MATERIALS WE USE
We place great emphasis on the quality of raw materials from which we manufacture our products. We do not use synthetic materials. This applies to the entire production process, from the manufacture of the product, through its finishing, maintenance, confectioning and packing to shipping. Our products are manufactured with a view to future generations. We believe that the combination of traditional handicraft methods, natural and the best quality raw materials with modern technologies allows our products to become an intergenerational, heritage good.
Below you can learn more about the range of raw materials we use and see how much effort we put into their selection and making sure that they meet our requirements.
LEATHERS
Our leathers are products made according to the same methods for over a hundred years. We only use bovine vegetable-tanned leathers without the addition of chromium salts. This is a noble process that only natural products are used for. This method allows you to get a natural texture on both sides of the skin. In contrast to chromium, the surface of the skin is not homogeneous and free of irregularities. If you’ve ever wondered why age-old leather products age in a very noble way – it’s thanks to this method. It provides very nice patination and a characteristic sound of squeaking when bending. Vegetable-tanned leather is its most unique variety and guarantees a natural, uneven colour. We use hides from Polish tanneries, which we use in three different thicknesses depending on the product (4 mm, 2.5 mm and 1 mm) also in versions mechanically (not chemically) softened where needed. To ensure the highest quality pike we choose in person in the tanneries headquarters with more than a century tradition.
FELT
The felt we use is made of 100% natural wool. In contrast to synthetic felt made from polyester fibers, natural felt is a rare and exclusive product today. The felts we use are imported by us from a Spanish factory with a history that goes back two centuries. It is a top quality product with exceptional resistance to adverse weather conditions. Felt in our products comes in two thicknesses – 1mm and 3mm with a high basis weight and density.
RAW CANVAS
Raw canvas we use for the manufacture of our products is a linen cloth of Polish production without any admixture of synthetic elements. We also try to ensure that the impregnation process, if any, is carried out as naturally as possible or using traditional methods. The canvas we use has a weight above 400g / m2. They are manufactured for us by a company with a long tradition in accordance with the production standards for the armaments industry, which is our guarantee of exceptional durability of our linen products.
WAXED CANVAS
Waxed canvases are imported directly from a small producer from Great Britain, whose plant founded in the eighteenth century supplies its raw materials on a very small scale to a small number of producers – TempleMoyle Mills (click). We use 100% cotton fabrics, waxed with natural beeswax with weights above 300 g / m2. The production process of canvases has been basically unchanged for many years and is based on traditional machines. The result is a canvas of a unique character, which can be preserved properly for many generations, preserving unusual properties. Waxing the canvas provides it with high resistance to weather conditions while maintaining its naturalness. In 2019 our company was granted the permission to use TempleMoyle Mill labels for our products that use waxed canvases.
COTTON
For the production of our bags, we use only cotton denim raw or stained with weights above 250g / m2. This raw material is prepared for us by the Polish weaving plant and is woven with a very dense oblique weave, which ensures that the space between the weft and warp threads is left minimal. This ensures exceptional durability of the canvas. Cotton fabrics we use are raw or dyed with natural dyes.
HARDWARE
Our fittings are carefully selected to match the quality and style of our products. For our products, from 2019, we use only fittings made of pure, cast brass. They are always the products of the highest quality, often from small-sized producers or manufactures who are still working according to pre-war rules and antique equipment. In the future, we plan to cast our own fittings, according to our designs.
ZIPPERS
Zippers that we use are made especially for us according to our specifications in a small studio in the south of Poland using hand-held machines. When it turned out that zipper manufacturers do not offer zippers on pure cotton tapes, we decided to go a step further and designed our own zipper model. It is made out of cotton tape on which brass teeth are puckered and the product is topped with a brass finishing element on one side and a solid brass zip on the other side. In our workshop, we add a leather handle piece with our trademark that facilitates the operation of the zipper.
WEBBING
The webbing and other tapes that we use are made of 100% Polish cotton in a plant with almost 100 years of history dating back to the interwar period. Despite the traditional weave and the natural composition, they meet very stringent load standards and are extremely resistant to weather conditions. Tapes in our products are available in several widths and thicknesses of at least 3mm.
THREADS
We use only natural linen threads with thicknesses adapted to the type of material used in a given product. In some products we use Fil Au Chinois threads (click) – a French manufacturer, which since 1847 provides the best manufacturers of the highest quality linen thread waxed with natural beeswax.
WOOD
The wooden elements of our products are made of precious hardwood species. The wood is carefully selected to ensure its appropriate texture. This is particularly important because it is finished only with burned natural linseed oil, which exposes its internal structure. Our axes and other tools receive handles from Hickory, bags – reinforcements from Common Oak. We do not use any synthetic surface treatment methods. We just like the view of natural wood in combination with brass and leather.
FORGED STEEL
Forged parts of our products, such as axe heads are made of carbon steel (eg type 1055) which guarantees easy sharpening and a relatively easy maintenance of the cutting edge.