Sundry Leather Items Archives - Page 2 of 2

July 30, 2014December 19, 2017

BaytowneLeatherUSA iPad Air Leather Sleeve Review – $75

BayTowneLeatherUSA is an Illinois-based Etsy store specializing in handmade leather goods including leather folios, sleeves, wallets, and belts all created by a single leathersmith – Roge. Roge (short for Roger) creates all his products by himself in a 18×24 foot leather shop behind his home. Due to this single-crafter business model, he is able to customize any of his products or create new items from scratch according to the customer’s specifications. With a perfect 5 star rating from over 200 reviews in the last two years, BayTowneLeatherUSA is one of the most reputable leather stores on Etsy and it’s easy to see why.

CONSTRUCTION

All BayTowne Leather products are hand cut and made with 5/6oz full-grain leather. This particular leather iPad sleeve is made of a single piece of natural vegetable tanned leather with a coat of Carnauba wax for protection. Everything from the shape, waxed stitching, and leather strap/closure method can be customized and priced accordingly. There really is no limit to the customization offered by Baytowne Leather. After seeing a tapered cover on another website, Roger was able to edit this cover to match at no additional cost. He also offers free 3-letter monogramming.

BaytowneLeatherUSAIpadAirSleeve10 — Roge handcrafts each piece in his 18 x 24ft shop.

FUNCTION

As a basic leather sleeve, it does its job. The strap is sturdy enough to maintain a tight closure at all times and can be used to clip on a stylus. The leather can be rather tight and stiff in the beginning, but stretches with time. If given notice, Roge now designs the sleeves to be slightly wider to accommodate cases. The thickness of the leather offers some shock protection to the iPad but is more functional as a barrier.

BaytowneLeatherUSAIpadAirSleeve6 — Just big enough to fit an iPad with a Moshi Versacover case.

AESTHETIC

The natural vegetable tanned leather ages gracefully with time to leave a patina unique to the owner. This sleeve gained an unexpected tan-line after being left out in the sun and continues to tan even after eight months of use. On the other hand, if you aren’t one to wait for your own patina to mature, there is a hand stained “Antique Brown” option. Neatfreaks beware: coffee stains and oily handprints are hard to get out but still manage to make the sleeve look beautiful. On the other hand, the leather with wax coating is rather resistant to scratches and does not show scuffs easily. The delicate balance between raw edges and smooth clean lines adds a bit of sophistication to this rustic iPad sleeve.

BESTLEATHER CONCLUSION

The BayTowneLeatherUSA iPad Air Leather Sleeve is reasonably priced for a customized handcrafted iPad carrying case. If you are willing to wait a few weeks for a handmade, uniquely crafted case built to your exact specifications, this is the case (and the man) to go to. Make sure to order early around the holidays since a single leathersmith can only work so fast. If you don’t have an iPad, you’re going to want to find something to stuff inside so you have an excuse to carry this around.

Click here to check out BayTownLeatherUSA’s goods on Etsy.

July 11, 2014December 19, 2017

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway – $150 – Ends July 26th

Do you need something hefty to carry your toothbrush around in? Are you tired of wearing your lightweight dopp kit out with your toothpaste tube? How many dopp kits are you going to tear through until you buy something indestructible and toothbrush proof? (satire)

the question is – will it blend?

Maybe. Those blenders are ridiculous.

Not only will you have this your entire lifetime (if you don’t blend it), but so will the next ten generations of your offspring. It’s that ridiculously tough. Usually this is the level of construction used on items that get a lot of use with heavy loads like backpacks and briefcases, but no, your toothbrush also deserves better levels of protection.

To be fair, there are a lot of ways to use the dopp kit. Thrux Lawrence told me that people use these kits for all sorts of reasons–carrying golf balls, beauty goodies, tools, etc. Whatever you put inside will stay inside, which is really a handy feature. It’s much better than a ziploc bag.

