Le Kraft Refillable Leather Notebook (Large)

Unlike a notebook covered with paper, leather acts like an impenetrable barrier, protecting your work from the elements. The leather that binds this particular notebook, "Cuba Libre," is a rare material, tanned with water, not chrome, in a century old tannery in the L'Aveyron region of France. It is the roughest, toughest leather in all of France and a real rarity in the world. 

The interior pages of the large refillable Le Kraft book are undyed 100% kraft paper, with a natural brown color. The pages are machine glazed on one side to give a light gloss finish for extra writing comfort. The other side of each page is matte and fibrous. 

The paper is exclusively manufactured from the maritime pinelands of Gascogne, which grow 15,000 hectares per year. The paper comes from the pulp of the pine's virgin fibers - "virgin" meaning it comes from fresh sources instead of recycled waste paper. The number of hectares produced in these forests every year is due to the resourceful, cyclical process Le Kraft preaches, which requires that every scrap from by-products of maintenance (branches, tops of trees, and wood thinnings) to wood processes (sawmill wastes) be used.

Le Kraft does not dye a large portion of their kraft paper, but for the white paper they do produce, they've partnered with Gascogne to develop a coating solution to make it as brilliantly white as regular paper without creating heavy CO2 emissions.  Their choice to use ozone bleaching instead of conventional scouring and bleaching is just one example of the deliberation and care they have for their raw materials, and their priority for sustainable processes.  Compared to conventional methods, ozone bleaching produces less than half the CO2. 

Le Kraft is not a mainstream company trying to save a buck. In fact, they call themselves “the least productive producer of notebooks in the western world.”  

As you fill the notebook up, it's recommended to tear pages out and file them (with fewer pages, the binding bends back easier). To refill, use a flathead screwdriver (or your fingers) to unscrew the binding. Remove the used pages, file them or recycle them, and refill the notebook with fresh pages.

"The production line at the factory is like a theme park: the smell of oil tickles your nostrils, the motions of the machinery hypnotize you and the sounds create an atmosphere like in a Fritz Lang film. Yet the notebooks exude modernity. They are a memory of your visit to the old school park." -Sylvain Fustier, digital designer in Paris

Since 1930, Le Kraft Du Compagnie has produced notebooks they claim are not meant to be practical or handy. They're made for guys with the hands of a lumberjack. They're made for bruisers. 

Kraft paper is 100% biodegradable, and can be fully assimilated into its original natural environment once broken down, since the pulp is made from the long virgin fibres of maritime pine and is not bleached.

Please email support@kaufmann-mercantile.com.  We reply to every email promptly. Or call us at 347 529 5122.

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