TITLE: Making a minimal wallet
DATE: 2018-07-10
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
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I have been looking for a long long time for a better alternative to
the bulky leather or canvas wallets that are mostly available for
men. I’ve found lots of examples online, the most notable one being
the [N-Wallet by Elephant Wallet], but I couldn’t bring myself to
buy one, because it’s frivolous.
[N-Wallet by Elephant Wallet]:
https://elephantwallet.com/collections/n-wallet/products/n-wallet-aluminium
Finally I spent enough time at my Mum and Dad’s house to have access
to lots of scrap materials and a pretty good workshop, so I set
about trying to make my own version.
The template I drew can be downloaded here as a [.dxf], a
[.layout], a [.skp], and printed as an [A4 .pdf], which should
preserve the size so long as there are no borders on the print. Each
piece should be 90 mm (W) x 58 mm (H).
[.dxf]:
https://johngodlee.github.io/files/wallet/wallet_template.dxf
[.layout]:
https://johngodlee.github.io/files/wallet/wallet_template.layout
[.skp]:
https://johngodlee.github.io/files/wallet/wallet_template.skp
[A4 .pdf]:
https://johngodlee.github.io/files/wallet/wallet_template.pdf
{IMAGE}
I used a piece of corrugated steel that had previously been used for
a barn roof. I used a hacksaw to cut the pieces to approximate size,
usign the template as a guide, then used a bench grinder to shape
the fine detail. To smooth everything off I used a file and then
finally sandpaper.
For the elastic band I used a piece of trouser elastic from the
sewing box, which I superglued together. But eventually I might
switch this to a thicker piece, or I might even buy one of the
[stylised bands from Elephant Wallet], as they only cost a couple
of dollars and look pretty nice.
[stylised bands from Elephant Wallet]:
https://elephantwallet.com/collections/accessories/products/additional-elastic-band-n-wallet-wood-metal-carbon-fiber
This is the finished product:
{IMAGE}
