An Instagram follower asked if I could make a case for two Conid Kingsize fountain pens.
The case is to be a cigar style case which is one of the most complex cases I make in effect it is two cases in one.
Like any case it starts with flat materials like Kydex sheet.
After applying some heat and with careful use of a wooden dowel I formed the sheet into cylinders.
After welding and rounding over one end they have become tubes
Once the tubes were cool I cut two strips of suede and stitched one end leaving about 1 cm excess. This will form a cushion in the bottom of the tube.
Using a smaller diameter dowel I inserted the suede inside the tube adding glue to secure it in place. The next step is to fold the suede over and glue it to the outside of the tube.
As this case has two outer leather covers it was time to start the first outer cover. This is tow pieces of thin 0.5 mm leather which are stitched together down the centre like this.
Dye first.
I did hang this on the washing line for an hour or so to dry.
Before it was fully dry I wrapped the tubes in shrink wrap to protect them and formed the leather around them.
When I was happy with it and it looked straight I removed the protective cover and glued the cover in place.
Only at this point did I allow the cover to fully dry out. Then I stitched the sides.
As I mentioned earlier this is complicated so here is the second outer cover.
The wet undyed leather is formed around the tubes you need four good hands to do this and as I only have one good one I use a lot of clamps.
I left this over night before checking the shape was correct and repositioning the clamps for the best shape.
Before the leather was fully dry I applied the dye wet leather absorbs dye much easier than dry.
After refining the shape it was back to the clamps to allow it to dry out fully.
Time to remove the clamps
Inside view
Now that I have the two sides effectively I need to cut them in half and stick the a different way to form the upper and lower sections of the case. In the picture you will see where I have made some holes to assist in putting the pieces back together. There is also a centre line which is 1.5 mm different on each side to assist the two pieces to locate when closing. well that is the plan.
This knife is called a round knife and is very old it is also very sharp. Using the holes I had drilled I was able to easily stitch the four pieces together so I could dry fit the pieces.
Open if you look closely you can see the step in the edges where they fit together.
I like to fit a band around the centre to cover the joint.
Before I can make the band fit I need to stitch the case together then trim it to size.
I wish I had remembered to dye the inside of the case before I stitched the case together oh well never mind.
After finishing the stitching and trimming I was able to form the centre band.
Sometimes things do not go as planned I had the case and the centre band on my desk next morning I could not find the centre band.
So it was time to start again.
No messing about I made the centre band dyed it and stitched it in place.
Edges have the first coat of dye centre band is stitched in place I don’t want to loose another one
Here is the finished case.
