Briefcases

[Dr Doran]

Gents, you are all giving me fine ideas, good counterarguments, etc. I confess that the lovely and weird look of greenish brass does indeed appeal to me. So perhaps I should not mess with the natural patination process. The rest of the bag does not precisely look new -- it looks like a well-cared for old bag, now, so patinaed brass shouldn't be too incongruous (I almost want to say anachronistic since we are talking about new vs. old here).

The Lexol goo darkened the parts of the leather whose black had rubbed off decades ago: these parts were largely along the edges of seams and of the closing strap. So this darkening process was very good to begin with. I rubbed it into a truly worn area along the side, along the mouth of the case (it has a doctor's bag-style open-and-shut mechanism). The Lexol goo seemed to swell and expand the worn part, turning its brown dry color into a dark moist area.

I rubbed black Meltonian cream into the dark parts and for good measure all over the case. I am not sure if that was a great idea. I will be horribly annoyed if it rubs off on my suits. I generally have dark suits, but I have two 1940s suits that are pretty light, so that would be tragic to get a dark smear on them. The Meltonian cream blackened the formerly brown edges which were already, as I noted above, darkened from the Lexol stuff. Rubbing it all over the case gave a sprightly (only word I can think of) blackness to the whole thing rather than a dull blackness.

Finally I used the spray stuff. Shine 2000. This stuff I got from an Arab shoe repair place, a really quite nice shop in Berkeley with many leather noon-shoe items for sale including thick black belts and some fine luggage and leather gloves. They keep it behind the counter -- I guess it is their secret product. It was $16 for a huge aerosol can. This stuff REALLY shines my black Florsheim Kenmoor Imperial Long Wing wingtip shoes. Nothing else had shined them to my true satisfaction. So I sprayed that all over the case. Now the case is so shiny it is practically glowing.

So it is looking pretty good. The only issue I have (besides its humungousness and consequent impracticality) is if the black stuff will rub off. I hope not. Has this happened to anyone?

 

[Tux Toledo]

I don't have any experience with the finish rubbing off. I would think that if you buffed it out real good you wouldn't have any problems. You could test it on a rag and see what happens.

How about a pic of the finished product?

 

[Dr Doran]

It is darkening the rag! Damn. Well, I'll buff it more with a big shoe brush.

Pics? Well, maybe I'll post one or two. As I didn't take before pics, the after pics might not be too exciting with no comparison except the small lame pic that you see above.

 

[EricB]

Ever since reading Alan Furst's Dark Star, I've wanted a leather briefcase with a false bottom that can be used to smuggle secret documents through occupied countries in WWII.

So I guess I'm not the only Furst reader who had that reaction! I bought a Saddleback bag; unfortunately it was just too heavy for my bum shoulder so I sold it and bought a 1945 US Army (laptop) repro from Custom Hide. Love it!

And speaking of Furst, I can't wait until The Spies of Warsaw comes out next month!

http://www.alanfurst.net/main.htm

 

[Edward]

"bum shoulder".... I rad that kinda different from this location.... lol

Those Saddleback suitcases are utterly gorgeous - I would love to have a set of those. I marginally prefer the brown, I think, but the black are superb looking too. Alas, a touch out of my price range. At half that price I'd have jumped on a set, but GBP1000 is just a little rich for me.

What I am looking at are the various bags and cases on this site:

www.theleatherbriefcase.co.uk

Once I recover financially from my tri pto China in the next couple of weeks, I plan to acquire some stuff from them - most particularly one of these:

They're 20" x 13" x 9".... if, for longer trips, I need something larger, I am on the lookout for a single large suitcase in the mould of the Saddlebacks, but in the sub gbp200/USD400 price bracket (I'd only need the one...).

 

[RJCNTX]

A briefcase for my papers

Guys and gals,

I know what I need, I just don't know what that is. :eusa_doh:

I need a briefcase for hauling papers back and forth from work. My laptop I carry in it's own bag and actually have a slimmer case that I would like to use. I don't mind carrying two smaller cases if I can find one for my papers. I would actually prefer this to using one larger case. Especially since I don't always bring my laptop home from work.

So, I need to find a slimmer case I can use to carry papers back and forth. I use a 1 inch binder at work for note taking, etc. I also have a Black N Red (or similar journal) that I use for writing out my daily agenda and thoughts. Other than these, I still like to print out reading material and carry them in folders. So, really that is about all I need to carry in the case.

