Wow, fantastic! Nice work.
Wow, fantastic! Nice work.
MY63 (April 22nd, 2018)
I hinted in an earlier post about a small case for a Montblanc Mozart fountain pen.
Over the years I have made moulds of many sizes but I have never made one this small I believe the dimensions of the pen are 113 mm long and around 9 mm maximum barrel diameter I have added 3 mm for the clip.
2018-04-23_09-32-44 by my0771, on Flickr
I made this slim line Montblanc 149 case a small as I could and yet it looks huge compared the liner for the Mozart case.
da vinci (April 25th, 2018)
Although this case is designed to be small the Kydex shell will make it very strong. It still needs to be made to a high standard with a suede liner.
2018-04-24_05-00-34 by my0771, on Flickr
The suede covers all of the Kydex inside and out this is not necessary however I think it looks good so that is what I do.
Once the glue on the suede has dried I cover it with some thin plastic film and start to form the outer leather cover.
2018-04-24_05-00-55 by my0771, on Flickr
When the moulding was finished it was time to apply the chocolate dye.
2018-04-24_05-01-16 by my0771, on Flickr
When the dying was finished I applied some carnauba wax which I find evens out the colour.
2018-04-24_05-01-37 by my0771, on Flickr
After the dye was almost dry I started to assemble the front and back pieces.
2018-04-24_07-00-56 by my0771, on Flickr.
Time for stitching.
da vinci (April 25th, 2018)
almost finished [
url=https://flic.kr/p/25a2LtT][/url]2018-04-25_03-05-02 by my0771, on Flickr
I have been rather busy lately and forgot to share the finished pictures of the Mozart case.
2018-05-04_09-22-16 by my0771, on Flickr
For size comparison here is a slim line Montblanc 149 case.
2018-05-04_09-41-29 by my0771, on Flickr
These cases are designed to protect pens they have a Kydex liner which is wrapped in clothing quality suede then the whole thing is wrapped in hand dyed veg tanned leather and hand saddle stitched together.
I thought you might appreciate a picture of the smallest case I have made along with the largest as everything I make is a custom order I don't often have more than one case here at a time the brogue style case is inspired by a pair of English brogue shoes.
2018-05-04_10-22-10 by my0771, on Flickr
Thanks
Michael
Nice work. I ought to have a go at that. I have some leather, and all the tools. I just don't have any pens worth making cases for
MY63, It's a fabulous case. Very well done.
Recently I was approached and asked to make a protective case for three Danitrio Genkai fountain pens these are flat topped pens without clips so I decided to make some thing a little different.
I made a ne form and moulded the kydex pieces to form the pen slots.
20180427_222343 by my0771, on Flickr
These pen slots required a new form for the outer cover to. The only wood I had in this size was a block of oak so this is quite an expensive form.
20180427_222739 by my0771, on Flickr
I moulded the wet leather over the form by hand.
IMG_20180428_153201_475 by my0771, on Flickr
Wrapping the pen slots in suede.
20180428_154716 by my0771, on Flickr
Here is a trial fit of the outer cover with the pen slots wrapped in suede.
20180428_163610 by my0771, on Flickr
I stamped the strap with the text as requested
20180428_184820 by my0771, on Flickr
Time to apply some dye I wanted a antique type effect so I applied the dye and rubbed it off in some places and left it in others.
As this case had been ordered with a pen rest I formed the slot to hold it with the actual rest for a good fit.
20180429_171853 by my0771, on Flickr
Only once the leather had started to dry could I see if my effect had worked.
20180430_100115 by my0771, on Flickr
I am pleased to say it did work out quite well. Time to bring all of the pieces together
20180430_141021 by my0771, on Flickr
Using a special tool I marked out the stitching holes.
20180502_143059 by my0771, on Flickr
Last edited by MY63; May 8th, 2018 at 12:02 AM.
amk (May 15th, 2018), azkid (May 7th, 2018), davegt (May 7th, 2018), NibsForScript (May 7th, 2018)
So beautifully done!
My information is the Genkai is a maximum diameter is 20 mm and 175 mm long I thought with the flat top the squared shape would be different. This case will be as long as the Emperor size cases but smaller in the other dimensions.
Once the stitching process started I was able to work out the position the text in the correct place.
IMG_20180502_211400_030 by my0771, on Flickr
Making holes through both pieces of leather and the suede lining almost 9 mm thick is very difficult if the holes are not perfectly straight then the stitching on the back of the item will look really messy there are two stitches out of place on the back of this case. I try to get the stitching perfect but it is very difficult.
20180503_215845 by my0771, on Flickr
After the stitching was finished I trimmed the edges and rounded them over polishing them with a slicking tool.
20180505_134936 by my0771, on Flickr
20180505_135620 by my0771, on Flickr
To finish the edges I dyed them sanded them dyed again before sealing them with bees wax. I don't have a Danitrio Genkai but I do have one Danitrio which is one of my daily use pens.
