Gfeller casemakers

Found out about yet another "Made in USA" leather craftsman -- Steve Derricott from Gfeller casemakers. Steve Derricott is a professional geologist and is the proprietor of Gfeller. The company was known as Roy Gfeller before Steve took over and has existed since 1946. Not surprisingly, they seem to make a lot of accesories for geologists but they also make some beautiful covers for moleskine journals. Check out this youtube video.

The prices seem very reasonable. They also make a beautiful briefcase -- it is a little pricey, but the quality seems great. The leather they use is pretty good. Steve says the following about the leather:

it is made using vegetable tanned Skirting Leather from the Hermann Oak Tannery in St. Louis. We are proud to have maintained an account with them for well over 50 years. In our industry, Hermann Oak is the standard to which others aspire….it really is the best leather for our purpose tanned in the USA today. The reddish –orange color results from the particular tree bark used in their tanning process.

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Below is a review of the briefcase from another forum. Notice the use of the thick, single ply leather and the expert stitching. The handle is also done really well. The case seems really nice and Gfeller is pretty open to customizations (at a small upcharge). The vegetable tanned leather will age really beautifully, turning more reddish-brown as it ages. The pictures below also show a moderately used moleskine case (it is made of different leather though). The shoulder strap is very nice, but I can think of some improvements to the way it attaches to the bag itself.

What does you guys think?

Originally Posted by univibe88

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Many of you may not know about Gfeller Casemakers. I first found out about them on a fountainpen forum when I was looking for a cover for my Moleskine notebook. I have gone on to also buy a very nice leather belt. I have been dreaming about a briefcase and finally pulled the trigger.

This quote from their website sums it up best Originally focusing on the needs of geologists, engineers and field scientists, we developed leather goods that carried tools, protected notes and maps and generally made field work easier and more productive for these adventurous professionals.

It took about 8 weeks from the time I contacted Steve until I received my briefcase. He is very open to customization and will make you anything you want within his abilities. All of Gfellers products are made with heavy sinlge ply leather finished only with neatsfoot oil. The products start a very natural tan color and quickly take on personality. My notebook cover and belt are completely different than the brandnew briefcase. You can see that in the picture of my notebook on top of the briefcase.

The base briefcase is two compartments with a buckle front and padded strap. I had steve add the rear pocket you see below, as well as the internal pockets for my checkbook and Moleskine.

I felt like this is a very high quality product that fits the mold of what many of us like here at the lounge, so I wanted to share it with you.

Steve is a nice guy and makes nice stuff. I have one of his moleskine covers and it's well made. He'll do just about anything you want if you talk to him.

Originally Posted by Crane's

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Steve is a nice guy and makes nice stuff. I have one of his moleskine covers and it's well made. He'll do just about anything you want if you talk to him.

I placed an order for a leather cover for an extra large (19 cm x 25 cm) moleskin notebook. I'll definitely keep Gfeller in mind for my future needs.

Nice looking briefcase. I don't know why these guys feel the need to put their seals and stamps in such conspicuous places. It really ruins the look. Stamp it underneath the flap or inside and let the craftsmanship do the talking. Glasser does the same thing.

Looks good except the big stamp.