. 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

The nib forms in the handle are a nice touch!

 

A beauty!

[ParramattaPaul]

3 hours ago, Anne-Sophie said:

 

The nib forms in the handle are a nice touch!

 

A beauty!

I agree. In a word "stylish".

[my63]

This is a two part case, The insert acts as a pen stand it has two small struts inside which are moved into place and help the stand to stay upright. largest pens go on the left shorter ones to the right.

Enough babbling here are the finished pictures.

 

2023-05-05_02-54-34 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2023-05-05_02-56-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2023-05-05_02-58-08 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2023-05-05_03-33-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2023-05-05_03-34-25 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks.

[Anne-Sophie]

Wow! This is the most sophisticated case you ever made!

 

It looks new, made from scratch

(because it is)

 

(This is what happens when ones mixes up projects from a favorite craftsman and posts at 2 in the morning, right before, or so I though, cognitive function slows down in order to sleep)   

but I had to remember that it is actually a restoration. (Not!)

 

It keeps the old fashioned style of the cartable, French for school bags in landscape modes which used to have only a handle but, are now fitted with backpack straps.

 

Such a practical beauty! 

[my63]

Dont worry about it Anne-Sophie it took me a few minutes to realise. Anyway I have tried to take some better pictures.

 

I fitted the lock with a square so it is straight, however the upper part known as the hasp is not square which caused no end of problems. but I got there in the end.

 

2023-05-08_07-39-35 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I made a number of handles for this case and I am really happy with this one.

 

2023-05-08_07-37-27 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitching needs to be as good on the back as the front.

 

2023-05-08_07-37-18 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Please note I have actually updated my blog to show the full build of this case  

[Anne-Sophie]

Beautiful pictures!

 

I just opened the blog about the making of the case but, I will comment at a later hour, lesson learned from the previous post.

[my63]

Ok up next is a whole bunch of pen tube making, I have a four pen case to make and a two pen case. Then I have an idea for another magnificant seven pen case so seven of the tubes will be for that.

 

2023-05-24_07-15-05 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Before inserting the suede into the tube I stitch the end like this, I don't apply any glue to the bottom so the gathered suede acts as a cushion for the pen in the bottom of the tube.

 

2023-05-24_07-15-16 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The four tubes are wrapped in sude black this time.

 

2023-05-24_07-15-29 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am also working on a two pen case in emerald green.

 

2023-05-24_07-15-40 by my0771, on Flickr

 

[txomsy]

Have to say it, I'm continuously amazed by your ingenuity. Good work!

[Anne-Sophie]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:25 AM, my63 said:

Before inserting the suede into the tube I stitch the end like this, I don't apply any glue to the bottom so the gathered suede acts as a cushion for the pen in the bottom of the tube.

 

Such a smart idea!

[my63]

Thanks remember I have been making cases for almost 10 years now so some of the good ideas took a little while to worrk out.

 

The four pen cigar case is progressing slowly. Each tube needs to be stitched in place and then have supports fitted to prevent them rolling towards each other.

 

2023-06-05_11-19-32 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The two pen case is a little quicker to progress. Although it still seems to be taking forever to finish. First step is the mold then the first pressing.

 

2023-06-05_11-20-20 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After 24 hours I removed the clamps, and we have a leather front panel.

 

2023-06-05_11-20-10 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Dry fitting the pen insert into the front panel.

 

2023-06-05_11-19-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Adding dark chocolate dye.

2023-06-05_11-19-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Glue and stitching next.

 

[Anne-Sophie]

9 hours ago, my63 said:

Thanks remember I have been making cases for almost 10 years now so some of the good ideas took a little while to worrk out.

 

The four pen cigar case is progressing slowly. Each tube needs to be stitched in place and then have supports fitted to prevent them rolling towards each other.

 

2023-06-05_11-19-32 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The two pen case is a little quicker to progress. Although it still seems to be taking forever to finish. First step is the mold then the first pressing.

 

2023-06-05_11-20-20 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After 24 hours I removed the clamps, and we have a leather front panel.

 

2023-06-05_11-20-10 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Dry fitting the pen insert into the front panel.

 

2023-06-05_11-19-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Adding dark chocolate dye.

2023-06-05_11-19-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Glue and stitching next.

 

 

 

New design vs classical case.

 

 

Your innovations are always "why didn't I think of that?" 

 

Brilliantt!

[my63]

I had lots of plans for leatherworking this year, However like everyone the financial situation in the UK has impacted on the price of leather. Our recent flood made me realise I needed some sort of back up plan. I have reviewed all of my commitments and decided that leatherwork needs to return to being a spare time endeavor. I have taken a part time role with the NHS in an area where I have some experience. This post starts later this year.

I was a keynote speaker at the National Patient Experience awards last year where I met a group of cancer patients who were looking to take the next steps in their journey, They focus on patient experience and using this to help the NHS make improvements to services for cancer patients.

Northern Cancer Voices ( https://northerncancervoices.co.uk/ )  is the name of the group we hope to become a Community Interest Organisation in the near future. 

 

That is the personal update I have been very busy recently and have tried to fit in as much leather work as possible.

 

Back to leatherwork, this is the four pen cigar style case. the pen tubes have been fully wrapped in black leather.

 

2023-06-30_07-13-56 by my0771, on Flickr

 

As this is a one off I decided not to make a full mold, I used the original method which you will see in the coming posts. 

 

There are 8 pieces of wood four on each side. It is very difficult to get everything to line up and produce a square edge. Using wood of equal thickness is very useful here, if the outside edges line up then so will the inside edges.

 

2023-06-30_06-55-06 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It was the hottest weekend of the year so far when I did this molding but it still took hours to dry out.

 

2023-06-30_06-56-06 by my0771, on Flickr

 

While still in the frame I made some holes so I could stitch the corners together to assist with assembly.

 

2023-06-30_06-56-31 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Deep breath time, I need to cut the sides in half, then glue them together to form a top and bottom section. Dye next.

 

 

 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

You will be the perfect person to advocate for patients!

 

Would you be only doing custom pen cases leatherwork, waiting for an order before you make a case? Is that the difference?

[my63]

Thank you Anne-Sophie, I have only ever made cases to order, Leatherwork was never going to make me rich but it covered its costs. I have to increase prices which I believe will impact on orders. Social media posts also impact on orders and as I have not posted much orders have tailed off. What I am trying to say is I am going to see how it goes and give very realistic time frames for completeing cases.

 

Back to the current project.  The four pen cigar style case 

 

2023-06-30_06-56-55 by my0771, on Flickr

 

As this style of case fully dries out it has a slight gap, I allow for this by adding a piece of card inside as the outer covers are molded 

 

 2023-06-30_06-57-02 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This case is a one off and therefore is very difficult to get right, I need to check and double check every step. It takes a long time. 

[Anne-Sophie]

You have a slow deliberate and thoughtful way to face every situation.

 

All the items you make are beautiful and a joy for people who own them.