20180507_160537 by my0771, on Flickr
20180507_160559 by my0771, on Flickr
Thanks for reading
Michael
amk (May 15th, 2018), azkid (May 8th, 2018), davegt (May 14th, 2018), Empty_of_Clouds (May 8th, 2018), NibsForScript (May 8th, 2018), ShugPug (May 8th, 2018)
Really admire your work. But I may have to stop reading your posts-- they are making me want to adopt leatherwork as yet another hobby!
(Which means I will end up more poor and discouraged since you make something very hard look really easy)
Thanks inspiring someone to consider taking up leather work has made my day if you want any help please feel free to ask. I would advise you to start with something easy like Midori covers you can buy pieces of leather from Tandy. A craft knife and steel ruler will get you started there is no stitching involved but you might need a small punch.
As you all know I love to see my cases in use this case was designed to protect three Danitrio Genkai fountain pens.
I was thrilled this morning to receive a full set of high quality images of the case in use.
IMG_2734 by my0771, on Flickr
IMG_2726 by my0771, on Flickr
IMG_2729 by my0771, on Flickr
The case was made for a Father and Daughter team who run a pen web sales site www.penopulence.com where they offer a selection of one off and grail pens including the Danitrios shown above.
It is really funny seeing something I have made doing the job that I designed it for and looking quite good.
amk (May 15th, 2018), azkid (May 15th, 2018), NibsForScript (May 15th, 2018)
I really love the 'brogue' case - I ought to order one in suede to go with my favourite Hush Puppy shoes! It must be quite difficult to line the punch up correctly every time for that design. Very impressed with your skills.
I know that feeling of looking at something you designed (in my case, often something I wrote) and thinking - oh, that's actually quite good. It's always a surprise, isn't it!
I have a new project - I've just acquired a big leather suitcase (about as big as it can get without being a trunk) for nowt; it was in the waste bin at a car boot sale so I grabbed it. A couple of corners need restitching so I'm glad I learned how to saddle stitch, and the straps need to be replaced, but when I'm finished it will be superb. A bit bigger than a pen case!
Hi Amk
I am not sure how suede would hold the shape it would need to be a heavy suede. You may know better than I do.
Yes lining up the holes is quite tricky there is more detail on my blog. I basically put lines on the leather mould and transferred them to the card that I used to lay out the design on.
I used the card to transfer the marks for the holes while the leather was in the mould this ensured it was square.
I have a number of large Gladstone bags in my garage awaiting restoration which I hope to get to at some time. If you are sharing your progress please share a link.
I am not quite sure how to follow the Danitrio Genkai case but as ever I just go with the orders and the next one on the list is a case for a pair of Kingsize Conid fountain pens.
This case is what I call a cigar style case two pen tubes wrapped in suede with both an inner and outer leather cover.
The starting point as always is flat sheet Kydex this is 1mm thick.
20180509_071629 by my0771, on Flickr
The Kydex is heated and rolled into cylinders using an appropriate size dowel.
20180509_073223 by my0771, on Flickr
One end of each cylinder is heated and rounded over to form the tube there is a small window of temperature between rounding over and melting all over your hand if you try this please take care.
20180509_083932 by my0771, on Flickr
Time to add a little suede wrapped inside and out.
20180509_124448 by my0771, on Flickr
IMG_20180509_132558_381 by my0771, on Flickr
Time to add the first leather outer cover to bind the tubes together
20180510_125303 by my0771, on Flickr
Stitched up.
20180512_132413 by my0771, on Flickr
Forming the outer cover.
20180512_161710 by my0771, on Flickr
Clamped up
20180512_171436 by my0771, on Flickr
Clamps of to apply the dye and then back into the clamps for a few days to dry out.
20180512_191353 by my0771, on Flickr
Cutting the outer covers.
20180513_194553 by my0771, on Flickr
Test fit
IMG_20180514_191244_557 by my0771, on Flickr
More stitching
IMG_20180515_224716_068 by my0771, on Flickr
Fitting the centre band
IMG_20180517_215643_089 by my0771, on Flickr
I made a wooden toggle / pen rest from oak which I ebonised and polished just waiting for a thong initial disc and end caps and this one will be ready for shipping.
2018-05-20_07-46-19 by my0771, on Flickr
This is a much shortened version of the making of this case more details can be found on my blog MY63leather
Thanks
Michael
azkid (May 23rd, 2018)
Michael, I love your work and have been looking through your stuff today on WP. I see your Etsy, too. But I don't see prices.
Hi Ray I am pleased that you like the work. I tried Etsy for some time and there was little interest they wanted me to have a stock of items and I don't work that way. Everything I make is made to order and giving out standard prices does not really work in that situation. I have tried to standardise prices for single cases taking an Montblanc 149 as a large pen so all of my single cases up to 149 mm long and 21 mm maximum diameter are £60 sterling the price has increased in line with the cost of materials. This is for a hand made case that has a very hard Kydex liner wrapped in soft suede with a hand dyed leather outer cover.
Custom work or designs cost more as do the larger cases but they are still very good value considering the protection they offer.
Drop me an email it is my blog name as in my signature below at gmail.com if you would like further information.
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