Katahdin Unlined Leather Briefcase

The bag you buy once.

Unlined is the word that matters here. There is no fabric inside this briefcase. It is leather against leather all the way through, which is more expensive to build and is the reason it will still be closing properly in fifteen years when a lined bag has shredded at the seams. It also means the inside develops the same patina as the outside.

Four inches deep and sixteen across, so it holds a laptop, a folder of paper, a lunch and a pair of shoes without looking stuffed. Pull the strap off and it is a briefcase. Clip it on and it is a messenger bag. There is a laptop pocket, a phone pocket, a key pocket with a clasp, a center compartment and two exterior pockets.

Black or mahogany. The mahogany has a hand finished look where the color sits deeper in the creases, so no two are identical.

Details

• Premium genuine leather, unlined all leather interior
• 16 inches wide by 12 high by 4 deep, 2 pounds 15 ounces
• Leather laptop pocket, phone pocket, key pocket with clasp, center compartment
• Two exterior pockets
• Removable strap converts it to a messenger bag
• Black or Mahogany

If it is more bag than you need

The West End is the same design cut slim, two and a quarter inches deep with a cotton lined interior, at $148.

Who makes it

Rogue Industries, in Standish, Maine. Michael Lyons started the company in 2007 and the workshop runs on solar.

Straight answer on this one. The wallets, the coasters and the Eastport clutch I carry are stitched in that Maine shop. This briefcase is not. Rogue designs it, puts its own name on it, and has it made overseas to their spec. I would rather tell you that up front than let you assume Maine and find out later.

Ships free.