Today in the studio, the handles for the Zip-Top Medium Tote are being put through the splitter. Splitting is an essential step for maintaining the structure of some of our bags, and also for making the leather pieces more manageable for assembly and stitching. This, in turn, makes the finished product more secure.

Splitting consists of slicing the leather lengthwise to either even out or change the thickness of a piece (or part of a piece). Today the eight leather layers of this tote’s folded handle will be split to the same weight and then laminated to become one solid tube that molds to the hand as it’s used. To ensure that the handle attaches securely to the body of the bag, our artisans employ pattern-splitting, a technique that further splits the ends of each of the eight layers to a thinner weight so that a needle can pass through the leather when stitched.

Once split, these pieces are matched to others of identical weight and then checked with a gauge. Thickness variations within one-tenth of an inch can mean the difference between a balanced bag that holds its structure or one that falls over! Similarly, for the handle, splitting can make the difference between a secure stitch or one that may pull away as the bag is used.  

Splitting can be a time-consuming process, but it’s one we believe is essential to the longevity of our bags. Splitting the handles of this tote ensures that the stitches to follow will hold with perfect security and allow for this bag to be the carry-all workhorse that it was designed to be.

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