Leather Goods & Every Day Carry
A fellow Barlow Bearcat recently gave me a beautiful handmade leather pocket notebook cover. Carrying it has made me consider the integral connection between leather goods, knives, and EDC in general.
Any knife enthusiast knows that leather is the classic material for fixed blade sheaths. Sure, thermo-plastics (ie Kydex) and other modern materials have their benefits, but there’s something so natural (pun intended) about a traditional leather sheath for a fixed blade.
Knife slips, such as are often used for traditional pocket knives, are also most commonly made of leather. While I took a while to be converted to using pocket slips, I now greatly appreciate the utility and beauty of handcrafted slips like those from Lynch Leather and Sage Grouse Leather.
Of course, there’s also the EDC item that most people (even those who’ve never heard the term Every Day Carry) keep on them; a wallet. I haven’t done a survey, but I’d bet the majority of wallets carried in America are still leather or faux leather. I often use a waxed canvas pouch from a maker called Katahdin Packs as a wallet, but I also enjoy leather wallets for their classic style.
Leather goods seem to work their way into all facets of every day carry. Without turning this into a historical inquiry, I’d imagine it’s because it is a durable but pliable material that has been available for millennia. How do you incorporate leather goods into your EDC?
