Epsom
Vegetable-tanned leather with a fine, pressed grain in the Epsom style.
The strictest hand. A fine, regular, pressed grain that barely takes a scratch and holds its shape like a board. The one leather in the range whose grain is deliberately pressed on, not grown.
What it is
A vegetable-tanned full-grain leather whose surface is given a fine, even grain under pressure. Unlike Togo, Mill or Nappa, this grain is pressed, not grown. We say so plainly, because honesty about the surface belongs to this leather.
How it is made
After tanning, the dry, firm hide is pressed with an engraved plate. Here the regular grain is wanted and right: it makes the surface hard-wearing and dimensionally stable. The press sits in a fully plant-tanned hide, not in cheap corrected stock.
Data sheet
Typical per batch. Binding figures come with every delivery.
- Substance
- 1.1 - 1.3 mm
- Weight
- 900 g/m²
- Hand
- Firm, dry, structured
- Scratch resistance
- Very high. The pressed grain barely marks
- Tannins
- Chestnut, Quebracho
- Finishing
- Pressed grain, no heavy coating
- In water
- Darkens temporarily, evens out as it dries
Honestly: vegetable-tanned leather darkens temporarily when it gets wet. That is not a fault but the consequence of an open fibre with no barrier coat. The colour evens out again as it dries.
How it ages
Vegetable-tanned leather changes more than chrome leather does, and it changes in one direction: darker, warmer, glossier wherever it is handled.
New
Open grain, pale tone, matte hand. The scent is at its strongest.
After one year
The first handled areas begin to shine. The tone has taken a step towards cognac.
After three years
Edges and corners are visibly darker. The leather is softer without losing its body.
After five years
A closed patina. Two pieces from the same batch no longer look alike.
The colour fields are an indication, not a photograph. A real ageing sample from the same hide comes with every sample set.
Crafted into
For structured pieces taken roughly in daily use: rigid bags, cases, luggage.