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway4 — Here is the dopp kit carrying pool balls very effectively. Just in case you find a perfectly smooth place to whip out your EDC pool set.

Let’s just put it this way. When you win this dopp kit, no one will ever mock you for having too wimpy of a dopp kit. NEVER!

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway2 — The dopp kit also looks good sitting on a motorcycle… Or the motorcycle looks good with a dopp kit on it. I’m not sure. This may be a hot new trend.

Check out the Thrux Lawrence goods here.

July 10, 2014December 19, 2017

LeatherWerk 9″ Valet Tray Review – $35

LeatherWerk is a crazy Swiss (as he refers himself) by the name of Men A. Werro. Men currently lives and works out of Oregon. BestLeather worked with LeatherWerk in the past on a review of vintage Swiss military bags. Besides sourcing and restoring vintage bags, Men makes custom accessories for bags and travel. Any leather enthusiasts on Facebook will have heard of Men or LeatherWerk for he has quite the devoted following.

Popular amongst the LeatherWerk accesories are these classic leather valet trays available in multiple sizes and colors.

CONSTRUCTION

Here is a 9″ (measured when lying flat, unfastened) valet tray in a leather that Men calls ‘Antique Brown’. The materials are 5oz cow hide leather with a suede finish on the bottom side, industrial heavy duty polyester thread stitching and brass studs.

FUNCTION

Valet trays are best used for desks, dresser tops, tables, and any other surfaces to keep small items organized. This tray is incredibly handy to unload one’s pockets or other small carry items into (wallet, cell phone, pocket knife, coins, notes). These really help organize any desk or table from clutter. The suede finish on the bottom side of the leather prevents the tray from sliding around on a desk or table surface as well as protecting the surface from any scratches or other markings.

The LeatherWerk valet tray also unbuttons at the corners so that the tray can lay flat and can be easily put in one’s bag for use in hotel rooms. As any busy traveler will appreciate, it is far easier to keep small travel essentials in one place rather than have them scattered or worrying about leaving them behind.

AESTHETIC

The leather chosen for the valet tray is very soft and velvety while being able to hold is shape to whatever you place in it. Out of the box, there is no stiffness to the leather whatsoever. At first I was concerned that it would get too floppy in time, but then realized I like the feel of the soft leather especially when it comes to unbuttoning the studs and being able to lay it flat or roll it up for travel. The leather has a beautiful rich antique brown finish with markings and scuffs that add to the antique feel. I suspect that this piece will continue to collect great character and patina with age. Lastly, the brass studs compliment the color and the antique feel of the leather perfectly and are very sturdy.

BESTLEATHER CONCLUSION

For $35 dollars this handmade valet tray is a steal! Available in a few different sizes, Men can design one to your desired dimensions as well. The LeatherWerk valet trays are simply yet carefully designed to maximize beauty, aesthetic, and functionality in any setting whether at home, on the road or even in the great outdoors. Check them out here.

July 7, 2014December 19, 2017

Arne Mason Molded Leather Bookweight Review – $50

Arne Mason is a custom leather worker out of Ashland, Oregon specializing in molded cases for fly rods, fly reels, cigars, flies, and knives. Arne also does custom-molded cases for whatever you need to protect. He uses the highest quality, grade A English Bridle Leather tanned in the United States and has been setting the standard for fly fishing cases since 1972. And so, without further ado, I give you the simple and beautiful molded bookweight from Arne Mason

construction

Arne specializes in heat-molded cases, which he brought to the bookweight world. He starts with elegant and clean teardrop shaped lead weights and then molds English bridle leather around them, creating a strip of leather with lead weights in the end. Arne then takes a strip of suede and a strip of Nigerian goatskin, cuts them to match the strip of bridle, and stitches the goatskin on top of the bridle and the suede beneath. Very simple, and very beautiful.

design and aesthetic

The bookweight from Arne Mason is beautifully designed, using rich tan goatskin and light page-gripping suede. The teardrop lead weights are simply elegant and are symmetrically pleasing.

function

Prior to receiving this bookweight for review, I had never used a bookweight. I thought they were fairly useless, as I normally would hold a book in my hands while reading — and I still do. However! I have found this bookweight to be immensely useful in scholarly reading. I am an incoming freshman at Reed College and have summer reading, which requires me to take notes. Having the ability to keep the book open and the information readily available is immensely useful and makes it very easy to jump from text to notebook and back again.

