Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[zeuloa]

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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I would just treat all the leather with Obenaufs and move on... nothing to lose really. It might darken a bit for a bit of time but eventually that beautiful color will come up again and it will be conditioned and a bit more resistant to the elements...

The bag will not lose its charm pretty much whatever you do to it... not worth it to give it so much thought in my opinion.

 

[mgrennier]

View attachment 840179 Incidentally, I have also jumped into the vintage Filson EBay buying frenzy.

I found this early 2015 Filson paper tote. Unlike later models, it has the desirable 'twisted twine' handles which fray in a most gorgeous way when used. The colorways is forest green (not like later bags which use an ugly dark green color that doesn't fade or patinate) with the larger point Seattlevica font like from the 1958 Filson catalog! I am so psyched about using it!

Can you post a picture of the white tag? It's usually found inside the bag - it's really the only way to know if it's truly from 2015. Or, possibly, if there is no tag then it's from the 1990's or maybe the previous owner didn't know what they had and just tore it off blindly.

People.

I would recommend re-waxing the bag though. It looks a bit dry in the picture. A hairdryer will help or a heat gun if you're a true A-filson-iado.

 

[milw50717]

Today's contestants are two leather straps on my Journeyman backpack. One looking nearly pristine. And the other like someone threw it in a microwave.

Send it back for a replacement

 

[milw50717]

View attachment 840179 Incidentally, I have also jumped into the vintage Filson EBay buying frenzy.

Taking Filson collecting to a whole new level. Ephemera can be very cheap to buy and rewarding to have.

 

[patrick_b]

It's not pre-Bedrock, unfortunately.

Beat me to it! Nicely done.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

MGrennier, is OMG's relentless posting about Talon era bags and pre-Bedrock turning you into a Talonite?;-)

I seem to recall you mostly buying new bags though I think you had some older pieces like a medium travel bag and a medium duffle a while back.

OMG may singularly drive up (further) the price of vintage Filson on EBay! Look for "Talon" in the posting headers to become more frequent.

I have seen it before with Rolex Submariners - "old" models with plastic crystals and tritium, matte dials started to overtake prices on the shiny new models as collectors started to value attractive patina more than mere newishness.

I sometimes wonder if the leather on new bags was an attempt by Filson to preserve the "new look" longer and ironically prevent the fading and aging that many now seem to prefer.

LOL "Talonite", I think I'm gonna adopt that phrase, it's right up there with "Filsonado".

All my posting about Talon Era might drive the price up on secondary market bags, or it could just make people aware what they got, and maybe appreciate it all the more. What I really hope to achieve here, if assuming you're correct about Filson having representation here, is to make Filson aware that something must change with the current motto they seemed to embrace this past 3-6 years. That motto isn't "Might as Well Have The Best, its actually "See How We Can Exploit Nostalgia" (or something like that lol). Not that it really matters, but my recent review on their website (Sportsman) already has a Eight - Zero thumbs up ratio, which I know they've seen, I'd say that's a start. I'd like to just make everyone aware here of the quality and morals that Filson was built on, which I theorize current Filson is trying to forget.

 

[GzStudio]

Yes. That is him. He's a great guy (rarely do we get a chance to meet an online seller in person). He was very knowledgeable about Filson bags and has several in his possession and uses them himself. He has a restoration dept zipperless tote which looked nice - he had bought it for his wife but she didn't want it.

And. @Soletrane? Yes. OMG's influence played a part in convincing me to get it. (Damn you, Otter!). I was NOT in the market for a talon-era 256 (at all), but when I saw the post I jumped on it. What the hell. There are a lot of worse ways to spend our money, right? Plus - if/when I sell my slightly broken in 256, I'm sure the net price differential will be very small (less than 50-75 bucks, probably).

@mgrennier - Thanks for the kind words, it was a pleasure meeting you and being able to talk 'shop' for a few minutes. Thank you for the heads up on this thread/forum. I did not know it existed. I spent some time this weekend going through the posts. Very eclectic to say the least. I am a filson fan, being turned on to it from my father (an avid hunter and fisherman (like myself), who does indeed use Filson products ).

I do hope you enjoy the 256!

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Yes. That is him. He's a great guy (rarely do we get a chance to meet an online seller in person). He was very knowledgeable about Filson bags and has several in his possession and uses them himself. He has a restoration dept zipperless tote which looked nice - he had bought it for his wife but she didn't want it.

