29 April 2021

My first A5 Van der Spek after 7 years of use

I did my original review of this particular organiser in July 2014 

There is also a 'making of post

Looking at that post makes me almost feel like I'm back at the workshop in Puttershoek with the Van der Spek family, watching them put together my actual organiser and it drives my memories to remember the sounds and the smells of the workshop. 

I did a post after using it for three years in 2017, 

Almost 4 years further on I was reminded by someone in the Facebook group asking about this particular leather, so it was time to do another update. There is sometimes no short cut to see how a particular leather will withstand daily wear and tear other than actual long term use.

The leather colours are 6202 (Ciocolatio) on the outside and 6208 (Cuoio) on the inside.

Here are the photos taken this week. 





Whilst this particular organiser hasn't been in constant use for the last 7 years, it has certainly travelled a lot of miles/kms. I used it for our North American trip back in 2015. 

The outside has become quite 'shiny' the interior nappa leather shows 'finger scratches' easily as you can see, but these disappear with a gentle rub with a damp finger tip.

The Krause rings are still perfectly aligned and show no signs of any gaps.  

Overall it continues to be a useful organiser. 

Further Information.

Web Site: https://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VDSleathergoods
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/

5 comments:

  1. I enjoy these long term reviews. Quality looks good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Still beautiful, and I suspect it will be in 7 more years, and 7 after that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love my VdS (mostly) but the one issue I have is that the front cover seems to wrap round from the back of the rings, meaning it never seems to fully come level with the back when I close it. Is this standard on large ring VdS binders? I really want to love it, but.......

    Does anyone else have this issue, and, if so, how have you resolved it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is the weight of the ring mechanism, it wants to roll to its stable state which is towards the base, so it can pull the front cover over.

      Other larger ring organisers tend not to show it because they use much lighter ring mechs using thinner metal, but they are prone to ring gaps etc and you can twist those along the length rather too easily.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for providing that explanation Steve, makes perfect sense. I think I'm going to just have to get used to it

      Delete