Toro Negro Wallet Review: Quality, Personality & Ultimate Charm

About the brand: ToroNegro Leather

Although he trades under the ToroNegro brand, it’s Eugene, the man behind each and every wallet on the ToroNegro website, who we should be talking about. I stumbled across Eugene’s work in the latter half of last year and got talking to him through Instagram nearly 6 months later, when Eugene was kind enough to be interviewed (you can read his full story here).

Now I don’t reach out to any old creator when it comes to collabs, but Eugene’s story is unique: an independent leathercraftsman thrown directly into the middle of a war no one asked for. What struck me about Eugene was his optimism, motivation and drive to keep going no matter what life throws at him, which was something you could feel not only through his work but also after just a few conversations speaking with him. As thanks for the interview Eugene was kind enough to send me across one of his wallets and it’s that wallet today that we’re going to be taking a closer look at.

A Material like no other: Shell Cordovan

I’m no stranger to shell cordovan leather, it’s honestly one of the most premium leathers in the world and I can’t rate it highly enough. But this was actually my first time using shell cordovan from Rocado, one of only three tanneries left in the world that still produce shell cordovan, alongside Horween and Japan’s Shinki Hikaku. I could go into detail about how I feel Horween has better colors and is less stiff (both true), but at the end of the day Rocado still surpasses 95% of all leathers on the market in terms of look, feel, durability and overall potential longevity over time. It’s beautiful and made even more special due to the fact Eugene dyes the leather himself, which is what gives the wallet that beautiful unique pattern.

Look & Design

One of the perks of ordering a wallet from an independent craftsman is that you can essentially order whatever you would like. In the case of Eugene he asked me directly what sort of wallet I would like and what material or look it should have. With such a wild array of choices to choose from I wanted something classic but also something that showed off Eugene’s signature style. So I set upon one of Eugene’s classic bifold wallets and chose one of Eugene’s most distinctive materials: shell cordovan leather, but with Eugene’s own signature tie-dye effect on it. In the case of this wallet images speak much louder than words, and I don’t know about you but this is one of the most gorgeous looking wallets I’ve ever laid eyes on. As you can see the tie-dye effect gives it its own unique look with brush strokes in a variety of colors. You can look at this wallet from a variety of different angles and always see something new, from greens, yellows and reds to deeper purples and blacks, it all shows through on this beautiful shell cordovan leather.

The texture and feel of this wallet is like nothing I’ve ever come across before and it just goes to show the attention to detail that Eugene and ToroNegro Leather puts into all its work.

Functionality & Daily Use

As I said earlier I decided to go with the bifold as I thought that going with a traditional wallet from a traditional craftsman, with some of the finest leather in the world, would be something that I could use for the rest of my life. The wallet design is very simple but very effective. The wallet includes four card slots located on the inside which can hold one card each, or two cards each at a push once the wallet has broken in. The wallet is very hardy when you first unbox it and like any quality leather good it might be a bit stiff at the beginning, as you have to break it in like a good leather boot. Because of this, for the first 8 to 12 weeks you’re going to have to stick with one card per slot as it becomes increasingly tricky to store more than that.

On the outside of the wallet is where you store banknotes in the classic full-width bill slot. I actually store additional cards here as well, as you can see from the images below. The leather is very grippy and durable, which means that cards can be stored alongside the bills, lying flat against either the left or right side of the wallet. This gives me an additional two cards in storage. I have no idea if Eugene meant for this to be used as card slots but it works very effectively and efficiently and is no detriment to the design of the wallet nor the functionality of being stored there.

Overall I’ve been using this wallet for a period of 12 weeks at this point and the wallet is just absolutely phenomenal to use. As I said it’s a very simple bifold but it very effectively stores everything I need with easy access within. The leather so far has aged absolutely beautifully and I can only imagine it will continue to get better as time goes on. The wallet is by no means small, so keep in mind if you’re going to go with this bifold that it comes in at 99mm high x 87mm wide x 16mm thick when closed, which is somewhere in between a small and large wallet. It’s absolutely perfectly fine in your pocket, either front or back pocket. It can be felt but you usually forget about it.

One thing I will mention is this leather’s resistance to basically pretty much everything. My girlfriend somehow managed to spill a whole bowl of soy sauce on top of the wallet a few weeks back and my heart sank, because I thought this was going to stain and just basically destroy the wallet. To my absolute delight and surprise the thing is built like a tank, not just in terms of the construction thanks to Eugene’s incredible skills but also due to the choice in leather. This thing shows no sign of any sort of dirt or issues with staining from things like soy sauce. What the wallet does show, however, is small scuffs, scratches and imperfections, and to me that is exactly what you want from a top quality leather wallet. You want it to age with you, you want it to develop that patina over time and develop the small imperfections on the body of the leather that show it’s been loved and used over time. I can’t wait to see what this wallet looks like in four years, for example.

My plan is to periodically take photos of my bifold wallet from ToroNegro Leather and post them here so you can see the progress and changes of the leather as time goes on. I wouldn’t normally do this for a wallet, but in the case of this wallet I feel it’ll show incredible changes and that needs to be documented.

Supporting artisans & creatives

Having been reviewing wallets for a long time now I’m ashamed to say I’ve not used nearly as many handcrafted wallets as I’d have liked. It’s just the way it is sometimes, and big brands sometimes have the budget to splash out on effective marketing through social media or lots of different online channels to directly promote their wallets. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but what it does do is take the limelight away from the passionate individuals who are producing wallets with purpose and intent, with craftsmanship that is hard to find in modern day life when a fast fashion culture seems to take priority. This is something personally I’m trying to be more mindful of, and why I started my interview series in the first place: to potentially help raise the status of some of these artisans and bring their individual stories to life for people to read.

Final Verdict: Is a ToroNegro Wallet Worth it?

Overall it’s hard to put into words how much I have enjoyed using the bifold wallet crafted by Eugene of ToroNegro Leather. Every time I use the wallet its quality and craftsmanship really shine through and I can’t help but smile. Whether it’s the premium choice of leather or the perfect stitching, to me this wallet is more than just a wallet. It’s a story that carries the hopes, dreams, worries and pitfalls of a man who has been through it all over the past four years but somehow still manages to produce some of the most beautifully crafted leather wallets on the market, and one of the best wallets I have ever had the pleasure of using.

If you weren’t yet convinced that going handcrafted was the way to go, then please consider the wallets from Eugene. They’re honestly not as expensive as you would imagine from someone crafting these by hand day in, day out. This shell cordovan bifold comes in at $320, and Eugene often has it on offer for less. Once you go down this road of handcrafted leather goods there is very little chance you’ll ever go back to mass produced wallets ever again. For now, I just want to say a big thanks to Eugene for sending this wallet. I did not expect to get anything in return for interviewing him, but he was kind enough to send it across to me and for that I’ll be forever grateful, as this wallet will be one of my most prized possessions in my collection.

Aside from that, please give Eugene your support. If you’re not planning on purchasing one of his wallets then please at least go follow him on Instagram as he’s very active there. For now, if you’re interested in any of the wallets that Eugene produces then why not check him out on his official website by using the link below.