Whether it’s brand new truck seats, your latest pair of cowboy boots, or a new leather bag, most people have a preconceived idea of what leather should smell like. This smell has the tendency to send our imagination to a faraway place with rugged terrain, wild adventure, and wide open spaces. But what’s ironic about all of this is that the familiar smell that we have come to associate with leather may not actually be natural at all.

What I am about to reveal to you below may be quite shocking, so brace yourself.

The reality of the ‘leather’ smell common to most mass-produced leather goods you can find in department stores and cheap online marketplaces…just ain’t good for you or the environment.

It’s important to note before we continue that I, Mr. Lentz, use a natural type of leather called Vegetable-Tanned. The leather is preserved in tanks using different tree barks and is much more expensive due to the natural process used to preserve the fibers.

This differs greatly from leather used by competing shops:

When Leather Meets Chemicals

In fact, that typical smell that most are familiar with, is created when leather is treated with a lot of chemicals. Sadly, most of the leather we’re used to smelling in mass-market goods gets its scent from a harsh mix of chemicals that you’d run far away from if you knew what they were. According to the EPA, these are some of the most common tanning agents used in the world today:

• Trivalent chromium
• Alum
• Syntans (man-made chemicals)
• Formaldehyde
• Glutaraldehyde

Not only are toxic ingredients like chromium salts used in chrome-tanned leather, but things like lignosulfate and specialty chemicals are also added to commercial leather products before finishing. The International School of Tanning Technology provides a list of 48 different chemicals that are commonly used in leather processing…48! The most notorious one of these chemicals is a type of chrome, which is known for putting certain tannery workers around the world at risk from exposure. Chome-tanned leather I should note is probably the most popular type of mass-market leather used in the world today. It is extremely cheap to manufacture, has an immediately soft feel, and unbeknownst to most consumers…also happens to wear out much more quickly.

An odor research study published in Chemical Senses reported that various smells presented were described as both leather-like and medicinal. That’s no coincidence. We’ve gotten so used to leather smelling like chemicals that it’s become hard to tell what pure leather should actually smells like. It’s time to get back to basics…

Natural Leather, the Mr. Lentz Way

As you should know by now, harsh chemicals and unnatural ingredients have no place in my workshop. That’s why I use natural tree bark tanned leather (Vegetable-Tanned) for all of my leather products. Full-grain Vegetable-Tanned leather from the top U.S. tannery is the best leather that money can buy because of its extreme density of fibers, strength, and natural preservation process. I have chosen to buy my leather from an extremely reputable U.S. tannery that conforms to strict U.S. standards developed by the EPA. The tannery is known for the best quality natural vegetable tanned leather in the world. Unlike other types of leathers that use chemical solutions to rush the natural process, vegetable tanned leather relaxes and softens into shape over time for maximum longevity. Basically you need to wear-in your wallet or bag over the first week or two to help the fibers stretch into shape.

From there, I only use natural dyes that I make right here in my workshop with pure and simple vegetable matter. As I’ve mentioned before, high-quality leather deserves high-quality care, which is where leather conditioning comes in. To soften things up, I only use leather conditioner made right here in my workshop that’s made with extra virgin olive oil and purified beeswax.

When I work in my shop, I don’t use gloves because I don’t have to. Natural ingredients are the key to staying in this business for the long-term.

What Leather Should Smell Like

The end result of my eco-friendly method to dyeing and conditioning is a pure and natural leather that has a slightly different smell than the average leather you’ll find in those big-city stores. Thanks to the vegetable tanning, natural dyes, and chemical-free conditioning process, my leather smells rich, earthy, and slightly sweet. It’s not an overbearing smell or one that stinks up your whole house. Instead, it’s a subtle smell that will remind you of our great prairies, deserts and mountains. Pure, naturally treated leather should have a mild smell and be easy on the nose.

I hope this helps you understand a bit about why leather smells and what different smells can tell you about a piece of leather’s quality and production process. When your next Mr. Lentz product arrives on your doorstep, take a big whiff, close your eyes, and let your imagination wander. This is the true smell of rugged terrain, wild adventure, and wide open spaces.