I like the idea of a slim hard case but my wife thinks it would make me look too old. I haven't ruled out a hard case, but I'm open to any suggestions that y'all might have for a slim case, hard or soft to carry my papers. I don't want to go too expensive with this.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[MB5]

What about an aluminum case?

 

[LondonLuke]

I have a brown leather one, similar to Don's in Mad Men.
Basically its soft, opens at the top, 2 compartments inside. I'll get a pic up at some point. Far more practical than a hard one, if I need to get to my water on the tube there's no problem, and I have on compartment for work files, the other for a book, water, wallet etc.


I would have gone for the hard case, but doubt I'm senior enough in any company to pull it off!

 

[Edward]

Having used both, my inclination would be towards a soft case with a shoulder strap. Traditional hard cases look great, but they have their drawbacks. For one, while they may provide more protection to their contents, their rigidity means they are often more easily damaged - no 'give' to them. Secondly, the lack of a shoulder strap means you have always to have one hand taken up with carrying it... and if you put any real weight in it, this is harder on the wrist than it would be on the shoulder, IME.

As a general rule, I also find soft cases are lighter.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hello,

Darnit, I can't remember where I got it (it was an online source - new, not vintage) but after years of trying every form of briefcase, my favorite item for this purpose is a simple, elegant leather pouch.

I had one before with a self-snap closure action to it. My new one has a zipper. It is large enough to accommodate legal file folders and expands somewhat.

It's easily tucked under one arm or carried like a book or pinched with one hand by the corner. It basically functions like a large folder itself and it's design encourages me to empty it when I have finished my errands each day rather than accumulate items in it as I used to with a hard case.

 

[DerMann]

I got some leather attaché case from eBay a few months back. Fits my laptop, power cable, and mouse perfectly

Only cost me $25 shipped, too. Much cheaper than any of the nonsense offered by Dell.

 

[beezaur]

Gfellers will make an oversized field pouch. No handle, but has a padded strap. It's a geologist's bag. Around $250 I think, a couple of months lead time:
http://www.gfeller.us/
The regular size is shown in the home page picture (largest bag in the back). It is just too small for a pad of 8.5X11, won't work at all with a binder (I have one). The oversized should be fine.

Then there is www.classicluggage.com
http://www.classicluggage.com/BUSINESS_CASES_BY_DAINES_AND_HATHAWAY147432.html
http://www.classicluggage.com/brief_cases_and_portfolios.htm
The Daines and Hathaway document case is a grand, the Swaine Adeney is two. Nice, very spendy.

Scott

 

[John in Covina]

Classic

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...bags2/briefcases/42004.aspx?feature=Product_6

 

[mwelch8404]

I have the http://www.customhide.com/scholar_4_compartment_whiskey.html in whiskey and love it.

I have heard lost of positive comments about their http://www.customhide.com/custom_1945_US_Army_briefcase.html, too.

 

[PADDY]

(pics) Saddleback leather briefcase.

Briefcase in saddleback leather. Bullet proof!! Takes a strong pair of arms to manhandle this baby from 'A' to 'B.'

 

[The Wolf]

I just got a repro khaki M1938 dispatch bag like these: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3536
It might be too casual for what you are after but I'm enjoying mine.
Good luck with your search.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[sfend002]

Those are some nice bags. Too pricey for me though.

 

[sfend002]

I like it. Where did it come from?

 

[Sertsa]

That's a great bag, Paddy. There are a lot of them in this thread.

I've been shopping around for something lighter, a simpler, every-day bag for my laptop and found these:

http://www.brenthaven.com/

They're not as classic-looking as most of the cases in this thread, but they seem pretty well made, in nylon or leather, and there are a lot of customizing options on the one model. I haven't bought one, though. I'm also thinking of just getting the sleeve and keep using my old, kind of beat-up simple leather case, or maybe the sleeve with one of the nicer-looking cases in this thread.

 

[Dr Doran]

Convertible Scholar ...

Per Matt's recommendations on this and other threads I just now ordered the Custom Hide Convertible Scholar in the dark brown leather. $269 but if it is as good as everyone thinks, it will not be very expensive in the long run (this seems to be a recurring lesson for us). I wanted something that would look good in my hand while I was wearing a suit and that I could wear as a backpack when necessary ... I'm sick of spending 100 dollars on this bag and that bag here and there and having them be almost great but not working for everything I need them for.

I'll get it in a month and post pics of myself with it.