Leonardo Classic Kindle 2 Leather cover

artsci · 02-26-2009, 09:38 PM

You may remember my earlier post, photos, and instructions about creating a Kindle cover from a Leonardo Leather address book. The idea was to contrast the advanced technology of the Kindle with a classic book cover. Here's a photo of the originals (I made three0.

With the arrival of the Kindle 2 and the hinged attachment on the new Amazon cover for the Kindle 2 I anticipated a way to make a new version of the Leonardo cover for the Kindle 2 using the hinged attachment. So I ordered two of the Amazon covers, planning to take one apart to see if I could adapt the hinged attachment for my custom Leonardo cover. I also took apart the original Kindle cover to prepare it for the much thinner Kindle 2. Here are some photos of the results.

The new cover is much thinner, but it looks the same when closed.

The new cover arrangement is much simpler and given the how thin the Kindle 2 is I saw no need to create the gilt page edge replicas that I made for the original cover.

The hinge attachment for the Kindle 2 is a imaginative solution for attaching the Kindle easily. It's very reliable and holds the Kindle securely in place, even with the cover folded back (which is the way I tend to read with the Kindle 2 in the cover).

Removing the hinge attachment from the Amazon Kindle 2 case requires cutting the case apart. The attachment is a one piece device with the 2 attachment points mounted in a plastic case about .114 thin. The device has two attachment points that slide into slots on the left side of the Kindle 2. The upper attachment point is hook-shaped and spring loaded so it hooks tightly to the upper slot. It's ingenious and quite simple.

It was very easy to find a way to mount the device on my new Leonardo cover, and it work like a charm. The Kindle 2 will not come loose unless the upper hook on the device is pushed downward to unhook the Kindle 2.

Here's a photo of the hinge device mounted in the new Leonardo cover. It's hard to even see it.

lilac_jive · 02-26-2009, 09:40 PM

Wow that's gorgeous!

pilotbob · 02-26-2009, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artsci

Removing the hinge attachment from the Amazon Kindle 2 case requires cutting the case apart.

Dude... don't tell me you cut apart that $30 leather case for a $2 piece? Is there not any place to order just the attachment spine piece?

BOb

unrequited · 02-27-2009, 01:09 AM

BEAUTIFUL. I accidentally ordered an extra one myself, and haven't sent it back. Maybe I'll gut it just for the hinge too. Expensive though... : (

deety · 02-27-2009, 03:25 AM

A little pricey, but I'd probably do the same thing if I was confident enough in my ability to have the finished product come out so nicely. It's a lot more attractive than the plain black case.

How did you mount the hinge piece?

artsci · 02-27-2009, 07:11 AM

I don't think the hinge piece is available separately. I searched but could not find it -- even information about it was not available -- only the photos posted by Amazon of the Kindle 2 cover. Based on careful examination of those photos, I made an educated guess that it was a single piece and that it functioned the way it does. Lucky for me, when I cut the cover up I discovered that I had guessed right.

In the Amazon cover the hinge piece sits in a slot surrounded by a somewhat stiff foam lining that's sewn between the cover edges. It's all backed by a thin piece of clear plastic. The hinge piece is glued into place with what seems to be some kind of contact cement.

On my cover I followed the Amazon example. The hinge is sandwiched and glued between two pieces of the thin aircraft plywood (wonderful stuff for this kind of project) that form the cover lining. The marbleized paper is glued over the assembly then the whole thing is glued on the cover. Not difficult at all. Took about two hours of work. The greatest time was taking care to be sure it was all aligned perfectly.

By the way, I think Amazon did an outstanding job with its Kindle 2 cover. It's far superior to the original Kindle cover and the hinge attachment works beautifully. I cut it up to make my own cover only because I wanted something original. I already had my original Leonardo cover and extra material from its construction, so my only cost was the extra Kindle 2 cover, which I thought was a small price to pay for having a unique cover that was my own creation.

artsci · 02-27-2009, 07:34 AM

Another thought. I'd advise anyone who's planning to buy an aftermarket Kindle 2 cover (say the M-edge, for example) to wait or insist that the manufacture use the Amazon hinge piece for mounting the Kindle to the cover. All those ugly and inconvenient corner attachments as well as velcro mounting solutions are now totally unnecessary from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

It may be that Amazon is not making the hinge piece available to the aftermarket manufacturers, which would be unfortunate, since it works so well and represents simplicity in its highest form. In my view, the new hinge attachment has made all other mounting solutions, in a word, crude.

deety · 02-27-2009, 01:10 PM

Thanks for the extra construction detail.

