The Leather Goods Thread

[shameless]

no seat belt !!!

[FuzzyB]

Totally agree on the black on Saddle Back bags Raza. As an owner of their products, I thought the dark brown would be the "best for me" from the photos but it turns out chestnut is my favorite with actual experience . . .

How has the chestnut aged? The wallet I just bought from them is chestnut. It looks like a lovely color, but I'm curious to see how it looks over time. When I get a bag, it will probably be the chestnut (if it ages well) or the tobacco (which I am quite confident will age well).

[uchinanchu]

How has the chestnut aged? The wallet I just bought from them is chestnut. It looks like a lovely color, but I'm curious to see how it looks over time. When I get a bag, it will probably be the chestnut (if it ages well) or the tobacco (which I am quite confident will age well).

Haven't had anything long enough that might give you an opinion that could be counted on Brian but so far I've not had any reason to think that disappointment may lie ahead. The chestnut looks more brown than chestnut in pics I've found, but in the flesh it's definitely not so. My duffel bag is tobacco (a Dave's Deal) but if not for the savings there I'd have gone chestnut too . . .

[FuzzyB]

Haven't had anything long enough that might give you an opinion that could be counted on Brian but so far I've not had any reason to think that disappointment may lie ahead. The chestnut looks more brown than chestnut in pics I've found, but in the flesh it's definitely not so. My duffel bag is tobacco (a Dave's Deal) but if not for the savings there I'd have gone chestnut too . . .

Thanks for the pictures! One thing is certain. They use beautiful leather on their bags, and I don’t think you can go wrong with either color. Black is definitely out and I am quite sure the coffee brown is too dark.

I’m sure my new wallet will start showing some wear quickly.

[Raza]

Chestnut is a nice color. After I got my tobacco wallet, my friend got a chestnut one, then upon seeing it, a colleague of ours bought one for her boyfriend. I’m decidedly a tobacco guy—the newer tobacco color is plenty polished (I think the older tobacco color was a bit yellowish) for everyday life, while still retaining that more “adventurous” color, if that makes sense. Here’s a comparison of the old tobacco and the more recent color:


(Not my picture—the iPhone case is circa 2014, the briefcase 2017)

Personally, I find the newer (on the right) much more attractive. Chestnut is a fair bit darker, but it works on some products better than tobacco, in my opinion. I have their portfolio (I think they still sell it under the name “notepad holder”) that I decided to buy in chestnut instead of tobacco—I primarily used it professionally, including on job interviews, and when I got it, I thought the chestnut looked more professional. I’ll grab a picture of it, but it’s actually a lot closer to the tobacco color they sell now than what tobacco was when I bought the portfolio.

[FuzzyB]

Here’s the new wallet. The light really changed the look.







Made in Old Mexico is a nice touch.




And with the old Rawlings baseball leather it replaces.

[Raza]

Chestnut versus the current tobacco:

[Raza]

After changing the laces on my Greats Royales, I realized that as full grain leather sneakers, I could use the Chamberlain's Leather Milk to clean them. I used Formula No.2, just to clean. These shoes are over two years old, and have been in three countries, including a five mile walk all over Tokyo to a Sumo tournament.

Here's a picture of one shoe cleaned and one shoe still dirty. As you can imagine, the right shoe (top) was just about as dirty as the left shoe (bottom).



And for the full after shot:


The whole shoe doesn't look brand new, but the leather does. About as clean as the day I took them out of the box. If I take a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to the rubber sole, they'll look as new. Crazy how good this stuff is. I wouldn't recommend it on most sneakers--as Chamberlain's says, it's not for things that are labeled as "genuine leather", suede, nubuck, or napped leather, and many mainstream sneakers have a mix of these things. Genuine leather, of course, is split leather and about the worst quality of leather you can get and can be mixed, so Chamberlain's plays it safe by saying not to use it. So if you've got Greats or maybe Common Projects or something like that, I'd say go ahead (actually, with Common Projects, I'd email them first--their website is not at all helpful as to the materials). But if it's Nike or Adidas, I'd probably look for something more specifically designed for shoes.

[Raza]

I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but I got a great deal on a fairly new flight bag in chestnut. I had been going back and forth on the color, since the newer tobacco I posted earlier is out again--it only ran in 2016, and a fuzzier tobacco is back. It's almost a suede-like finish that has a grain to it (you get a different shade depending on how you run you finger along it) and I wasn't sure if I'd like that, since I'm in the minority and love the 2016 smooth "peanut butter" tobacco. I really like the chestnut on the flight bag, and I could definitely see myself getting more chestnut products in the future.

There's some scarring, which is surprising, since chestnut usually has the least amount of scars and none of my tobacco products had any before, so I wasn't expecting it. Some people really like the scars, I'm mostly undecided about it but lean to "I don't like it that much". But, it's mostly covered by the handles, so no big deal.

Haven't much used the bag yet, as I got it really specifically to be a flight bag; I like the Gladstone closure for being under and airplane seat and the size means it can fit a surprising amount compared to even the large satchel. With exterior pockets and about an inch of extra depth, it means that I can easily slip my DSLR in there in its sleeve and have room for a lot more, as well as putting smaller, loose things in the pockets. It's also a bit taller and because it doesn't need to be cinched down to be secure, it has a fair bit more usable space. I miss, however, the key strap (which both my satchel and front pocket messenger have) and the outside water bottle pockets--those two missing features keep it from being a perfect everyday bag as well (and, if I'm honest, for me the size is overkill) so it won't be replacing my messenger as a daily bag. But it's going to be my number one travel bag for sure.




They're not on perfectly level ground here, but you can get an idea of the size difference. It's a little bit taller, a little bit deeper, and a little bit wider--and it really adds up.


Please ignore the dusty couch, I really have no idea how it collects so much dust, so fast. No one is ever in that room but to clean it.

[uchinanchu]

I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but I got a great deal on a fairly new flight bag in chestnut. I had been going back and forth on the color, since the newer tobacco I posted earlier is out again--it only ran in 2016, and a fuzzier tobacco is back. It's almost a suede-like finish that has a grain to it (you get a different shade depending on how you run you finger along it) and I wasn't sure if I'd like that, since I'm in the minority and love the 2016 smooth "peanut butter" tobacco. I really like the chestnut on the flight bag, and I could definitely see myself getting more chestnut products in the future.

There's some scarring, which is surprising, since chestnut usually has the least amount of scars and none of my tobacco products had any before, so I wasn't expecting it. Some people really like the scars, I'm mostly undecided about it but lean to "I don't like it that much". But, it's mostly covered by the handles, so no big deal.

Haven't much used the bag yet, as I got it really specifically to be a flight bag; I like the Gladstone closure for being under and airplane seat and the size means it can fit a surprising amount compared to even the large satchel. With exterior pockets and about an inch of extra depth, it means that I can easily slip my DSLR in there in its sleeve and have room for a lot more, as well as putting smaller, loose things in the pockets. It's also a bit taller and because it doesn't need to be cinched down to be secure, it has a fair bit more usable space. I miss, however, the key strap (which both my satchel and front pocket messenger have) and the outside water bottle pockets--those two missing features keep it from being a perfect everyday bag as well (and, if I'm honest, for me the size is overkill) so it won't be replacing my messenger as a daily bag. But it's going to be my number one travel bag for sure.




They're not on perfectly level ground here, but you can get an idea of the size difference. It's a little bit taller, a little bit deeper, and a little bit wider--and it really adds up.


Please ignore the dusty couch, I really have no idea how it collects so much dust, so fast. No one is ever in that room but to clean it.

Pretty nifty looking bag Raza, I love the SaddleBack stuff . . .