The Leather

4mm thick (10oz) naturally-tanned leather used for Pinegrove non-padded instrument straps

Leather… it's an amazing material.

The proper stuff anyway. We're not talking about camel skins dried under a hot sun and then drenched in sunflower oil. Real, good, proper leather, tanned using the old traditional European methods, goes through over 20 stages to make it tough, flexible and long-lasting. The actual tanning stage is done with vegetable extracts and tree bark which contains the natural substance tannin. Steeping the leather this way takes months, sometimes years. In the 1840s, tanning was updated using chromium salts. Not only is this a faster and cheaper process, it also makes a more waterproof leather that's often tougher too. Most leather goods are made from this.

12-Pack harmonica case in tan leather.jpg

Drum-softened natural vegetable-tanned leather on a Pinegrove 8-Pack Harmonica Case

We mostly use the leather tanned using the old natural "veg tan" method.

To us, it usually has a superior feel and smell to the "chrome tan". To be honest, most people can't tell the difference. And we do use chrome-tan too if it's very good and has a natural finish. We've come across some irresistible chrome tan in our time, either because of its feel or an unusual applied effect, such as a two-tone relic effect.

Two-tone chrome-tan leather used for a BS64 Bass Strap

Most of our leather originates from cattle raised for its beef.

Some pigskin occasionally. We don't use anything from a wild animal, or where the animal was killed just for its hide. As for ensuring quality, Pinegrove's main man Rod Boyes personally hand-picks every single hide. We buy from specialist leather suppliers in Yorkshire, Northampton and London, who source from tanneries across Europe and even the US. We only buy the best, as natural as possible. A lot of leather goods in fashion stores are hardly made from leather at all. This leather is made from ground up bits mixed with glue and spray-painted several times to look the part. We don't use that.

A lot of leather goods are also made from very thin leather, with fabric or some other man-made material glued on the back to made it seem thicker. We don't do that. Pinegrove products often feature cut edges so you can see the leather is thick and real all the way through.

THE CRAFT