Mother’s day is coming up quickly, so make sure to get your orders in. Right now I’m making and shipping most orders within 3 business days. I’m also giving 20% off select items in the shop including purses, some wallets and accessories. Head on over here: Mothers Day Sale  to see all the items with a discount. A lot of items will also ship free! Sale ends soon.

Small Leather Dog Collar (Dogs up to 15 lbs.)

I just finished designing a new line of leather dog collars and leather leashes. Now there’s a style made for every size of dog with the width of the collar to match. In this new series of dog gear I spent several months sourcing and testing the materials to get it just right. I am now using a new type of leather just for dog collars and leashes, called U.S. Full-Grain Latigo. Latigo leather is typically used in the horse saddle industry due to its extreme durability, resistance to stretch, water resistance and flexibility.

(At the time of this posting, there’s a sale: 20% off if you order both a collar and a leash together. Just add to your cart and it will apply automatically).

It is stuffed full of high-end wax and oils to keep the leather fibers strong and holding up in the longrun. You wont have to remove the collar when your dog wants to jump in that lake either. This collar will shed off water like a raincoat. The next big feature of all of my leather dog gear is the stainless steel hardware. It is the strongest type of metal you can get for use in buckles, D-rings, keepers and O-rings. To be quite honest, you should only buy dog gear made with Latigo leather and stainless steel hardware, it’s just built to last. Medium Leather Dog Collar (dogs 10 to 55 lbs.)

I rivet together each piece with an extremely durable type of rivet called a solid drilled brass rivet. These rivets are not too commonly used simply because other makers just don’t know about them. They are difficult to set, but once in place they are extremely strong. Much more so than a typical rivet and especially more so than stitching.

The collar shown above uses 8 solid drilled brass rivets that will stand up to even the toughest of medium dogs.

Above is a 1.5 inch wide collar meant for large dogs (40 to 90 lbs.)

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Available in 2 color options. High quality Latigo leather is usually only available in these two colors, so if you see any exotic colors out there, you certainly should question the quality.

I created this extra strong large dog collar for those that have very strong pets. Dobermans, Mastiffs, Rottweilers, and any other very large breed will fit well into this collar. It is 1.75 inches wide and features a double tongue roller buckle of stainless steel. Everything is riveted in place with 12 solid brass drilled rivets.

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A new feature of my Latigo line of leashes is that I offer custom lengths. This is not typical of handmade leather leashes and allows you to get a length just right for the size of your pet and the style you walk with. Shorter dogs typically require longer leashes and vice versa.

Though every piece of leather is already full of wax and oil, I still ship each collar and leash with a tin of my own all natural leather conditioner. If you see heavy use and the collar tends to get wet a lot, you may consider applying a thin coat of this every now and then to replenish lost oils and wax. It’s very easy and I have a short video and info on how to do that here.

Each leash comes with stainless steel clips and O-rings. The O-ring allows you to clip your dog to a post when you need to walk away, say for your morning cup of coffee.

The image above shows a leash meant for medium and large dogs.

Every leash is made from thick leather, I do not stitch several thin layers together as do other companies out there. Thick leather like this resists stretching and will hold on strong.

To see the entire collection of leather dog collars and leashes click here.

So it’s been a few weeks and I decided to go ahead and finish this stamped leather belt project. You can read the first part of this follow-along here: Part 1. Typically with leather tooling and stamping you want to try to finish your project up in one or two sessions in the same day or two. Well, I started on the first section of belt, then had to put it off for a bit – so I placed the damp belt in a plastic bag, and to prevent mold…I put it in the fridge next to the salsa.

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Looking to load up on some last minute holiday gifts? Well, if you get your order over $100, I am making and shipping one of these wallets for free. The sale ends this Sunday at midnight (12/11/16). Good luck to y’all during the holidays, and thank you for your support of my shop! I gotta make this short and sweet…back to the workshop for holiday orders!