I was asked to make the ultimate pen case for Seven magnificent fountain pens including a number of Namiki Emperors.
I have for sometime been considering making a pen case to transport a set of pens in style, which on arrival at a pen meet could transform into a pen stand to display the pens.
I started with the stand, As I had some spare red leather I decided to make a sample in that.
I started with grey board and masking tape and marked out a number of options.
I will show more detail as we progress. Switching to the black leather I have marked out the spacing for the pen slots.
Although I know my leather is safe for use around fountain pens, I want to line the entire case in clothing quality suede. I did not want to stitch the flap in place I added a full length piece of leather lined in suede, complete with the flap.
This is the first tricky bit, I cut a strip of leather to form the pen slots. Having marked the lines on the inside I used 3M double sided tape to hold the leather which I had formed around a dowel. They were then stitched by hand.
Almost done, As you can see I managed to keep the lines straight. Still need to stitch around the flap this will add a little firmness to the flap.
Test fitting the pen slots onto the boards that will form the stand. The triangular piece of board in front is the template for cutting the sides of the leather. This would be cut in half before being used to mark out the leather.
I used the template with a stitching allowance to mark cut and stitch the sides of the front and back panels. As you can see below this left a neat seam down the centre, It also prevents the front and back panels from sliding to far open.
Fitting the leather to the boards was a challenge, I used contact adhesive as I wanted a strong bond. Clearly this meant I had one chance to get it in place. Not easy at all.
Here we have the finished pen stand what we need next is something to put it in, I have had this black leather for some time it was expensive and needs to be used for special projects.
For anyone who is interested it is Italian dyed through veg tanned leather.
Here you can see the pieces cut to size edges marked ready to have stitching holes punched. If you look closely the gusset panel has yellow marks where it has to be thinned down to allow it to bendthrough the corner.
This is the lock set with a Montblanc 149 for size.
I did not want to fit the lock into the front panel of the case, This prevents any accidental contact between the lock body and the pens. I cut a disc from the leather and cut out the shape of the lock so it would fit.
This is the rear view I covered this with a piece of thin leather before fitting.
Test fitting the gusset panel to the rear panel, suede lining has been added.
I had a few issues fitting the lock and had to remove some of the stitching as you can see. I dont like using multiple pieces of thread when stitching. This meant I had to undo all of the stitching on the front flap and rear panel. Purely to keep myself happy.
After fitting the lock and its disc in place I could stitch in the front panel, All by hand no machines at all.
I realised the the back of the upper part of the lock was scratching the face plate of the lock. To prevent this I decided to cover the back of the hasp. I cut thinned and shaped a piece of leather. This was stitched in place I made a feature of the stitching.
At this point I started to think about the handle, this is my second attempt the first being far too large.
After a bit of trial and error I ended up with this design.
This is how it looked before being stitched in place.
Finished handle.
Handle stitched in place.
Time to finish the edges, This involves a lot of sanding painting sanding and painting. I used a special water based edge paint. Sanding to 600 grit.
This is the second coat. The final finish is pure beeswax.
Here is the finished case.
I have had this case in my mind for a long time and I am grateful to have the chance to make it.