BestLeather conclusion

Bookweights are becoming more and more obsolete as the world moves from physical text to digital. However, books are better than text, and that’s a fact. So, in my mind, buying a beautiful and elegant bookweight to make life easier and make scholarly reading or just reading in general more relaxing is completely worth it. And at $50, you are getting what you pay for: a hand-molded, beautiful, simple, and elegant bookweight. Who knows — with this bookweight, society might reverse its course into the digital darkside and return to the simplicity of books.

Check out the Arne Mason Bookweight here.

June 2, 2014December 19, 2017

Ewing Survivor Clip key management Review – $65.00

A key clip might not be the most exciting thing on your wish list. But, it is an essential item and Ewing Dry Goods has come up with a couple ways to handle your key management concerns. The Survivor Clip is a great tool, and we will also take a quick look at their Laced Key Clip. All materials are Made in USA and the product is manufactured in Juneau, Alaska. Continue reading “Ewing Survivor Clip key management Review – $65.00”

April 7, 2014December 19, 2017

Avund Goods – Changer Review – $22

Once in a while you come across a product that is handier than it initially seems. One such product is the Changer, by Avund Goods. Meant to hold some spare change, the Changer can actually be used for many other things, as will be pointed out. Avund Goods designs and produces fine leather products. Avund was created by Mika Bektor and Tom Hays, who both graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. They pooled their collective passion for art and design knowledge and formed Avund Goods in 2012.

We recently reviewed their Forsta V Wallet and Marine Shackle and enjoyed the opportunity of spending time with some of their goods. It has also been a pleasure to use and test the Changer, which is actually a by-product of producing their Forsta and Andra Wallet series.

NOT JUST A BY-PRODUCT

You can read on Avund’s site that their “products are designed for minimal material waste and efficient assembly”. The evidence of this is the Changer. Below is a picture showing the template for their Forsta Wallet and the Changer. You can see that the Changer is simply the triangular cutout of the wallet, which allows access to the wallet’s card slots. I love this ingenuity and focus on efficiency.

I can imagine the conversation between Mika and Tom, “What should we do with this triangular piece of left-over leather? Throw it away? No, one of our goals is to be efficient. How about a cool little holder for change that we fold over and fasten with a button rivet, which will also be used to keep it closed? Yes, that would be awesome!” Whether it happened that way, I’m not sure, but I know that I like the result.

LEATHER

One of the first things I noticed about the Changer was how stiff the leather is. This is due in part to the leather being vegetable tanned, which typically results in a stiffer leather. The leather is four to five ounce horse hide. The leather comes from what is called “North of Cordovan”. It is the section of horse hide that is just outside what is used for Shell Cordovan, some of the best and most expensive leather you can buy. It is tanned with the same processes that Shell Cordovan is tanned, and it yields a tight grain and unique pattern.

The majority of the pictures you see in this review are of the Changer after I’ve used it for about eight weeks. The leather is still very stiff and holds it’s shape very well. The color of the leather is natural (which is essentially a light tan color). This color of leather darkens over time and develops a beautiful, golden patina. You can see from the pictures that the leather is already darkening a bit.

Like all of Avund’s products, the edges of the Changer are beveled and then the fine tip is burnished. This attention to detail is commendable. Very few of the products that we review receive that level of detail. It makes the Changer feel more sophisticated and certainly makes your keyring a little more refined.

