Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[OtterMeanGreen]

I finally got around to treating the Leather D-Ring's with Obenuaf's HDLP, on my newly acquired (and possibly 20+ year old 257) and I really am happy with the results and darkening of the leather....or in this case lack thereof. I treated an inconspicuous area of the shoulder strap with Bickmore Bick 4 to see how it will look if I treated the remaining leather. Actually not really, kind of pissed at myself for not choosing a better spot, as you will see down below. I'm not happy with how it came out and am scratching my head to what went wrong. It came out looking like the....WAIT FOR IT.....Post-Bedrock leather lol.
Does anyone know how I can reverse this look? I think I can live with it, but I am just sore about it, since it's quite possible the original bridle leather from the 1990's. Also I chose not to apply the leather conditioner to the underside of the leather (bickmore not Obenauf's since the D Ring's don't have an underside). It didn't look anything like my Post-Bedrock 24HR or maybe even YKK era bridle leather, which was close in appearance to the topside leather. In my case it felt like a silky smooth suede than you could literally move around with your fingertips.

The first 2 pictures are before I treated the Leather D-Rings and the three that follow are after HDLP was applied. The last two pictures are after I treated the Leather Shoulder Strap area near the unpadded section. (about 3 or 4 inches). You can see the difference in the treated and untreated parts of the strap. I didn't use a hairdryer when applying the Bickmore or the HDLP. I applied only one coat of Bickmore and two coats of HDLP, applying both with my fingers.

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Hate to repost again but I think my original went undetected. When I posted it I think 5 other posts came through at once. I attached before & after pictures...cause I know how much you guys appreciate that kind of thing. Most importantly I had a question about my leather futz up with the Bickmore. If you're interested my post is near the top of the previous page. Thanks guys.

 

[Churchill W]

My rucksack and Linjer duffle before my trip last week.

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• Churchill W
• Sep 5, 2017

 

[Soletrane]

Hate to repost again but I think my original went undetected. When I posted it I think 5 other posts came through at once. I attached before & after pictures...cause I know how much you guys appreciate that kind of thing. Most importantly I had a question about my leather futz up with the Bickmore. If you're interested my post is near the top of the previous page. Thanks guys.

OMG,
I saw your post but didn't reply as I think your question was about the last two Before and After photos on the strap. But I couldn't discern much difference between the two photos, unfortunately.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

OMG,
I saw your post but didn't reply as I think your question was about the last two Before and After photos on the strap. But I couldn't discern much difference between the two photos, unfortunately.

Thanks @Soletrane. In those last two photos if you look hard enough you can see that near the Paddless shoulder piece there is a vivid amount of wrinkling from the Bickmore, as opposed to the tight untreated bridle leather next to it. That wrinkling is what Filson (bedrock) calls completely normal in today's standards. Anyone who has had a pre-bedrock Talon/YKK Filson might disagree

 

[Soletrane]

My rucksack and Linjer duffle before my trip last week.

IMG_20170831_104550

• Churchill W
• Sep 5, 2017

Great minds pack alike?

Defy duffle and Journeyman backpack packed for a trip.

 

[Mattsky]

Hate to repost again but I think my original went undetected. When I posted it I think 5 other posts came through at once. I attached before & after pictures...cause I know how much you guys appreciate that kind of thing. Most importantly I had a question about my leather futz up with the Bickmore. If you're interested my post is near the top of the previous page. Thanks guys.

I also saw your post, but my Filson leather experience is very limited. However, I would suggest that the Bick's has added moisture to an otherwise somewhat-dry leather strap. And this added moisture has possibly lifted (slightly) the top layer(s) of the leather causing the wrinkling you saw. I'd assume it will decrease over the next week or more, as the moisture is further absorbed deeper into the layers. I'm not sure if that is the case, but that'd be my opinion. Coincidentally, I used Obenauf's on my brand new Original briefcase strap on Saturday. Even used a little heat from a hair dryer. It became rather sticky and undesirable. I was worried that it would never return to its previous state, but by this morning, it had recovered significantly from the stickiness I initially observed. I'd say yours will do the same in time. Keep us informed if you can.

 

[Mattsky]

Also, as an amateur leatherworker, I would say that the wrinkled straps we are seeing on these straps is due to the use of leather 'bellies' as they are somewhat cheaper compared to other parts of the hide. Also, they stretch a bit more than the other hide areas. Belts & straps can be made from the bellies, but it is not ideal due to these inherent flaws (stretching and wrinkling characteristics). Wrinkles, one could argue, provides character to the leather and isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

I also saw your post, but my Filson leather experience is very limited. However, I would suggest that the Bick's has added moisture to an otherwise somewhat-dry leather strap. And this added moisture has possibly lifted (slightly) the top layer(s) of the leather causing the wrinkling you saw. I'd assume it will decrease over the next week or more, as the moisture is further absorbed deeper into the layers. I'm not sure if that is the case, but that'd be my opinion. Coincidentally, I used Obenauf's on my brand new Original briefcase strap on Saturday. Even used a little heat from a hair dryer. It became rather sticky and undesirable. I was worried that it would never return to its previous state, but by this morning, it had recovered significantly from the stickiness I initially observed. I'd say yours will do the same in time. Keep us informed if you can.

