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Leather Cases - Patina Proud Photos

A couple of pictures of my (brand new) Decoded case on my silver 12 Pro. I really love the contrast of the white camera bump against the brown leather and copper camera ring.

The case kind of looks and feels like a football in a weird way. I’m really into it. There’s anywhere from 5-10 noticeable differences between this one and the one I have for my 12 Mini though, in a way that feels like they are from two different sources. I prefer this one, even though I also really liked the 12 Mini one.

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So as much as I raved about and really loved my Bullstrap MagSafe case, I found myself reaching for my Apple Silicone case with the closed bottom. The edge on the open bottom Bullstrap case bugged my pinkie.

So if anyone is interested, I put this case up on the Marketplace thread at a discounted price.
 
Nhwhazup said:
So as much as I raved about and really loved my Bullstrap MagSafe case, I found myself reaching for my Apple Silicone case with the closed bottom. The edge on the open bottom Bullstrap case bugged my pinkie.

So if anyone is interested, I put this case up on the Marketplace thread at a discounted price.
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Are you selling the case for a 12/12 pro or 12 pro Max?
 
Nhwhazup said:
So as much as I raved about and really loved my Bullstrap MagSafe case, I found myself reaching for my Apple Silicone case with the closed bottom. The edge on the open bottom Bullstrap case bugged my pinkie.

So if anyone is interested, I put this case up on the Marketplace thread at a discounted price.
Click to expand...
I'm really surprised to finally see someone else say they prefer the silicone case this year. I actually have loved the silicone cases this year tbh. I have the Plum and Deep Navy cases, and honestly felt they are better with the 12 models. I love the Bullstrap leather feel and quality, but miss the protection for the bottom of the phone. Nomads are great IMO, but you can't beat Apple's buttons and their fit and finish.
 
Only 9 months old Apple will not exchange.I think they are using cheaper leather now compared to the leather cases for every other one i have had when I’ve changed phones every year
 
Tybull said:
Only 9 months old Apple will not exchange.I think they are using cheaper leather now compared to the leather cases for every other one i have had when I’ve changed phones every year
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That looks ugly man, just rub off the rest of the blue, looks much better.
 
So, I finally settled on the Nomad after having used a wide range of Apple, Bullstrap, Decoded, and Nomad cases over the last several months. The Nomad is driving me to use my 12 Pro as my daily as well, which is nice. I love literally everything about the Nomad, so I’m finally a happy boy.
 
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TheAccountant said:
I'm really surprised to finally see someone else say they prefer the silicone case this year. I actually have loved the silicone cases this year tbh. I have the Plum and Deep Navy cases, and honestly felt they are better with the 12 models. I love the Bullstrap leather feel and quality, but miss the protection for the bottom of the phone. Nomads are great IMO, but you can't beat Apple's buttons and their fit and finish.
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When I was using the Mini I had a deep navy and whatever the green was called and absolutely loved them. I've always preferred leather to silicone though, so when I upgraded to the 12 Pro I bought a black leather case with it and it's absolutely perfect. I've tried several other cases (Caudabe Sheath, Nomad, Decoded, Grams28, some Incipio that I can't find now) and I always come back to leather.
Tybull said:
Only 9 months old Apple will not exchange.I think they are using cheaper leather now compared to the leather cases for every other one i have had when I’ve changed phones every year
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I'm really surprised by this. I would maybe call customer care and try to reason with them. They have no problem replacing silicone cases that chip so I don't see why this would be a problem. There's clearly something wrong with the coating on some of these cases. I've been using mine since February and have nothing coming off of mine (I've seen black leather cases with this defect before anybody goes that route).
 
Tybull said:
Only 9 months old Apple will not exchange.I think they are using cheaper leather now compared to the leather cases for every other one i have had when I’ve changed phones every year
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this was easily the worst leather case they've ever released.
 
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I still think they changed the formula, for whatever reason or however they did it, to protect the case from premature MagSafe wear. In turn, and if I’m right, it ruined what made their cases so good.
 
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Cryates said:
I still think they changed the formula, for whatever reason or however they did it, to protect the case from premature MagSafe wear. In turn, and if I’m right, it ruined what made their cases so good.
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I don't. If you go back and look at leather cases from the 5S they aged the same way. It's caused by the sharp edges of the case.
 
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Loved how this looked new. But the painted-on color looked terrible with wear. Sanded the paint off. A few coats of brown Saphir shoe polish and 5 or 6 coats of Bick #4 to rejuvenate the hide, and some horsehair brushing and here we are! It’s not perfect. It’s not even a “patina” but it looks better than chipped paint.

I take upkeep of my leather products and accessories very seriously. Lots of Bick #4 and neetsfoot oil used in my house. Have a 14’ long leather sectional couch to keep up too!
 

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I tried 2 bullstrap cases and both got sent back. I'm not sure if my phone is weird or I got 2 defective cases but neither protected the camera lenses. Anybody else have that issue?
Are there any leather cases like the bullstrap that have an open bottom?
 
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Cryates said:
I still think they changed the formula, for whatever reason or however they did it, to protect the case from premature MagSafe wear. In turn, and if I’m right, it ruined what made their cases so good.
Click to expand...


It’s a lower grade leather, and the pigmentation is paint.

It’s not terrible, but the paint chips off and looks terrible. Cant patina paint.
 
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DanTSX said:
It’s a lower grade leather, and the pigmentation is paint.

It’s not terrible, but the paint chips off and looks terrible. Cant patina paint.
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Tbh I was thinking this until someone in this thread pointed out that it’s the same, but wear differently cause of the square shape. He mentioned to take a look at 5S leather cases, which I did, and they look very similar to this generations leather patina.

I do wish there was an option for natural leather without any paint
 
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kingston73 said:
I tried 2 bullstrap cases and both got sent back. I'm not sure if my phone is weird or I got 2 defective cases but neither protected the camera lenses. Anybody else have that issue?
Are there any leather cases like the bullstrap that have an open bottom?
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I'm assuming you have a PM. I have all 4 Bullstrap case colors, and went through 3 Bourbon and 2 Sienna, until they sent ones that covered the cameras. Now all my current ones do cover the cameras though.
 
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