I will be coming back to the States from my current South American abode in a couple weeks, and am bringing back a very limited supply of Indy British MK VII-style bags made in thick (almost 4mm) leather for a few folks that want them.
I live about 10 minutes away from a village of leather artisans, and commissioned one to reproduce the bag's dimensions and basic stitching pattern. He had to make a custom wooden form to create the bag shape. The one in the pics below is "natural" colored leather with a "cafe" colored strap to best replicate the khaki color of the actual bag, and dark brown color of the actual strap. That said, he can make them in natural, black, or cafe. The cafe actually is very beautiful, and I was tempted to go with that for my bag, but I wanted a color scheme closer to the actual bag. The strap can match the color of the bag or be different as per the original bag and the sample seen below. Rings were used to attach the strap, and it is about 60"/152 cm long X 1"/25.4 cm wide (per the original) with an adjustment of about 8" less than that. Strap attaching rings, buckle, and front studs are brass. The closures are magnets. The inside is one undivided compartment.
Some things to note:
Price will be $100 plus shipping, less than half of what I was quoted to get one of these made in the States. Due to their size and my available luggage space, I'm limiting this to 5 bags for now. Also, I need to place the order for additional bags by next Monday. If you would like a bag, PM me for payment instructions.
And now for pics...
I live about 10 minutes away from a village of leather artisans, and commissioned one to reproduce the bag's dimensions and basic stitching pattern. He had to make a custom wooden form to create the bag shape. The one in the pics below is "natural" colored leather with a "cafe" colored strap to best replicate the khaki color of the actual bag, and dark brown color of the actual strap. That said, he can make them in natural, black, or cafe. The cafe actually is very beautiful, and I was tempted to go with that for my bag, but I wanted a color scheme closer to the actual bag. The strap can match the color of the bag or be different as per the original bag and the sample seen below. Rings were used to attach the strap, and it is about 60"/152 cm long X 1"/25.4 cm wide (per the original) with an adjustment of about 8" less than that. Strap attaching rings, buckle, and front studs are brass. The closures are magnets. The inside is one undivided compartment.
Some things to note:
- The artisan has complete confidence in his bag lasting longer than my lifetime, but for practical reasons would only warrant the bags for 50 years. I hope this doesn't dissuade anyone.
- The colors of the "natural" colored bags will vary slightly, from a very light tan to a slightly more orange-ish tone, depending on the batch of leather used.
- The bags will have natural and process-based surface irregularities. For example, the one in the pics has what looks like a rub mark on the front flap, a few wrinkles, and some tiny black dots on the front that are from the chemicals used to soften the leather. On the back are a few darker spots in the leather. Together these surface irregularities blend to create a rustic appearance, but if they're something that bothers you, you might want to stick to canvas bags.
Price will be $100 plus shipping, less than half of what I was quoted to get one of these made in the States. Due to their size and my available luggage space, I'm limiting this to 5 bags for now. Also, I need to place the order for additional bags by next Monday. If you would like a bag, PM me for payment instructions.
And now for pics...
Attachments
Last edited:
