Which leather is best for wallets?

No matter their profession or hobbies, every man needs a decent wallet for their day-to-day activities. Preferably you want that same leather wallet to last a significant amount of time, so you don’t have to replace it multiple times throughout the year.

While wallets can be made in a range of different materials, we feel that leather wallets can’t be beaten in terms of beauty, function and durability (we might be a little biased, but we have good reasons to believe this!).

With over a century worth of experience between them in creating leather goods, you can trust our makers to create only the best high-quality leather wallets.

There are 3 considerations we recommend thinking about before buying a leather wallet:

1. The type of leather
2. The quality of the leather
3. Security

If you consider these 3 things, you can be confident that you’re purchasing a leather wallet to last a lifetime.

Different qualities of leather

There are numerous different types of leather out there and the quality used to make your wallet will be the difference between a wallet which lasts a year and a top-quality leather wallet which lasts you a lifetime.

But how can you tell if your wallet is made from great quality leather?

You can check the terminology used by the manufacturer to describe the leather being used for their wallets.

Full grain leather

Quite often, full-grain leather is confused with top-grain leather, with many high street retailers claiming that they’re the same. However, there is quite a difference between the two.

Full-grain leather refers to the full, unadulterated hide in its most natural form. Of course, it’s entirely up to you which one you prefer, but we think the natural characteristics visible on full-grain leather are an attractive quality.

As full-grain leather allows us to work with almost untouched leather, all of the oil-absorbing properties and original characteristics remain in place which means this leather will develop a unique patina and will endure over a long length of time.

We use full grain calfskin leather for our Doctor’s, Sophie and Mini Sophie bags, all of which form part of the Cambridge Line.

Top grain leather

Top grain leather has the outermost layer of hide removed. The difference in doing this makes the leather more workable.

This is often reflected in the price difference between full-grain and top-grain leather.

This leather is called top grain leather as the very top layer is sanded, buffed or shaved off. Top grain leather is often used when creating leather handbags, as a pristine finished is usually desired with these products.

Split grain leather

Split grain leather is created by splitting thick pieces of leather.

This is because split grain leather’s surface is actually a layer inside the hide, meaning features like holes, wrinkles on the skin and markings from the animal are usually missing.

Split grain leather is used to create coloured leather goods, and you’ll see that the majority of our bags and small leather accessories are created using split grain leather.

Don’t underestimate exceptional build quality.

Even if you use the best quality leather on the market, if you build a wallet poorly, then it’s almost guaranteed that the product will not last you a long time.

When choosing your wallet, it’s always best to give it a close inspection on the finish of the product.

Has everything been sewn together strongly?

Are the wallets hand sewn?

Have the edges been burnished? (this is the process of sanding down and polishing a wallet’s edges for a smooth finish)

If you can see that your soon-to-be new leather wallet has burnished edges, this is a testament to the manufacturer’s attention to detail.

A beautiful and practical design to last a lifetime.

Artisans have the difficult job of balancing the functionality and the aesthetics of the leather wallet they’re making.

A good quality leather wallet must be functional enough that you’re able to use the wallet every single day. It should, of course, also have a good design which is sleek enough that it can comfortably fit in most pockets.

It’s important that you consider how much cash and how many cards you usually carry. If you’re someone who carries the same set of cards every day, our leather Card Holders would be a great option for you.

Take some time to consider whether the construction of the wallet has enough space to carry your daily essentials without being too bulky.

Best Leather Wallets for Men

Our makers have years of experience in creating leather wallets, which means you can trust that our leather wallets are of an exceptional standard.

We’ve picked out our top 3 bestsellers to give you an idea of the products we have on offer:

The Card Case – Black Calf Grain

Discover our leather card case in more colours >

This perfect no-fuss leather Card Case. This little accessory has two cotton twill-lined compartments on each side, making it ideal for bank cards and ID cards – the everyday essentials!

This product is embossed with our classic bicycle logo, and is perfect as a gift for you or someone else. Made in our luxurious, hard-wearing Calf Grain leather, this is an everyday case with a sophisticated, premium finish.

The Card Holder – Havana Calf Grain

Discover our selection of leather card holders >

You can carry your cards in the most stylish way possible thanks to our 100% leather Havana Calf Grain Card Holder. This simple style is handcrafted in premium Calf Grain leather with cotton twill lining which holds four cards and beautifully embossed with our iconic bicycle logo.

This Card Holder is the perfect gift for you or someone else. You can even get it embossed with initials or a symbol to add something extra special .