And. @Soletrane? Yes. OMG's influence played a part in convincing me to get it. (Damn you, Otter!). I was NOT in the market for a talon-era 256 (at all), but when I saw the post I jumped on it. What the hell. There are a lot of worse ways to spend our money, right? Plus - if/when I sell my slightly broken in 256, I'm sure the net price differential will be very small (less than 50-75 bucks, probably).

LOL wow that's crazy, small world. I had a little convo with him on eBay when I was pondering buying the MTB, he does sound like a great guy, who's very knowledgeable about Filson. I agree, that's pretty darn rare.

HAHA, I'm honored to have helped turn you into a Talonite (that words catching on). A nice exchange indeed, even if some people won't get the logic of trading a new bag for a much older one. That's part of the allure to me, that some people just don't get it. It reminds me of this phrase for some reason; "It's a Jeep Thing, You Wouldn't Understand". I did the same with me Otter Green 24HR; sold it on EBAY and used the profits to buy the 17-20 year old 257 (actually hung onto $10 afterwards)

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Thanks for finding the tan small duffle - looks to be in pretty good shape. I think I've decided that I want all my luggage pieces to be either navy or green (for now) as my EDC is the 256 (talon-era of course now!) which is tan.

I tend to shy away from the matchy-matchy look of tan brief and tan bag - I like to carry different colors. Just a personal thing - probably rooted from my youth when my mom (and nearly every one around me) had the matching sets of luggage - usually Samsonite in light blue or something gross.

That said, I appreciate you looking.

Btw- I did tell that ebay seller about our little forum so he poke his head in once in a while. He had not heard of it which surprised me.

No problem at all, I said I would so just trying to keep my word. I hear ya though about not matching, even though I'm clearly an OTTER GREEN nutcase. I actually plan on getting a Talon Era small duffel in TAN (storm flap model). I never liked those matching luggage sets either growing up. That's crazy that he didn't know about this Filson thread, as it's become pretty iconic on google. @Soletrane can rest easy knowing that lol

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

View attachment 840179 Incidentally, I have also jumped into the vintage Filson EBay buying frenzy.

I found this early 2015 Filson paper tote. Unlike later models, it has the desirable 'twisted twine' handles which fray in a most gorgeous way when used. The colorways is forest green (not like later bags which use an ugly dark green color that doesn't fade or patinate) with the larger point Seattlevica font like from the 1958 Filson catalog! I am so psyched about using it!

HAHAHA I posted that same link, he's asking $10 for it. Twisted Twine handles sounds very ritzy, gonna have to jump on that has it would match my 266 and 257 perfectly LOL.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

WOW. That’s a real grail find. What advice would you give for twine care? Top only, or underside too? How often? What compound? Leave to soak for 24 hours, or wipe off excess immediately? (Sorry OMG ;-)

HAHAHAHA too funny @speedy611. I wonder how much HDLP will darken that twine, hopefully not too much as I'm buying it for office use, and I don't want it to blend in with all the other lunch bags.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Yes, it's that time again. It's another episode of Filson Leather Roundup.

Today's contestants are two leather straps on my Journeyman backpack. One looking nearly pristine. And the other like someone threw it in a microwave.



Filson, if you're reading this, you need better QC in your supply chain or in your manufacturing process. Not acceptable in a bag that retails in the mid 300s!

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Jeez sorry to see that, it looks like a werewolf made that strap into a nice little snack. I agree Filson can do better, even by their current low low standards. Low blow I know, but I'm trying to egg them on to draw out the mole lol.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

I would just treat all the leather with Obenaufs and move on... nothing to lose really. It might darken a bit for a bit of time but eventually that beautiful color will come up again and it will be conditioned and a bit more resistant to the elements...

The bag will not lose its charm pretty much whatever you do to it... not worth it to give it so much thought in my opinion.

I hear ya, I actually made a post shorty after that stating that I would only stick with Obenauf's for the stress points or any part that needs saving. I plan on doing nothing else to the leather and allowing the natural oils from my hands preserve the leather (thanks @Soletrane ) . Luckily I hail from New Jersey which is pretty medium in year round climate.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Can you post a picture of the white tag? It's usually found inside the bag - it's really the only way to know if it's truly from 2015. Or, possibly, if there is no tag then it's from the 1990's or maybe the previous owner didn't know what they had and just tore it off blindly.

People.

I would recommend re-waxing the bag though. It looks a bit dry in the picture. A hairdryer will help or a heat gun if you're a true A-filson-iado.

LOL I hear you channeling a little of me there. I'm flattered lol

 

[GzStudio]

Also, coincidentally at my desk.....