Leather Fly Swatter
I was in Maine last week for my yearly vacation back East, and was happy to discover a new shop in Camden called Sugar Tools. All told it has something of a shabby chic vibe, though I did come across a couple nice little mod touches for the home, the most exciting of which was this totally cool leather fly swatter from the Ohio–based company Lehman's.
The Amish-made swatter is my new favorite insect-killing device, having now outstripped the plastic affair Dr. Skud from a few years back by Philippe Starck.
Here's Phillipe Starck's Dr. Skud fly swatter. Nice enough, but I'm far more into the leather action at Lehman's.
One thing I did wonder about the leather swatter though was how well it's back side--which is a rougher grain, as opposed to the smoother, refined front side--would stand to cleaning. Thankfully I came across this post on the blog Farm Natters that addresses the very issue. Their verdict: "fly guts don't clean off as easily."
Here's a photo I nabbed from Farm Natters that shows some fly remains stuck to the back of the swatter. Better to get at those beasties with the front side, it seems.
I was also impressed with the really basic construction, just a sturdy wire twisted into the handle and a perforated leather head perfect for mashing mosquitoes.
They were something like $12 at Sugar Tools, but you can get them for a cool $4.95 at the Lehman's website. No more nasty plastic hanging around for your bug-battering needs--just the thing for you urban homesteaders out there between pickling parties and the long, moonshine-filled hours spent naming your children after folksy 19th century poets.
If only I'd had that swatter with me on Lake Megunticook earlier in the week, though. My ankles were as popular with the bugs as my salami sandwich. I could hardly protect both!
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