Members Rolandranch Posted January 17, 2018 Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 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 Quote
bikermutt07 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 Great job are they machine stitched? Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members Rolandranch Posted January 17, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 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. Quote
bikermutt07 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 Well good job. Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members Popo425 Posted January 17, 2018 Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 Nice. I like the white alligator print. Quote
garypl Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 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 Quote Cowboy 4500, Consew 206RB-4
Members Rolandranch Posted January 17, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 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). Quote
Members Rolandranch Posted January 17, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) 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 Quote
Members motocouture Posted January 17, 2018 Members Report Posted January 17, 2018 Took a look at the website; you’re a talented family all round! Quote
Rossr Posted January 18, 2018 Report Posted January 18, 2018 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? Quote
Members Rolandranch Posted January 18, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 18, 2018 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) Quote
Members DJole Posted January 18, 2018 Members Report Posted January 18, 2018 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. Quote \D. Jole \ --> <http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Lindex.htm>
Members Wedgetail Posted January 18, 2018 Members Report Posted January 18, 2018 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. Quote
Members KingsCountyLeather Posted January 18, 2018 Members Report Posted January 18, 2018 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! Quote
Rossr Posted January 18, 2018 Report Posted January 18, 2018 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 Quote
Members Tugadude Posted January 18, 2018 Members Report Posted January 18, 2018 Young men with this work ethic gives me hope for the future. God bless you all. Quote
alpha2 Posted January 18, 2018 Report Posted January 18, 2018 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 Quote So much leather...so little time.
Members Rolandranch Posted January 19, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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 Quote
Members Rolandranch Posted January 19, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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 Quote
Members Rolandranch Posted January 19, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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 Quote
Members Rolandranch Posted January 19, 2018 Author Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 @Tugadude @KingsCountyLeather Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it! -Ryan Quote
Members Wedgetail Posted January 19, 2018 Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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. Quote
Members DJole Posted January 19, 2018 Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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. Quote \D. Jole \ --> <http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Lindex.htm>
Members Wyowind Posted January 19, 2018 Members Report Posted January 19, 2018 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. Quote
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