Leather Chalk Case

Hi all, I've been getting into leatherworking recently and I had a friend ask me to make him a leather chalk holder because the ones on the market are either bulky or flimsy or come with flaps and fasteners and stuff. He wanted something classy and sleek that looked good on its own and had a removable cover.

It was a little tricky and the first prototypes fell apart after a while, but I settled on a design where the bottom and top pieces are made with extra thick leather and I used stitching on the side instead of glue. It's still a little sloppy, but overall I think it turned out decent. Any comments or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies (and requests!)

I've been getting a lot of requests locally as well so I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to keep making them, as it's a long process to make them up from scratch with all the cutting, molding, stamping, dyeing, sewing, etc etc.. I'll see if I can get the pattern down and speed up the process a little, but I really don't like cutting any corners when making stuff, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm in Japan, too, so the added shipping might make the cost unreasonable for making and shipping them overseas.

Here a couple more that I made for myself and another buddy. I think the one with the white basketweave lid turned out really nice.

Thanks John, I've always admired your work and attention to detail.
I might try my hand at making a case for myself, but as far as going into case making, I'll leave that up to the pros. It would probably take me five times as long, with half the quality and twice the cost!

Okay, so I looked up shipping costs and there were a lot more reasonable than I thought, so I'll whip some up for anyone who's interested.

I've only got time to make a small batch for now (need a little time to fill some back orders as well), so the first 6 people to pm their info can get one (Allen Brown, sharond, ADAM HENSON, you guys are on top of the list, so if you still want one let me know).

I've been selling them for $13 locally and $20 to have it customized to match a cue case or other item (may raise it a little just to stop everyone and their mother from wanting one).
But anyway, just to get some out there to you guys, I'd be willing to do an AZ price of $15 SHIPPED (from Japan to USA by air mail, takes 1-2 weeks). It also includes a piece of blue Masters chalk as well to keep the holder firm and solid during its journey.

Some more details about the holders:
-> Made with premium Japanese vegetable-tanned leather
-> Semi-gloss finish and water-resistant wax coating
-> Chalk height can be easily adjusted by stacking things inside (nickels work great!)
-> I'll be making them as pictured below with the walnut-brown body and white leather basketweave top (the best-looking style so far imo) but I'll take requests as well.

Also if you get one, be careful when leaving it around the house... one of my buddies got into a spot of trouble when his gf found the fancy little box and assumed there was a ring inside. When she found out it was just pool chalk...

Looks amazing on the rail, where it belongs!

Thanks for the kinds words, Allen.
I'm sure it would look great in your pocket as well. lol

Just give me some time to make sure I get one out to everyone who wants one first, and then I'd be happy to make a small set for you.

Thanks for all the requests everyone!

Seems to be more interest than I expected, so I've decided to keep making them for the next little while. I'm just doing this more as a hobby in my spare time though and it takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to complete one, so please be patient.

The standard and most popular color variation is the walnut brown body with white leather lid, but I can also do them in a combination of the following colors as well:
Body: natural, brown (walnut), dark brown (cordovan)
Top of lid: white, natural, brown (walnut), dark brown (cordovan)

ZeroSkylineX said:

Your chalk cases look amazing Victor, keep up the great work! Would love it if you had a magnetic feature on them.

Edit:
I've never realized how cheap rare earth magnets were, what are your dimensions for the chalk holder Victor? I may buy the magnet separately and glue it to the bottom myself.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=251930998657&alt=web

Click to expand...

The holders are 28mm x 28mm at the base. There is a tooled design on the bottom as well, so it'd probably be better to put a magnet on the inside, underneath the chalk to maintain the clean look of the holder. I'll pick one up this week and try embedding it into the leather under the chalk and see if that works.