A customer of mine from Detroit, USA, sent me a couple of photos of a strap I made for him on his Hamilton Khaki Conservation this week. I loved the photos, and wanted to use one in my gallery, but from the photos I couldn’t quite decide which leather I had used for his strap. As I need that info for the image caption in the gallery I looked back through my order book and found his order – believe it or not this is a Conker strap I made for him eleven years ago, in May 2011 to be precise. Speaking with him about it, he told me “I can definitely say it has held up really well’, and that the strap “is still going strong and is as supple as ever”.
This was lovely to hear. It’s always good to hear people are happy with my work, especially after they’ve owned the strap for so long. Eleven years is a long time (it made me think of how my life has changed since May 2011 – I won’t go into details but believe me, a lot has happened in the last eleven years!), so I thought it would be cool to show the photos he sent me here in a blog post. If nothing else it proves that if you take care of a Toshi strap it will give you many years of service.
The vast majority of the leathers I use are full grain leathers that have been vegetable tanned. I prefer to use full grain leathers because they are made from the surface layer of the animals skin and therefore offer the best combination of strength and pliability, important features for a watch strap. I prefer vegetable tanned leather because the tanning process produces a leather that is kinder for the environment (no heavy chemicals used) and kinder for your skin (chrome tanned leather can cause irritation for some). These factors, along with the fact I don’t use any cheap fillers in my straps, and that all the stitching is done by hand using linen threads, produces a quality product that should last many years. That isn’t to say however that a Toshi strap won’t benefit from a simple regime of leather care.
On the question of caring for your Toshi strap, this might be a good time to give you a couple of pointers. The first, and probably the most important, tip I can give you is to keep the strap as clean as possible. This might seem obvious from an aesthetic point of view, but remember that leather is a porus material and sweat and dirt will penetrate the leather if allowed to. A good habit to get into is to wipe the strap (both sides) with a clean, dry, cotton cloth every couple of days (if you live in a particularly humid environment then make that every day). Doing this simple thing can add years of life to your strap by removing a lot of the surface detritus that otherwise might penetrate the leather and cause issues.
My second tip is to use a leather conditioner occasionally*. The fibres of the leather are naturally lubricated by fats and oils present in the leather, but in time some of these fats and oils can be lost. In extreme cases this can cause shrinkage and cracking of the leather. A good leather conditioner will replenish the fats and oils and guard against these potential problems. There are a multitude of leather conditioners on the market, so which to choose? I’d be wary of using anything containing petroleum or mineral oils as these ingredients can damage the leather in the longer term. Something with natural ingredients, like Renapur’s leather balsam is best for most top and full grain leathers (but please note it is not recommended for suede or nubuck – for these you will need a specialist suede conditioner).
* The frequency with which you use a leather conditioner will be determined by many factors (e.g. the heat & humidity of your environment) but it shouldn’t be necessary to use it very often. I tend to use a conditioner only once every 4 months on straps I wear frequently, and about once a year on straps that I don’t wear a lot.
My final comment on the photos that were sent to me – I love how the colour of the leather has changed over the last eleven years. Conker is a dark tan colour when new, and this strap has darkened down to a lovely warm chocolate colour with patina. Patina is another reason I prefer to use full grain, veg tanned leather. No other type of leather will patinate in the same way. I always think of patination as the gradual process of a quality leather ageing. In many ways a good leather, very much like a good whisky or a good cigar, will be far better with some age. Patina can’t be rushed – it takes time!
Photographs on this page are used with kind permission and are © Sean Gray (@seanofdetroit). Many thanks, Sean.