Is That Bag Worth It? Tanner Leatherstein Cuts Up Bags and Tells You Why

Meet Volkan Yılmaz, most popularly known as Tanner Leatherstein. His hundreds of thousands of followers brace for impact as he takes a knife to the latest Prada and Bottega Veneta bag, cutting and burning the leather to tell us: is that bag really worth it?

Starting in the leather business at a young age in his family’s tannery in Turkey, Yilmaz has founded the artisanal leather brand PEGAI and is committed to educating everyone on the science and background behind our favorite leather goods. He is an advocate for minimally treated natural leathers, predicting more and more will turn towards these artisanal products in the coming years. 

What inspired you to start making these videos and showing the ‘behind the scenes’ of the leather process?

Volkan Yılmaz: I was involved in the leather business since I was a child in our family tannery in Turkey and all my friends who knew my involvement with leather-craft kept asking me: “Hey  I got his wallet/shoe/jacket can you check if it is good/fake or did I pay too much?”. Hearing the same question hundreds of times made me realize that the general public doesn’t know enough about leather and feel uneasy when shopping for leather goods.

And I confirmed that with my own leather shopping experience in the market where no brand informs you but only tells how great their leather is. And sometimes that is not very true, especially in the luxury level. Thus, I came to this realization that I am in this life to help people understand leather better so they can make better decisions to experience this great resource to its best potential. I started making different videos to convey leather info and tried lots of concepts most of which didn’t work so well but we recently ran into the “worth it” concept that got a good response.

Are there items you have purchased and just couldn’t destroy?

Volkan Yılmaz: I bought a leather backpack from Johnston and Murphy for $250 and started using it. I saw that product was so well made for that price, I built an emotional connection to it and a respect for the value it represents so I couldn’t cut it. Still using it. And another purse from Bottega Veneta I bought for my wife and we both loved it so much that now she is not letting me cut it.

What’s some of the science behind the tests you do? Such as acetone or ash test?

Volkan Yılmaz: The tests I am doing such as acetone and ash test are simple household ways of getting an idea about the finish and the tanning of the leather in front of me. Since acetone is a powerful dissolver, it helps me remove most leather finishes that are PU and acrylic based. Once the finish is removed it helps me assess the quality of base leather underneath the finish and how much of finish was employed in that article. The ash test is a preliminary way of assessing the tanning of the leather as fully vegetable tanned leathers display wood like burning characteristics and leave a charcoal like ash. On the other hand chrome tanned leathers burn quite differently as chrome tanning makes the leather a bit fire resistant so they tend to burn slowly and leave an ash showing green residue which is the color of Chromium(III) sulfate used in the tannery.

What’s been your favorite bag to cut up and dissect?

Volkan Yılmaz: Tough question; Shinola snap tote was pretty good, I loved the leather choice on an elegant design and nice craftsmanship. Bottega’s LambSkin Arco Mini was impressive but expensive. Also, Johnston Murphy’s backpack which I couldn’t cut was an incredible value for the money – great bag for such a great price. 

Can you talk a little bit about your own brand, Pegai? How did it start?

Volkan Yılmaz: I started PEGAI in 2016 after quitting my super cushy consulting job in Chicago after realizing I am not fit for the corporate world and my hands were missing leather so bad. Up until that point I was a tanner making leather and now I decided to make crafts out of that leather and sell them on Etsy. My specialty of leather knowledge helped me big time and very quickly I got a good response from my customers and it grew to this point. 

Now PEGAI is in its new phase of finding its unique niche as a leather crafts brand where artisan leathers meet sophisticated craftsmanship. After about 7 years with PEGAI I realized that small craftsmen like myself love working with minimally finished true artisan leathers that are naturally beautiful but they lack the skills and techniques to achieve sophisticated complex designs. On the other hand large brands have the complex skill yet they don’t have luxury to use such uniquely beautiful leathers we all enjoy due to the nature of their high volumes and those leathers not being consistently available at those scales so they have to opt for standardizing finishes which takes the soul out of leather and plasticize it. 

So, with PEGAI now I have a workshop full of skillful artisans who had experience producing for those large brands and we apply this sophisticated skillset to artisan leathers that I love to curate around the world from specialty tanneries for each article. As a result we offer a blend of both worlds to the leather enthusiast as a rare find in the leather space today and our online business model makes it accessible so more people can experience this unforgettable feel of true artisan leathers.

Looking into 2023, what are some leather trends we should keep an eye out for? 

Volkan Yılmaz: In 2023 and further I see a shift towards more and more natural leather choices in consumers as they come into contact with these minimally finished leathers through passionate artisans and new upcoming brands. With the advances of internet and social media removing the barriers to entry to the leather craft world, tens of thousands of leather workers join the community enriching the way we all experience leather and they all work with these naturally beautiful leathers because, one, it is fun a matter of passion and, two, they can because of their boutique sizes. And as consumers get a taste of this leather kind they have been craving but not able to find in high fashion standardized leather brands, they tend to choose these more and more to satisfy their leather taste. I foresee a shift of market share in leather from large brands to smaller brands in the next couple of decades with this prediction and I believe with the quite unique consciousness of Gen Z that looks for more meaning than fluffy glamour in their choices, this shift will gain speed as they become the dominant decision maker in the economy.