The Amazon cover looks pretty good, but I usually prefer something with a little less generic style. If I don't start to see nice third party cases that use the hinges then I may end up trying this myself.

badgoodDeb · 02-27-2009, 04:36 PM

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?

Artsci -- were there any holes in the hinge piece, that one could sew through? I've got an Oberon journal cover (not the customized Kindle cover) that I've temporarily adapted to my Kindle 2 (will create another thread) but I was wondering if I could glue (or better yet sew) the kindle hinge in there?

unrequited · 02-27-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?

...I doubt you want to pay full retail for it + shipping, 'cause that's what I'm getting from amazon.com returns. But if you do, lemmie know, I can easily as ship it to you as back to amazon, and it's still in the sealed box unopened. PM me so we don't derail this thread though.

artsci · 02-27-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?

Artsci -- were there any holes in the hinge piece, that one could sew through? I've got an Oberon journal cover (not the customized Kindle cover) that I've temporarily adapted to my Kindle 2 (will create another thread) but I was wondering if I could glue (or better yet sew) the kindle hinge in there?

Sewing it in would not be possible. It's about 1/8" thick (.114 to be exact) and it's made of plastic. White plastic on the top side, and clear on the bottom, with melted over plastic tabs on the bottom to hold the clear in place. There's also a small spring built into the mechanism the pulls the top hinge/hook tight into the top slot on the Kindle 2 itself.

I don't know how the Oberon cover is lined, but you might be able to carefully slice open the lining, slip and glue the hinge piece in place (contact cement recommended), cover it back up with the lining, which you could glue or hand sew back into place. Not having seen the Oberon cover in the flesh, all this is speculation, of course.

Elsi · 02-27-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artsci

Another thought. I'd advise anyone who's planning to buy an aftermarket Kindle 2 cover (say the M-edge, for example) to wait or insist that the manufacture use the Amazon hinge piece for mounting the Kindle to the cover. All those ugly and inconvenient corner attachments as well as velcro mounting solutions are now totally unnecessary from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

It may be that Amazon is not making the hinge piece available to the aftermarket manufacturers, which would be unfortunate, since it works so well and represents simplicity in its highest form. In my view, the new hinge attachment has made all other mounting solutions, in a word, crude.

I would bet that Amazon or one of its subsidiaries/partners has a patent on the hinge piece and is licensing it to the manufacturers of covers -- or is requiring them to buy the piece from Amazon. At any rate, it's an extra cost to the 3rd-party manufacturers.

badgoodDeb · 02-27-2009, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artsci

Sewing it in would not be possible. It's about 1/8" thick (.114 to be exact) and it's made of plastic. White plastic on the top side, and clear on the bottom, with melted over plastic tabs on the bottom to hold the clear in place. There's also a small spring built into the mechanism the pulls the top hinge/hook tight into the top slot on the Kindle 2 itself.

I don't know how the Oberon cover is lined, but you might be able to carefully slice open the lining, slip and glue the hinge piece in place (contact cement recommended), cover it back up with the lining, which you could glue or hand sew back into place. Not having seen the Oberon cover in the flesh, all this is speculation, of course.

No lining at all; straight, yummy thick leather. I may try glueing the hinge to it. Or maybe I'll order the M-Edge with the hinge, and use my Oberon cover for an actual journal (the way it was purchased).

P.S. I love your K2 cover above!!

artsci · 02-27-2009, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

No lining at all; straight, yummy thick leather. I may try glueing the hinge to it. Or maybe I'll order the M-Edge with the hinge, and use my Oberon cover for an actual journal (the way it was purchased).

P.S. I love your K2 cover above!!

Glad you like the cover

artsci · 02-27-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsi

I would bet that Amazon or one of its subsidiaries/partners has a patent on the hinge piece and is licensing it to the manufacturers of covers -- or is requiring them to buy the piece from Amazon. At any rate, it's an extra cost to the 3rd-party manufacturers.

I'm sure that's the case but it couldn't cost that much. It can't be worth more that $1.00 or so, if that much.

