Design of the Leather Tool Bag

This leather tool bag was inspired by an old fashioned leather doctor's bag I found in New Mexico. It was well broken in and absolutely gorgeous. Even though it will arrive beautiful and functional, this leather tool bag will be the ugliest the first day you own it. That is what you get with full-grain leather; it improves with age. For Doctors and craftsmen. Also used as a first aid kit.

Note:

This bag WILL NOT fit a laptop or iPad of any size except for an iPad Mini. These bags are great for organizing and carrying old-school analog items like tools, medical equipment, art, or sewing supplies and accessories. This gives you easy access with a classic look.

No Breakable Parts in our Leather Tool Bags:

There are no breakable parts like snaps, zippers, buttons, velcro, or any other Hello Kitty construction. Just hard buckles. Like they used to make them.

Reinforced Tool Bag:

Anywhere there is stress, it gets stitching, a rivet, and usually, a reinforcing hidden Polyester strap sewn. We don't know what items you plan to stock your tool bag with, so we built it like you are interested in filling it with a load of lead weights. We created it to be as strong as possible, as still be a sign of class in the design.

Large Pieces:

This leather tool bag is designed with only one large piece of leather for the body and one piece on each end. Seams are where tool bags start falling apart, so we designed this doctor's bag with as few as possible.

Stitching:

We set our industrial sewing machines to sew only five stitches per inch to get the needle holes as far apart as possible. That's important because a sewing machine is also a perforation machine, and when the holes are too close together, the leather tends to tear easily. As a result, this leather tool bag is stronger than anything you need it to carry.

Materials in our Leather Tool Bags

Like all other Saddleback designs, our Leather Tool Bag has the best materials to go along with the quality craftsmanship. We are in the business of over-engineering, our Leather designs are made to be passed down to the next generation. Let me tell you more about what goes into these tool bags so you can discover why it is known as the best.

Full Grain Leather:

Our leather tool bags are made of the strongest cow leather there is because it still has the full amount of grain. Every hide comes with what is called "grain", the toughest and most water resistant fibers of the whole hide. But cowhides come thick, so the tannery splits them in half at the tannery.

The top half is the toughest because it has all of the grain still on it, and the bottom half has been neutered. The bottom half is called Split or Genuine leather and also suede. If you find a really inexpensive tool bag or doctor's bag, that's why. If you're going to get one, get a quality one. Removing all of the grain from a leather hide is like removing the shingles from your roof. How sad is that? Oh, and our leather is a little thicker than work boot leather.

Lining:

Because there are often sharp tools inside tool bags, we lined it with tough, rugged pigskin, which is actually stronger than cow skin its same thickness. And it looks perfect. 

Thread:

Not only do we sew this leather doctor's bag with as few seams as possible, but we sew it with a UV resistant continuous filament Polyester thread instead of cheap Nylon thread. The good and bad of Polyester is it never deteriorates. Good for thread, bad for clothing and sheets. BTW, did you know that people don't sleep as well if they have Polyester in their bedding, and Polyester clothing gives a lot of people skin problems? But when it comes to thread, Polyester will provide you with a lifetime of greatness. And then we use the thick German double ought thread.

Hardware:

It's kind of like killing a fly with a shotgun, but we developed our own custom hardware for our leather bags. If you talk to a metallurgist and tell them we use 316 Stainless Steel, they'll gasp and then tell you we're lying. It is expensive and kind of overkill, but we have never had a single issue with our hardware failing. So if your life had to depend on a hardware, let it depend on ours. The clasps that clip onto the body of this leather tool bag are rated for 750 lbs. 

Functionality

The Big Mouth Tool Bag Gladstone opening is much wider at the top than at the bottom, so it's easy to sort and find things. And the lining is beige, reflecting light, so things are easily seen. Full-length pigskin pockets on both sides, with an extra layer of 3 smaller internal pockets on one side. Two leather pull tabs make the tool bag easy to open for a quick view and easy access. Handles are rolled and sewn for comfortable carry.

Pro Tips for the Leather Tool Bags

These bags are so versatile and can be used for so many things. That is why they are a universal gift no matter what the person you are giving it to is interested in. Discover more uses, from a tool bag to hold their collection of forks to their old belt and wallet; this handcrafted tool bag is up for the job.

Pro tip #1:

Buy quality tools and scratch your initials into them so your descendants will remember you fondly every time they tap a drywall anchor into the wall.

Pro tip #2:

A great ongoing gift for high schoolers and college students are tools each year for their birthday or Christmas presents. Then, when they move out on their own, they'll have a complete set to get them along.

Pro tip #3:

This is also a great match when you search for that perfect gift for the motorcycle lover in your life. When their motorcycles need a little work, they can reach for this tool bag and thank you. From screwdrivers to wrenches, to a tire pressure gauge, to an extra headlight, this tool bag can handle a few of the most common tools for their motorcycle from the collection. And don't forget to check out our Leather Briefcases.