Our hope is that you’ll be proud of your bag because of the compliments you get and how long it lasts. But our deeper hope is that you join our community of those nurturing the vulnerable and loving the unloved. We do more than just quality leather bags; we do quality in all areas of our business.
Our purpose is not to change the world by loving orphans, single moms and ex-prisoners one at a time. It’s to work with a Love 41 community/family of loving and nurturing people to do it. If you want to but you’re not sure how, then join us on Facebook or sign up for our newsletter to learn more. We’ll help you get plugged in.
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The materials in our leather briefcase are full grain leather, pigskin lining, 316 stainless steel hardware, and German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. Our leather is tough and resilient, and our pigskin lining is super strong. Our hardware is 316 stainless steel and is rated to hold up to 750 lbs. Our thread is UV-resistant and German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. In addition, our hidden reinforcing straps ensure that the bag will never stretch and those straps will never deteriorate. This is over-engineering.
Full Grain Leather is the key to a quality leather briefcase. If you take off the top part of the leather (grain) it's like taking the shingles off of the roof. They get rid of the toughest and most resistant layer of the hide. When tanneries get a leather hide from the slaughterhouse, it's really thick. So, the tannery splits the top half with the grain from the bottom half. Now they have two hides to sell. The tough and beasty hide that still has the full amount of grain (full grain) is expensive, and that's what we buy. The bottom half is great for making low quality budget leather briefcases or laptop bags that will dry out and fall apart in a short time.
We glue and sew tough, strong pigskin leather to the cow leather. And the pigskin is even stronger than the cowskin. We've chosen this instead of using a shiny pretty fabric lining. We want all of our real leather bags to be durable, rugged, and sturdy.
Our custom hardware is 316 Stainless Steel. If you are a metallurgist, then I'm sure you just gasped. It's the metal you want to be used when your life depends on it. The testing laboratory told us that our clips were rated to hold up to a 750 lbs. bag of cats.
Our thread is unbelievably strong and UV resistant German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. It doesn't deteriorate when the sun hits it like nylon thread does. And we use the thick double ought version of it. It's the same thread used on ship sails and parachutes (things your life depends on).
Polyester is good and bad. The good is that it doesn't stretch and never deteriorates. The bad is that it never deteriorates. When it comes to polyester in your sheets and blankets, you won't sleep as well. But, when it comes to polyester straps sewn into the stress points of a bag, it's the best there is to get that extra strength.
The classic leather briefcase converts into a laptop backpack with a shoulder strap with two shoulder pads. Clip one end of the strap onto a d-ring on the bottom, run the strap through the o-ring, and clip it to the opposite side and you've got yourself a backpack. Now your hands are free to carry the wife and kid's luggage.
You can remove the side straps to use as an emergency size 36 full grain leather belt, tie-down, or tourniquet (hopefully you won't need that). But on the bag, they are great for holding wet umbrellas and blueprint tubes to the top of the flap.
The d-rings on the bottom are designed to strap on blankets, dirty boots, fly rod tubes, or blueprints. And you'll use these d-rings to convert your leather briefcase into backpack mode. The d-rings up top are great for clipping keychains, carabiners, or extra gear too.
The shoulder strap is adjustable (40" - 65") and it's removable. You can take it off to tie down the Christmas tree to the roof of your car. The shoulder strap comes with two strap pads for backpack mode.
There is a hidden flap on the bottom of this leather briefcase for hiding passports, extra cash, your collection of rubies, or whatever else you don't want anyone to know about. This false bottom can be a lifesaver in itself.
A small detail, but the main center strap has a hole all the way at the tip for closing when your laptop bag is really overstuffed. This gives you that much extra space in your leather briefcase, for "just in case." Comes in handy when you need it.
There is a pocket on the side, a pocket on the back, and pockets on the inside. From a place for your pens to a spot for your wallet in case you lose your pants. With two main compartments inside, you can take two laptops if need be, with room for chargers and accessories. These quality leather briefcases will protect your belongings and your reputation.
