Waxed Cotton and Buffalo Leather Handbag

Waxed Cotton and Buffalo Leather Handbag

Die at the Helm has created a new waxed cotton and leather handbag using an environmentally friendly leather. Buffalo leather is typically tanned using traditional methods. It does not use the highly toxic chemicals found in modern tanning practices.

Smoking the hide at the end of the tanning practice keeps the leather resistant to moths, preserves the fibers and allows the leather to stay soft and pliable even if it becomes wet.

The top of this bag fold downs and is 7 inches in height when unrolled. The inside is lined with a brown Cordura to increase the bag's durability and weather-proofing.

 Four rivets on each handle securely attach the leather strap to the body of the bag. The inside seam is lined with a Nylon trimming.


Buffalo leather "grain" is more pronounced, and the fibers are thicker and more widely-spaced which results in a softer, more durable leather.

Die at the Helm makes Outdoors NW's top ten

"We love the detail stitching and the old school snaps on this bag." -Outdoors NW

The magazine Outdoors NW recently release their list of the top ten bags to haul around your goods with you. They included Die at the Helm! You can read the full review here.

Outdoors NW is a small-press magazine written for outdoors enthusiast. The parent company is a Seattle-based family-owned business specializing in publishing outdoor recreational magazines and guidebooks.

They are also having a pinterest contest called "Pin It to Win It". The idea is to repin the bag that you fancy and then which ever bag is repinned the most will be awarded to one random follower.

The review will be released in print in the July/August edition of Outdoors NW.

Carefully Impregnated Cotton

 The process of impregnating the cotton cloth with paraffin wax was developed in the 1930's and was popular in outdoor clothing until the mid-1950's.

Highly water resistant with outstanding durability, waxed cotton was originally used as a sailing cloth. Scottish mills wove sails for the British clipper fleet out of this material. 

This carry-all handbag measures 12"wide  x 14" tall x 4" deep with 8" extra fabric at the top. The bottom of the bag has been re-enforced with salvaged leather. The straps were also sewn from scrap leather and then secured with small rivets.

The top rolls down to make the bag more weather resistant and the inside is lined with Cordura Nylon.

As the fabric ages, it will wear in to create a unique look for the bag. Supposedly the patina develops with more and more use, in the same manner that leather ages and burnishes with time.

 

 The manufacturing of waxed cotton uses an impregnating agent to soak the cotton with a paraffin based wax before it is woven into a cloth.
Oh Scotland.