02-26-2009, 09:38 PM	#1
artsci artsci Posts: 50 Karma: 338 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle and Kindle 2	Leonardo Classic Kindle 2 Leather cover You may remember my earlier post, photos, and instructions about creating a Kindle cover from a Leonardo Leather address book. The idea was to contrast the advanced technology of the Kindle with a classic book cover. Here's a photo of the originals (I made three0. With the arrival of the Kindle 2 and the hinged attachment on the new Amazon cover for the Kindle 2 I anticipated a way to make a new version of the Leonardo cover for the Kindle 2 using the hinged attachment. So I ordered two of the Amazon covers, planning to take one apart to see if I could adapt the hinged attachment for my custom Leonardo cover. I also took apart the original Kindle cover to prepare it for the much thinner Kindle 2. Here are some photos of the results. The new cover is much thinner, but it looks the same when closed. The new cover arrangement is much simpler and given the how thin the Kindle 2 is I saw no need to create the gilt page edge replicas that I made for the original cover. The hinge attachment for the Kindle 2 is a imaginative solution for attaching the Kindle easily. It's very reliable and holds the Kindle securely in place, even with the cover folded back (which is the way I tend to read with the Kindle 2 in the cover). Removing the hinge attachment from the Amazon Kindle 2 case requires cutting the case apart. The attachment is a one piece device with the 2 attachment points mounted in a plastic case about .114 thin. The device has two attachment points that slide into slots on the left side of the Kindle 2. The upper attachment point is hook-shaped and spring loaded so it hooks tightly to the upper slot. It's ingenious and quite simple. It was very easy to find a way to mount the device on my new Leonardo cover, and it work like a charm. The Kindle 2 will not come loose unless the upper hook on the device is pushed downward to unhook the Kindle 2. Here's a photo of the hinge device mounted in the new Leonardo cover. It's hard to even see it.

02-27-2009, 07:11 AM	#6
artsci artsci Posts: 50 Karma: 338 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle and Kindle 2	I don't think the hinge piece is available separately. I searched but could not find it -- even information about it was not available -- only the photos posted by Amazon of the Kindle 2 cover. Based on careful examination of those photos, I made an educated guess that it was a single piece and that it functioned the way it does. Lucky for me, when I cut the cover up I discovered that I had guessed right. In the Amazon cover the hinge piece sits in a slot surrounded by a somewhat stiff foam lining that's sewn between the cover edges. It's all backed by a thin piece of clear plastic. The hinge piece is glued into place with what seems to be some kind of contact cement. On my cover I followed the Amazon example. The hinge is sandwiched and glued between two pieces of the thin aircraft plywood (wonderful stuff for this kind of project) that form the cover lining. The marbleized paper is glued over the assembly then the whole thing is glued on the cover. Not difficult at all. Took about two hours of work. The greatest time was taking care to be sure it was all aligned perfectly. By the way, I think Amazon did an outstanding job with its Kindle 2 cover. It's far superior to the original Kindle cover and the hinge attachment works beautifully. I cut it up to make my own cover only because I wanted something original. I already had my original Leonardo cover and extra material from its construction, so my only cost was the extra Kindle 2 cover, which I thought was a small price to pay for having a unique cover that was my own creation. Last edited by artsci; 02-27-2009 at 07:23 AM.

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02-26-2009, 09:40 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Wow that's gorgeous!

02-27-2009, 01:09 AM	#4
unrequited Zealot Posts: 133 Karma: 118 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2 DX	BEAUTIFUL. I accidentally ordered an extra one myself, and haven't sent it back. Maybe I'll gut it just for the hinge too. Expensive though... : (

02-27-2009, 03:25 AM	#5
deety book geek Posts: 51 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Kindle 2	A little pricey, but I'd probably do the same thing if I was confident enough in my ability to have the finished product come out so nicely. It's a lot more attractive than the plain black case. How did you mount the hinge piece?

02-27-2009, 07:34 AM	#7
artsci artsci Posts: 50 Karma: 338 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle and Kindle 2	Another thought. I'd advise anyone who's planning to buy an aftermarket Kindle 2 cover (say the M-edge, for example) to wait or insist that the manufacture use the Amazon hinge piece for mounting the Kindle to the cover. All those ugly and inconvenient corner attachments as well as velcro mounting solutions are now totally unnecessary from both a functional and aesthetic perspective. It may be that Amazon is not making the hinge piece available to the aftermarket manufacturers, which would be unfortunate, since it works so well and represents simplicity in its highest form. In my view, the new hinge attachment has made all other mounting solutions, in a word, crude.

02-27-2009, 01:10 PM	#8
deety book geek Posts: 51 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Kindle 2	Thanks for the extra construction detail. The Amazon cover looks pretty good, but I usually prefer something with a little less generic style. If I don't start to see nice third party cases that use the hinges then I may end up trying this myself.

02-27-2009, 04:36 PM	#9
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,536 Karma: 64201357 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover? Artsci -- were there any holes in the hinge piece, that one could sew through? I've got an Oberon journal cover (not the customized Kindle cover) that I've temporarily adapted to my Kindle 2 (will create another thread) but I was wondering if I could glue (or better yet sew) the kindle hinge in there?