I freely admit it, he people at Brooks saddles in England http://www.brookssaddles.com/ are heros of mine, they are still making some of the same models saddles (Bicycle seats) they were making in the 1890's, and using the same methods. Some of the production machines have been in use for decades. 

Now, Brooks saddles are not for everyone, go to any cycling forum and you will find divided opinions on the subject,  for some, they are a revelation, for some they are a quaint throwback to a bygone era, and for some, they are pure torture. 

Granted,  I'm one of the lucky ones, a new Brooks B-17 standard is perfectly comfortable to me right out of the box. Some people have to break a Brooks in, and some never adapt to a tensioned  leather saddle.  I have three B/17's a vintage B/15 and a B5n  mounted on my bicycles, in addition to the new saddle featured below.

The new Brooks Imperial

Last year I had the honor to serve as a product tester for the new, or rather old, depending on your viewpoint Brooks Imperial slotted saddle.  Cut out saddles have become all the rage in the past few years as health issues have blanketed the cycling news. Brooks re-issued the Imperial for the first time in a century. 

More on leather saddles later on. 

RNW