Classic Leather Briefcase Explained by Dave
Large Sized Briefcase Comparison
The Classic Briefcase in depth description and explanation on design
How to Knock Off a Saddleback Leather Co. Briefcase
The bag looks like a fantastic piece of luggage. I would be honored to carry around papers from my bank job as well as my new laptop in this fine leather briefcase.
Nice construction and sturdy bag but compare to my older sbl products, the leather feels like plastic. I'm very dissapointed with the newer bags. With sun exposure, my bag turned lighter as opposed to have the darker tan lines. It looks like they are using a cheaper leather on this expensive bags.
I've waited to write a review for a few years (Jan 2011, now July 2015), because I don't feel that a "100 year lifespan" item should be reviewed in the first week. First, let me say that "lifetime" items require maintaining. This should somewhat go without saying, but some of the people at the Buy-It-For-Life Reddit community seem to think otherwise. If you buy a "lifetime" knife, it will require sharpening. If you buy a "lifetime" leather good, it will require polishing and oiling. If you buy a "lifetime" bicycle, it will require new tires, tubes, etc. Next, let me say that I receive many compliments, and use it frequently. It was my backpack in grad school, and my work travel case in business. I've just returned from 2 weeks of travel, where I carried it daily. I am generally pleased. This said, there are two major downsides: - Firstly, it is heavy. ~10 pounds of weight is a lot without transporting anything. Adding a laptop, textbook, and a charger/two can get you up to ~20#. I started biking to work last year, and this bag is too heavy to use in this context (adds 5 minutes to the trip). - Secondly, it is large. You can compress it down to smaller size by using the overstraps, but if you find yourself doing this regularly, you should really get a smaller bag. There are a few unexpected upsides: 1 - the rings on the side can be zip-tied or carribeaner-ed together, resulting in smaller size. This can matter. 2 - the side rings are really good for clipping a water bottle 3 - the extra belts have come in handy many times for lashing various things together. I would buy it again, as it is the "buy once, cry once" item which suits all of my needs. That said, it isn't always the right tool for the job.
I've had my bag for about a year and (God willing) I have a long way to go yet. My Saddleback is not simply a briefcase; it's my "battle bag". Packed within I hold office where ever I go, do my business on the fly; when I pluck it down, it says "this is the main headquarters." When I've gone to meetings and/or 'work situations', I've pulled out more 'hat tricks' then several hockey championships from the bag. Now, when I hit the road I simply load up my bag and go out the door knowing that when I arrive, I'll be ready for business. Slight caveat: these bags are heavy and they're not for everyone, but speaking as one whose gone through business bags / briefcases like some folk go through kleenex, so far what Dave Has Wrought kicks some major butt. Besides, I always could use a decent workout. Now, the only thing I have to do is get my bag branded so that when I leave it on the conference table, and go about the board room chatting it up, my enemies (and their attorneys) will tremble with fear and my allies stand in confidence as I give out my infamous trademark laugh and watch more suckers eat the bullet and get dragged out - to 'suggested retirement' or simply court ordered time. I may not have a horse and a gun, but with my Saddleback bag, I still can tame the wild east. Keep on rocking, Dave! PS: love your video regarding knockoffs; brilliant!
What a beautiful briefcase!! I purchased a passport wallet a couple of years ago from SBL and love it. I've had my eye on the XL briefcase for several years now, but was unable to afford it. Well, that has finally changed. I explored the website and it's clear that the briefcase is well made and Dave sweat over every detail. When I received it, I was amazed at how solid it felt. The leather is thick and beautiful. There is copious room for storing anything you'd need for day to day work or to serve as a carry on bag for a trip. I'm completely satisfied with this purchase. Is it an expensive bag? Absolutely, it is. No doubt about that. However, as with most things in life, you most certainly get what you pay for.