HARDWARE

The hardware for the Changer is quite simple. There is a single, stainless steel eyelet, which the heavy duty key ring is affixed to. There is a nickel plated, steel button rivet that holds together the two “wings” of the Changer. A hole is punched into the “nose” of the Changer, which is used to fasten the Changer onto the button. It really is a simple, but inventive design.

FUNCTION

Initially, I looked at the Changer as simply a small pouch for a few coins. It holds up to five quarters in fact, enough to purchase a can of soda from a vending machine, or enough for a really cheap do-it-yourself car wash. The Changer is big enough to hold enough cash to buy a candy bar, but does not hold enough cash to take your wife out on a date, so you will want to consider it’s size if you think it is something worthy of acquiring. It is meant to be a keychain accessory though, so you really do not want it to be too big.

Avund’s site also indicates that it is useful for holding a few guitar picks. That got me thinking. Coins, guitar picks, what else could the Changer hold? It did not take me long to come up with a list of ten items that would fit in the 1.5” by 1.5” by .5” space (these are the external dimensions, the useable space is smaller). Below is the list I came up with. You will have to let us know if you can think of other uses.

TOP TEN:

10 – Pencil Sharpener – Nobody likes writing with a dull pencil. Why not keep your sharpener close by.

9 – High Powered Magnets – Because they are just plain cool to play with.

8 – Earbuds – Not everybody wants to hear your music. This way you can plug in anytime.

7 – Crushed Red Pepper – You like heat. Make sure your next meal has enough.

6 – Stool Softener Pills- Need I say more?

5 – Legos – Need a quick distraction from work. A Gold Ninjago Ninja is the perfect playful distraction.

4 – Bandaids – for the construction worker who is all too familiar with cuts and abrasions.

3 – Starburst – You never know when you’ll need a quick sugar fix.

2 – 2032 Batteries – In case your garage door opener suddenly stops working.

1 – Coins – Hey, isn’t this what it was made for in the first place?

I tried to stuff a Dum Dum sucker into the Changer, but it would not quite close. It was worth a try.

BESTLEATHER CONCLUSION

The Changer by Avund Goods is a clever use of some left-over leather. It certainly does not feel like a “left-over” product when you get your hands on it. It is designed for a beneficial purpose, and as I came to realize, it has many more uses than initially considered. It would look great and serve a useful purpose on any person’s keychain.

March 24, 2014December 19, 2017

Avund Goods Men’s Marine Shackle Review – $25

Avund Goods is a purveyor of high quality leather goods with a tradition in British and Scandinavian design and art. The quality of their goods is a manifestation of this background and tradition. Avund goes through a rigorous process of testing and reviewing their products before they go into production. This process ensures a product that is not only useful, but beautiful.

I received the Men’s Marine Shackle from Mika Becktor of Avund Goods, as a bonus to a review we were doing on their Forsta V wallet. Though the Shackle was unexpected, it was appreciated and admired.

the leather

The Shackle is made of natural color, vegetable tanned leather. This is the type of leather that ages beautifully over time. The leather actually patinas to a slightly darker hue with use and over time. The leather is approximately four to five ounces in weight. As is fairly common with vegetable tanned leather, the bracelet is fairly stout and not at all flimsy.

the edges

Like all of Avund Good products, the edges of the shackle receive attention. In this case, the edges are beveled, and then the fine point of the edge is burnished with beeswax to a crisp finish. This treatment gives the bracelet a clean, crisp look. This attention is impressive, even for something as simple as a bracelet. It shows a devotion to making the very best product possible.

manliness

The hardware for this shackle makes it really pop and is very man-worthy. As one that does not normally wear a bracelet-like item, the industrial nature of the hardware makes it work for me. The unique U-shaped loop and the screw in pin finish the bracelet into a truly manly article worthy of showcasing. Riveting the leather loops on both ends of the bracelet ensures this bracelet will stand the test of time as well.

BestLeather conclusion

If you are looking for an accessory to demonstrate your manliness, and to prove your intelligence of fine leather, the Men’s Marine Shackle from Avund Goods is a smart choice.