Togo
A vegetable-tanned calf leather with a Togo-style pebbled grain.
The shrinking happens naturally, drawn out slowly through plant tannins rather than forced by chemistry. Light in the hand, resistant to scratches, carrying the faint scent of bark. Togo holds its structure while developing a deep, living patina over years of use.
What it is
A full-grain calf leather, tanned entirely with plant tannins and then milled in the drum until the characteristic uneven grain draws up. The grain is grown, not embossed: every hide shows a pattern of its own.
How it is made
After weeks in the tannin baths the hide goes into the milling drum. The motion draws the tannin-saturated fibre together and the grain lifts. On a plant-tanned hide this step takes more time and more control than it would on chrome leather, and in return the hand stays dry and warm rather than rubbery.
Data sheet
Typical per batch. Binding figures come with every delivery.
- Substance
- 1.2 - 1.4 mm
- Weight
- 900 g/m²
- Hand
- Dry, firm, warm
- Scratch resistance
- High. The lifted grain forgives a lot
- Tannins
- Oak, Chestnut, Mimosa
- Finishing
- Drum-milled, no surface 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
Firm enough for bags that hold a shape, soft enough for small goods that live in a hand all day.