31 Pen Pouches

[Rolandranch]

Hello, everyone!

I made some pen pouches for my brother to sell with his pens. If you would like to see his pens, go to www.woodnotch.com

The leather was from Tandy's oil-tanned and embossed remnants.

Thanks for looking.

-Ryan

 

[bikermutt07]

Great job are they machine stitched?

[Rolandranch]

1 minute ago, bikermutt07 said:

Great job are they machine stitched?

Thank you!

Yes, sir. All machine stitched or it wouldn't have been worth the time. It took under 2 hours to do them all so it wasn't bad.

[bikermutt07]

Well good job.

[Popo425]

Nice. I like the white alligator print. 

[garypl]

Hey Ryan, those pen holders look good and are a great idea!  I bet it took longer to layout and cut the pieces than it did to sew them!

Gary

[Rolandranch]

5 hours ago, Popo425 said:

Nice. I like the white alligator print. 

Thanks! That print stuff was kinda difficult to work with because it was pretty thin and my cb4500 is mainly for thicker leather but it worked out ok.

 

2 hours ago, garypl said:

Hey Ryan, those pen holders look good and are a great idea!  I bet it took longer to layout and cut the pieces than it did to sew them!

Gary

Thanks, Gary! Yep, it sure did. I made a cardboard template for marking the leather so it would go faster but it still took longer. I cut them with shears (imagine the cramps) and I am convinced that if I want to do a lot more of these, I will just get a custom cookie cutter punch (sorry, I don't know what else to call them).  

[Rolandranch]

I need to make a whole lot more. I made them last night and they all sold this morning. 

@garypl ...So yes, I'm getting that cookie-cutter.  

Edited January 17, 2018 by Rolandranch

[motocouture]

Took a look at the website; you’re a talented family all round!

[JKHelms]

Looks good. 

[Rossr]

They look real nice and the pens your family makes are also stunning.   I am curious are you also under 18 and adding to your college fund with leather work?

 

 

[Rolandranch]

Thanks, guys!

3 hours ago, Rossr said:

They look real nice and the pens your family makes are also stunning.   I am curious are you also under 18 and adding to your college fund with leather work?

 

 

Thank you, sir. Yes, I am 16 and the entire purpose of my leatherwork, pen crafting, and dog breeding is for college funds. My oldest brother is 18 and in the second semester of his freshman year.

-Ryan (aka Nate as on the website)

[DJole]

They ALL sold?! 
Well, that's a nice surprise! You must be doing something right, then!
Those pens are very nice -- you and your fellow business owners/operators have some talent in tool use and design work. All that shows up in your leather work, too. 
Good thing you've got the sewing machine to do all those! I can't imagine hand stitching for mass production like that -- it just would not be cost effective. 
On the other hand, you may consider offering a premium pen case, of a different design with some more bells and whistles, and hand stitched as a value-added point. 

[Wedgetail]

Lookin good! And moving that fast is excellent too!

If you can't afford a steel rule die and a clicker press (or something else to punch them out with) straight away, then you could start with a laser cut acrylic template.... or just shape one yourself out of thin plywood with a jigsaw and some sand paper. 

It takes almost as long to reset some presses as it does to cut around a simple template shape with a rotary cutter.

[KingsCountyLeather]

Brilliant job and a great idea to supply a nice leather cover to protect a very nice pen! The cost of the cover wouldn’t be a lot but if I bought a special pen I would keep a leather cover forever also. 

Nicely sewn too!

[Rossr]

8 hours ago, Rolandranch said:

Thanks, guys!

Thank you, sir. Yes, I am 16 and the entire purpose of my leatherwork, pen crafting, and dog breeding is for college funds. My oldest brother is 18 and in the second semester of his freshman year.

-Ryan (aka Nate as on the website)

Thats great for selling them all and working towards your future  Keep up the great work and keep moving forward!!    Tip of my cap to you and your brothers.  Best wished for a successful future

 

Ross

[Tugadude]

Young men with this work ethic gives me hope for the future.  God bless you all.

[alpha2]

Well, THIS thread cost me some money. I just ordered a pen from your brother. We're going down to Scottsdale in June for my wife's 60th birthday, and she is absolutely fascinated by the saguaro cactus. She can't say it to save her soul, but it's priceless to hear her try! So the saguaro pen was perfect for her birthday.

