The Adley Wallet

I herniated a disc in my lower back (L5S1) in very late 2000. Among disc injuries, it's very popular. Mine was an incredibly limiting injury for quite some time, I struggled off and on for years. In hindsight, I probably should have had surgery when it happened. Getting out of bed required 5-10 minutes of stretching and to this day my right calf is considerably smaller than my left, possibly a sign of neurological damage.

In 2016, I had a grade 3 (complete) ACL tear and broken the patella in that leg. Yikes! After surgery, the graft became infected requiring another surgery and a PICC line for antibiotics for 6 weeks. I walked with a limp for nearly a year. It won't ever be the same. I'm told I'll need a new knee based on a laundry list of issues an excellent surgeon found in there.

It's stronger now. I'm having less discomfort in my knee and rarely notice my back injury. The reason is the point of this blog post. I quit carrying a back pocket wallet in 2017. It was one of the very first items I made for myself. It's a small, front pocket wallet named after my friend Adley. It's simple and there are iterations of it all over the interwebs. It's a strip of leather folded and sewn so that it has multiple pockets and can hold some folded cash. Simple!

It's a life changer for me. Both of my sons carry one. It's convenient, secure, and more importantly, it doesn't flare up my back. "The backbone's connected to the.... knee-bone." The Adley wallet helps me sit straight and flat, not to mention only carry what I need instead of a large bi or trifold wallet with lots of useless paper, receipts, cards and stuff I don't need.

Truth be told, I have a lot of them and am testing new leathers and thread combinations constantly. I'm happy to make one for you. Who knows, it could be a life changer for you or someone you know too! That one right below is the one I typically carry. It's Hermann Oak Natural Veg Tan with red Ritza thread. It's a gorgeous brown now.