Pony Express - finding inspiration from the 1860's
It's sometimes odd where the ideas come from in developing a new product for the shop.
I was reading the fabulously detailed reference source Volume from Vintage Menswear - A Collection From The Vintage Showroom - Sims, Luckett & Gunn (available from their shop and website) and was struck by the simplicity of this 1860's leather document pouch which would have been stuffed into a specially designed throw over saddlebag by the heroic Pony Express Riders of the day.
Here's an advert for new riders, in glorious plain speak
They only wanted light riders for obvious reasons, with rider relays covering up to a 2,000 mile route.
Previously mail would be sent around the coast by ship or by stage coach.... relay riders made it much quicker but kinda dangerous as well which is why I guess the Pony Express is still such an icon from the early years.
Even more surprising was when I found out from doing some reading that the Pony Express service only lasted about 19 months before it closed.
In Oct 1861 Western Union completed the transcontinental telegraph system at Salt Lake, the Pony Express shut down 2 days later! progress eh.
The pouch above has no stitching holding it together, the thin leather, probably calf, is folded around the documents and wrapped closed.
This is where my inspiration came from... could I make something as un-structured as this 1860's pouch but still able to hold tools?
Well, yes and no. Tools being heavier than a few bits of paper is always gonna be the issue so I've gone with minimal stitching by keeping 2 large pockets which allows you to stash more smaller tools.
I tried the 1860's style version but you just end up spending way too much time gathering your tools to try and safely get them all folded in, not practical at all, certainly not for a Pony Express rider anyway.
Something else you gotta think about with all leather tool rolls is how much leather are you folding and what type of leather is it.
It bulks up really quickly the more rolls you make on it. Then you end up with what feels like your carrying around a roll of shagpile, not good.
You need a leather thats less than 2mm thick but still has a firm temper / structure within it, especially for tools which can quickly knacker some light weight leathers such as calf.
This is why I think I've chosen the perfect leather for this take on the 19th century version. The fact that the leather also comes from America also seems very fitting.
I hand cut it from a Double Horse Front (DHF) Horween Horse hide. The natural structure of the hide is denser /stronger than a cow hide. This makes it perfect for use in a tool roll as it gives the extra slimness you need so it can be rolled without unnecessary bulk and the structure you need for small tools.
The Horween tannery produces some lovely leathers, this is certainly one of them, as no two hides will ever be the same as each hide will show it's own natural life creases, marks & scars picked up along the way.
The result is proper old school looking leather tool pouch, perfect for smaller tools to stash in your bag or even your pocket if your out on your bike.
So hope you like the end product, for pricing etc you can find it in the Shop link.
Thanks all.
Rich
Also loads of great info from these sites which I've mentioned earlier;
www.thevintageshowroom.com
www.horween.com
I was reading the fabulously detailed reference source Volume from Vintage Menswear - A Collection From The Vintage Showroom - Sims, Luckett & Gunn (available from their shop and website) and was struck by the simplicity of this 1860's leather document pouch which would have been stuffed into a specially designed throw over saddlebag by the heroic Pony Express Riders of the day.
Here's an advert for new riders, in glorious plain speak
They only wanted light riders for obvious reasons, with rider relays covering up to a 2,000 mile route.
Previously mail would be sent around the coast by ship or by stage coach.... relay riders made it much quicker but kinda dangerous as well which is why I guess the Pony Express is still such an icon from the early years.
Even more surprising was when I found out from doing some reading that the Pony Express service only lasted about 19 months before it closed.
In Oct 1861 Western Union completed the transcontinental telegraph system at Salt Lake, the Pony Express shut down 2 days later! progress eh.
The pouch above has no stitching holding it together, the thin leather, probably calf, is folded around the documents and wrapped closed.
This is where my inspiration came from... could I make something as un-structured as this 1860's pouch but still able to hold tools?
Well, yes and no. Tools being heavier than a few bits of paper is always gonna be the issue so I've gone with minimal stitching by keeping 2 large pockets which allows you to stash more smaller tools.
I tried the 1860's style version but you just end up spending way too much time gathering your tools to try and safely get them all folded in, not practical at all, certainly not for a Pony Express rider anyway.
Something else you gotta think about with all leather tool rolls is how much leather are you folding and what type of leather is it.
You need a leather thats less than 2mm thick but still has a firm temper / structure within it, especially for tools which can quickly knacker some light weight leathers such as calf.
This is why I think I've chosen the perfect leather for this take on the 19th century version. The fact that the leather also comes from America also seems very fitting.
The Horween tannery produces some lovely leathers, this is certainly one of them, as no two hides will ever be the same as each hide will show it's own natural life creases, marks & scars picked up along the way.
The result is proper old school looking leather tool pouch, perfect for smaller tools to stash in your bag or even your pocket if your out on your bike.
So hope you like the end product, for pricing etc you can find it in the Shop link.
Thanks all.
Rich
Also loads of great info from these sites which I've mentioned earlier;
www.thevintageshowroom.com
www.horween.com
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