At the end of 2019 I was commissioned to make a slimline case for an Emperor fountain pen. Slimline means making the case as close a fit as possible the inside dimensions will be around 21 mm high and 26 mm wide the clip will sit across the wide dimension.
The picture above shows how the pen will fit.
A friend who is a woodturner made me a wooden blanc to the dimensions of an Emperor fountain pen. I have drawn a rough outline of how I want the case to look I also wrote down a sample of the dimensions of the Emperors I have made cases for.
I then transferred the dimensions to a laminate of MDF I had glued up previously adding a second line 2 mm outside of the main line.
I used a band saw to cut the straight lines and my scroll saw to cut out the corners.
My saws are set up for fine cutting and this is the waste.
After a few hours of shaping and sanding this is what I have.
The next step is to make a trial pressing from the mould.
As you can see I have allowed room for a clip and some lining.
This is the outside of the leather after moulding but before it is fully dry.
So at this point I realised that I had made this mould a little too small the was not enough room for the clip. I decided to make another mould.
Here are some sample pressings from the new mould Kydex came next I don’t have a picture of it but I do have this.
The two inserts are now wrapped in emerald green suede. Awaiting their outer covers.
The first moulding of this new Emperor is actually part of a two case set the second is for a Danitrio Junikaku.
Once I had the inserts wrapped in suede I could start forming the outer covers.
These leather covers are hand formed to the shape of the inserts. After forming and before they were fully dry I started applying the chocolate, Dye that is 🙂
Dying leather is not an exact science I prefer to apply it to wet or damp leather, this means I cannot see the final colour until it is dry. Unfortunately if you apply too much dye it will come off on your hands for ever.
The owner wanted to have the names of the pens on the straps wet the leather apply one ton of pressure and there you go.
I can never decide whether it is better to cut the shape of the closure tab before I punch the stitching holes or after, so I did one of each.
The next step is to stitch the case together fitting the straps as I go.
A matching pair of cases for two different pens in chocolate brown leather with emerald green stitching, Finished and ready to go to their new home.
The next case from the mould has evolved slightly I don’t like the angular look of the transition to accommodate the clip so I have smoothed it a little and may do more for the next version.
The next step is to wrap it in suede I have used the red suede as the background in the picture above.
Once the glue has set on the suede I can glue the backing piece of Kydex to the back panel. This picture is from a different case as I seem to have misplaced the one for this case. You can also see the inside of the case which I don’t think I have shown before.
After fitting the Kydex piece I covered it in suede, and brought the front and rear pieces together with some glue to hold it together while it is stitched. The stitching will pull the Kydex pen insert down onto the Kydex back panel making a very strong case.
Sorry the picture is a little dark this case is such a dark blue it is almost black, I am describing it as blue black after one of my favourite inks.
Trimmed and edges finished ready for shipping.