Your latest cool purchase

[Doodski]

I buy a lot of fragrance, it's my current major vice, I just got a sample of this and I'm loving it. Suitable for any guy in my opinion, and many women would love it:
View attachment 356740
Quite cheap too.

Does it smell like a old cat litter box like some of that new fragrance stuff does? I used to wear cologne and fragrances but I stopped because it's not fair in public places to make people sneeze and have asthma attacks etc or to taste my cologne. But I do use Nivia Body Wash COOLKick for men which apparently smells pretty good to women.

 

[617]

Does it smell like a old cat litter box like some of that new fragrance stuff does? I used to wear cologne and fragrances but I stopped because it's not fair in public places to make people sneeze and have asthma attacks etc or to taste my cologne. But I do use Nivia Body Wash COOLKick for men which apparently smells pretty good to women.

No, it smells like a blend of cypress and vetiver on a very light base of wood and musk. It smells like going for a walk in a pine forest on a nice cold day.

Most modern fragrance either smells sweet, like sweet foods, or has a 'blue' shower gel smell popular with young men. There are some very nice, very natural fragrances being produced, however, just not too many at the mall.

 

[Doodski]

No, it smells like a blend of cypress and vetiver on a very light base of wood and musk. It smells like going for a walk in a pine forest on a nice cold day.

I can dig that sort of stuff for sure. Subtle, natural, interesting and draw in people etc.

 

[Canuck57]

 

[Somafunk]

I bought a new Hiby R6 gen3 dap this week, I think it’s pretty cool even if the class A or Class AB differences are so minute (if any) I can’t tell them apart, apart from battery life as Class A drains the battery twice as fast as Class AB, and it has 6 Dac filter options to play with, again I can’t tell any differences between them, I’m not really selling it here am I? , but it has multiple sound options to play with courtesy of the Mseb eq alongwith full peq options so I’m quite chuffed with it.

 

[Philbo King]

Capacitor kit, around $17 from Amazon.
Trying out various values for the tone controls on my new Stratocaster. (The stock one, used for both tone pots, had no audible effect on the tone...)

 

[Ilkless]

IC... Well the lines, stitching and such are perfect from what I can see in the images. I have seen some sooper nice women's purses, clutches and handbags etc that are like your leather items but they also included hand painted beautiful birds in amazing vivid colors with airbrushed accents all over the bags. It was difficult to peel the eyes away from looking at them and the amount of detail required several minutes to really look at them and reflect about what all of that means. We are talking about thousands of dollars+ for a woman's accessory bag. Do they have leather items with accents and painted on artwork too that is suitable as a mans' accessory?

I have seen some carved and tooled wallets from makers in the US and Vietnam, something like this:

Lucky Koi Fish Lotus Rectangle Crossbody Bag

100% HANDMADE AND HAND CARVED OF FULL GRAIN LEATHER. Handmade and finished by hand from our skillful craftsmen. ⦁ Dimension:⦁ Outer: vegetable tanned leather⦁ Lining: full grain leather⦁ One zip slot and one main compartment, YKK zipper imported from Japan and bronze accessories⦁ Handcrafted in...

www.virgohandmadeleather.com

The airbrushed style typically comes from artists who paint on existing bags, I believe the term is "marquage" -- that might yield some results you like!

There's a japanese company called herz that makes similar bags, many many different shapes. Herz-bag.jp, very nice stuff.

Yes, I've been following them, lovely colours and clearly rugged.

I buy a lot of fragrance, it's my current major vice, I just got a sample of this and I'm loving it. Suitable for any guy in my opinion, and many women would love it:
View attachment 356740
Quite cheap too.

Got into fragrances because my S/O is, the niche houses can get so expensive through there are some great scents

 

[DLS79]

It's not my latest, but it's my favorite purchase of the last few years. It's NOS, and took me a year to find.

When it was manufactured Ayrton Senna was still alive.

 

[617]

Got into fragrances because my S/O is, the niche houses can get so expensive through there are some great scents

This is like thirty dollars. Believe me it is fragrance snob approved.

 

[jhaider]

Just put in an order for a handstitched leather satchel by a French craftsman I've been admiring for some time, and realised there wasn't a catch-all thread for cool purchases...

Let us all know how it turns out.

One thing I've been looking for on-and-off is a well-made vertical briefcase. IMO the form factor just makes more sense than a horizontal bag, especially for people who use public transit. At least, I've always preferred it, because you can balance it on your lap, without it spilling into the next seat. They're also easier to manipulate through plane cabins. Basically I want my old Austrian Bundesheer map case (a beautiful thing in thick olive drab dyed horsehide) but about 2" bit wider to accommodate a laptop, and with front pocket more useful to urban endeavors than a folding flap for a map insert. At the start of this year I had finally resolved to ask Myron Glaser (my usual briefcase is one of his stock models) if he could do a custom riff on his backpack as a shoulder bag. But he retired recently!

