Top 3 Must-Haves in a Great Leather Bag

Whether you buy one of my bags, or buy a bag from another craftsperson, these are the three things to look for!

1. Top grain/full grain leather.

A quality bag is made of the best leather, drum dyed so the color won't bleed.

Some manufactured bags are made of leather scraps in a process similar to creating particle board. Honestly, one way to tell is price. If you're out shopping and a leather bag is VERY inexpensive, the leather is either urine-tanned (as gross as it sounds) or made of urethane-coated leather scraps.

2. Nylon Thread

Any other type of thread will either rot or break.

3. Solid cast hardware.

Check for seams. If a buckle or ring has a seam then it will pull apart with use.

For a later post, I'll talk about bags that are pieced together - tip, a bag is more durable, the fewer pieces it is made with! If your strap isn't one continuous piece, it's a dead giveaway.

Work From Home Dad

I'm a work from home Dad. My wife and kids helped me out in the shop this summer, but, now that the kids are off to school, it's me and the wife in the shop! In between working, our daughter had foot surgery and has needed rides to school and help getting to her first class! So, between trips to the doctor, rides to school, making school lunches, curriculum nights and ALL that goes with being a work-from-home-dad; I'm making bags!! This is my busiest time of year as I'm doing my best to build inventory so there's a lot of merchandise for the holidays! If you want a bag for a gift (or you want to buy a bag for a gift) please remember that I buy SMALL lots of leather. If you see a bag you adore, I might not always be able to get that exact leather again. I know that some customers think I'm just trying to make a sale fast when I say that. Then, they come back in a few hours and the bag they loved is gone. And I cannot get any more of that particular leather. It happens nearly EVERY day that I am selling at the market. Moral of the story? If you love it. Buy it. Set it aside for the holidays . . . just trying to make your dreams come true. One bag at a time!