(Think, "sah-hooro, swooro, etc.").

Nice pen wallets, too!

Jeff

[Rolandranch]

13 hours ago, alpha2 said:

Well, THIS thread cost me some money. I just ordered a pen from your brother. We're going down to Scottsdale in June for my wife's 60th birthday, and she is absolutely fascinated by the saguaro cactus. She can't say it to save her soul, but it's priceless to hear her try! So the saguaro pen was perfect for her birthday.

(Think, "sah-hooro, swooro, etc.").

Nice pen wallets, too!

Jeff

Thank you, Jeff! I'm glad to hear you like the pens! I will soon be making another batch of pen pouches and you can choose one for free to go with the ordered pen.

Thanks again!

-Ryan

[Rolandranch]

22 hours ago, DJole said:

They ALL sold?! 
Well, that's a nice surprise! You must be doing something right, then!
Those pens are very nice -- you and your fellow business owners/operators have some talent in tool use and design work. All that shows up in your leather work, too. 
Good thing you've got the sewing machine to do all those! I can't imagine hand stitching for mass production like that -- it just would not be cost effective. 
On the other hand, you may consider offering a premium pen case, of a different design with some more bells and whistles, and hand stitched as a value-added point. 

Thanks! Yeah, I think I did something right... either the price or the pouch but either way I'm happy.  For some of the most exotic pens we have, I will make some special pouches with exotic leathers. My brother is currently working on a mammoth tooth pen... too bad I don't have mammoth leather to go with it.  

-Ryan

[Rolandranch]

22 hours ago, Wedgetail said:

Lookin good! And moving that fast is excellent too!

If you can't afford a steel rule die and a clicker press (or something else to punch them out with) straight away, then you could start with a laser cut acrylic template.... or just shape one yourself out of thin plywood with a jigsaw and some sand paper. 

It takes almost as long to reset some presses as it does to cut around a simple template shape with a rotary cutter.

I cut a template out of cardboard but I will soon replace it with a laser cut acrylic template. Looking into the die although the clicker might be too much of an upgrade at the moment. Would a die and mallet work alright together or do you have to have a clicker press?

Thanks,

-Ryan

[Rolandranch]

@Tugadude @KingsCountyLeather 

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it!

-Ryan

[Wedgetail]

1 hour ago, Rolandranch said:

I cut a template out of cardboard but I will soon replace it with a laser cut acrylic template. Looking into the die although the clicker might be too much of an upgrade at the moment. Would a die and mallet work alright together or do you have to have a clicker press?

Thanks,

-Ryan

Definitely need a press... bashing the die with a mallet will just damage it in short time.

There are a "tonne" of options though (pardon the pun)

Clicker presses are the most efficient, and ready for use. Also the most expensive. And those can be manual  or hydraulic.

Next, maybe a book binding style screw press. But those are pretty slow going.

Other options are a large arbor press, or a shop press (hydraulic or bottle jack style)... both of which you'd need to modify to use, such as putting a wide foot on the post so you don't just damage the die, and to spread the pressure evenly across the die. Also a nice flat plate to press onto that will accept the load.

In other words, if youre only considering it for one thing, it's probably not worth the investment... and if you are not using a clicker press, or arbor press, then it would simply be faster to cut around a hard template.

But if you are clicking out pen sleeves, wallet parts, etc in sufficient volume, thenworth considering.

Of course, you could get a suitably sized laser cutter... but that's another conversation.

[DJole]

2 hours ago, Rolandranch said:

Thanks! Yeah, I think I did something right... either the price or the pouch but either way I'm happy.  For some of the most exotic pens we have, I will make some special pouches with exotic leathers. My brother is currently working on a mammoth tooth pen... too bad I don't have mammoth leather to go with it.  

-Ryan

Well, that would be a REALLY exotic leather. Right up there with some Tyrannosaurus belly. 

[Wyowind]

8 hours ago, Rolandranch said:

Thanks! Yeah, I think I did something right... either the price or the pouch but either way I'm happy.  For some of the most exotic pens we have, I will make some special pouches with exotic leathers. My brother is currently working on a mammoth tooth pen... too bad I don't have mammoth leather to go with it.  

-Ryan

How about hair-on Bison to give that wooly mammoth effect.