I appreciate your advice, I'd say you know more that you give yourself credit for. I'll keep you informed what happens over the next week. I have it balled up in a circle to keep it tight. I don't think I'll treat the rest of the leather with the Bicks. Maybe just keep it for when I get a quality belt, wallet, or some boots.

 

[Vocans]

@Vocans - would you be willing to proxy a brown medium duffle? Shipping would be to the UK. I'd be happy to call the store prior to confirm price/avail.
thanks...!

I'll let you know. The problem is I probably won't be able to make it back there until next weekend.

 

[Mattsky]

I appreciate your advice, I'd say you know more that you give yourself credit for. I'll keep you informed what happens over the next week. I have it balled up in a circle to keep it tight. I don't think I'll treat the rest of the leather with the Bicks. Maybe just keep it for when I get a quality belt, wallet, or some boots.

I just looked further at the strap images you posted and re-read the text. I might be tempted to apply some Bick 4 to the underside of that strap to better balance out the absorption of said moisture into the leather. It is very possible, that by applying to just the top of the strap, the underside is dry & contracted vs. the top side which has potentially absorbed moisture and therefore has swelled. Think of a dry sponge that you wet only at the top, it will curl up and if it can't, like that top layer of leather, it would wrinkle.

I know its a risk, but if it doesn't get better, what do you have to lose?

 

[Soletrane]

OMG, I do see more wrinkling in the same photo roughly in line with the white garment tag in the background. Not dramatic in the pic but perhaps in person much more noticeable.

I was thinking like Mattsky that it might be the temporary moisturizing effect.

So different from the post-Bedrock leather wrinkling which might be a result of straps taken from less select parts of the hides - like Mattsky said - with more innate wrinkling. Whereas 15 years ago, they might have discarded these portions as scrap.

This may explain why you can get a 'good' strap and a'bad' one on the same bag! That is, like Saddleback, they are using more of the hide to save $. Most consumers for Filson won't notice unless they have an old one as a point of comparison.

 

[Mattsky]

As I look at those detailed photos posted by OMG, you can see the quality that is built into Filson's bags. Over the past 2 years, I have learned what it takes to make a leather product, especially noting what makes a good one and what details to look for in a bad one. Those pictures are examples of why these bags are $400 and not $40.

First thing to notice, look at the edges of all of the leather pieces. Do you see that they are smooth and dyed/treated? You can't see the grain in the leather edges of those D-ring patches. They are dyed and buffed smooth. Every piece, including the strap, the shoulder pad and the leather D-ring fold-over pieces, are all properly edged. Take a look at a lesser quality bag, even a Saddleback, and you won't see this level of quality. You'll see rough, feathery edges, cut and not finished at all. If you look at the oval holes in the shoulder pad, you'll see what a rough edge looks like. These aren't typically detailed as it would be nearly impossible in a production environment to get into those narrow oval holes and do any edging without adding another $50-100 to the cost of the bag. They are expensive enough, no need to add that cost.

Also, check the stitching of that D-ring leather patch. What appears to be a flaw in the stitching where you can see the stitches overlap, is actually a mark of quality. When stitching leather, you should make 2-3 stitches overlap by reversing the machine back over the previous stitches, thus locking the stitching into itself. What would seem to be a bad stitching job, is actually reflective of Filson's attention to detail. You'll also see extra stitches on the leather D-ring fold-over pieces (not sure what else to call them) on both sides. Filson recognizes that this would be a stress point, so they have double-backed on their stitching on both sides of this oval-shaped piece. And they did so with 4 stitches, not just the typical 2 or 3. A mark of quality.

Maybe everybody here knows these things already and if so, I apologize. If not, hopefully it helps in making purchase decisions in the future.

 

[Cold Iron]

View attachment 836837 I feel like Filson has been trying to find a target audience for the last few years.

That is the truth. Not a fan of black plastic myself. Retired from the military more years ago than I was active duty. Blue and wood for me thank you very much. And the sportsman bag.

More and more remind me of Eddie Bauer. Forgot their roots. Still hoping they will come back to them but not holding my breathe.

 

[mgrennier]

@Vocans - would you be willing to proxy a brown medium duffle? Shipping would be to the UK. I'd be happy to call the store prior to confirm price/avail.
thanks...!

Speedy - there is a good chance that I'll be in STL this weekend. I won't have a car but I can try to see if I can make it over to the Nordstrom Rack in STL to see if the brown medium duffle is still there

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Also, as an amateur leatherworker, I would say that the wrinkled straps we are seeing on these straps is due to the use of leather 'bellies' as they are somewhat cheaper compared to other parts of the hide. Also, they stretch a bit more than the other hide areas. Belts & straps can be made from the bellies, but it is not ideal due to these inherent flaws (stretching and wrinkling characteristics). Wrinkles, one could argue, provides character to the leather and isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I agree about wrinkles adding character but for these newer Filson's display these telltale bedrock wrinkles from the start (sometimes chipping and peeling), I think that's unacceptable when compared to the old bridle leather Filson once used. With years of use though I completely concur with you about leather wrinkling & pitting