fountain pen

by Tony Thomas Over a month ago I ordered some tooling leather and dye to create another traveler's notebook using the Ray Blake method.   The last time I created one was a year and a half ago and you can find the article here .    This time around, I went with thinner and lighter leather for a more floppy appearance.  Also, I used a brown dye rather than a reddish one.   It holds four notebooks (currently three handmade and one Field Notes).  I took some time to distress it before dyeing for a more weathered look.  I am very pleased with the results and this will be my EDC!

by Tony Thomas After my success making a traveler's notebook out of heavy felt, I decided to make a few more out of leather using the popular Ray Blake method . For the first one, I used some vegetable-tanned tooling leather (highly recommended) from my local  Tandy Leather .  The piece was only a bit larger than the 6" x 9" I needed to make the notebook.  It was a fairly thin piece at around 4 oz. (approx 4/64").   I also bought a small punch to create the holes.  After cutting the leather, punching the holes, trimming the corners, threading the elastic cords, and applying a bit of oil, here is what I came up with in about 20 minutes: After living with the notebook for a week or so, I decided to make a second notebook out of heavier tooling leather I found on eBay ( DC Leather ).  It was a about 8.5 oz. (almost 9/64").   I also bought some dye ( Angelus ) for both notebooks to give them a more finished look.  The heavier leather was a bit more ch...

by Tony Thomas I was a bit bored today so I decided to try and put together an inexpensive traveler's notebook similar to the familiar Midori.  A "Po-Dori", you could call it. So, I headed off to the local craft store to see what materials I could find.  I discovered a 9" x 12" piece of stiff felt for a buck and 3 yards of green bungee cord for about $1.60.  The materials used are far from optimal but they are cheap and durable. Total cost: less than $3 with tax.  Plus, I have enough materials left over to make a smaller one if I so desire. I used Ray Blake's video on You Tube to provide the instruction needed to make it.  You can watch that video here .  Total construction time: about 15-20 minutes. In any case, it turned out OK and it works! I also made a short video on the way it turned out here . My "Po-Dori" with Clairefontaine 9 x 14 cm and Rhodia 7.5 x 12 cm notebooks installed.