 

[LDvo]

This is like thirty dollars. Believe me it is fragrance snob approved.

Just got Ralph's Club for thirty dollars too - Walgreens special

 

[Ilkless]

Let us all know how it turns out.

One thing I've been looking for on-and-off is a well-made vertical briefcase. IMO the form factor just makes more sense than a horizontal bag, especially for people who use public transit. At least, I've always preferred it, because you can balance it on your lap, without it spilling into the next seat. They're also easier to manipulate through plane cabins. Basically I want my old Austrian Bundesheer map case (a beautiful thing in thick olive drab dyed horsehide) but about 2" bit wider to accommodate a laptop, and with front pocket more useful to urban endeavors than a folding flap for a map insert. At the start of this year I had finally resolved to ask Myron Glaser (my usual briefcase is one of his stock models) if he could do a custom riff on his backpack as a shoulder bag. But he retired recently!

Stateside, there's Frank Clegg and Lotuff I've heard good things about in the same vein as Glaser. If you want something more delicate (and expensive!), like Hermes but better and without the brand premium, there's April in Paris (ex-Hermes top leatherworker) and Chester Mox, a student of hers that does great work -- no experience with them but great word of mouth.

In the UK, I've used Nichols; he used to work for Alfred Dunhill's custom/couture leatherwork department.

There's also Vicus, an Italian guy in Switzerland, but he makes a less structured style.

And seems like the maker I just ordered from does a backpack design too:

The guys abroad all ship internationally

 

[jhaider]

Stateside, there's Frank Clegg and Lotuff I've heard good things about in the same vein as Glaser. If you want something more delicate (and expensive!), like Hermes but better and without the brand premium, there's April in Paris (ex-Hermes top leatherworker) and Chester Mox, a student of hers that does great work -- no experience with them but great word of mouth.

In the UK, I've used Nichols; he used to work for Alfred Dunhill's custom/couture leatherwork department.

There's also Vicus, an Italian guy in Switzerland, but he makes a less structured style...

Never thought of a briefcase from April in Paris - though a bit dear for a daily carry.

Also will check out Nichols - thanks! A Dunhill Motorities messenger bag got me through law school I lived walking distance so the built-in rain cover came in super handy! Their duffle in the same canvas/leather with fold-out orange rain cover design made a great diaper bag as well.

That also reminds me I should run this itch by Phil Kalas (Ashland Leather) - his shop makes some really nice small leather and shell cordovan goods such as key cases, valet trays, passport cases, etc. I always like to support local craftspeople when possible, and now they are local to me. I probably pass the Horween Leather building 1-3x a month.

 

[Mnyb]

It's not my latest, but it's my favorite purchase of the last few years. It's NOS, and took me a year to find.

When it was manufactured Ayrton Senna was still alive.
View attachment 356763

Cool I had one 0,5 mm as a university student no idea that this a sought after item I thinks mine is gone.

 

[DLS79]

Cool I had one 0,5 mm as a university student no idea that this a sought after item I thinks mine is gone.

They still make 0.35, 0.5, & 0.7 but 0.9 hasn't made in a long time.

 

[JeffS7444]

Just put in an order for a handstitched leather satchel by a French craftsman I've been admiring for some time, and realised there wasn't a catch-all thread for cool purchases.

It will be in thick vegetable-tanned hazelnut-coloured leather from a small French tannery, with fasteners made in Germany and cast brass buckles made in France.

It will have 2 adjustable fasteners like this signature design of his

View attachment 356672
But in the size of a messenger bag (with removable pen and phone pockets):

View attachment 356673

And it will be gorgeous. That's all I wanted to share.

I don't know much about leather goods, but the detailing looks beautiful: How do you care for such things?

 

[Doodski]

I don't know much about leather goods, but the detailing looks beautiful: How do you care for such things?

I can say what not to do. Do not apply lotsa mink oil because it softens the leather to be like butter and it ruins the leather. I killed a nice set of new boots this way and my nice black wallet became useless after.

 

[-Matt-]

It's not my latest, but it's my favorite purchase of the last few years. It's NOS, and took me a year to find.

When it was manufactured Ayrton Senna was still alive.
View attachment 356763

Thanks, you have inspired a purchase.
(Hope it meets expectations).


On a similar line I like the precise hand feel of a Swann-Morton Number 7 scalpel (for crafting etc not surgery):

 

[dualazmak]

My recent cool purchase of hot heat gun (ref. here and here):

 

[Ilkless]

I don't know much about leather goods, but the detailing looks beautiful: How do you care for such things?

This is a more rugged, rustic style of leatherwork that doesn't need much babying. Maybe an occasional coat of leather cream/wax as recommended by the maker every few months. For instance this is how a satchel from the same maker as mine aged after years of use.