Leather Grades/types

[Red Cent]

I would like to know about the different leathers. On some sites I see different grades such as "A" grade. Other places I read there all kind of grades and it depends what I am reading at the time.

I buy at Zack White. The store is about an 30 minutes away. I buy their double shoulder veg tanned. The last one was an 8-10 oz for $5.95/sq yard. The computer receipt says "8/10 oz import double shoulder Mexico". Their ad reads that the hides are from US cattle and tanned in New Mexico.

They also have a Premium Grade around $6.25/sq yard. Smooth flesh side.

Please pitch in and let me know what you buy.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Red Cent

[Cyberthrasher]

Without knowing the tannery, it's hard to say what they relate to in actual grades. A "C" grade of US Tannery would average around the $6 per/foot range. At $6 a YARD, I'd guess that's pretty close to bottom grade, even considering the fact that it's import since that's basically $2 a square foot.

[penguineer]

There probably is an industry standard for what A,B,C grade are but I don't know what it is. Some of the tanneries around here will also do grade 1, 2,3,4 etc.....

Basically - with A grade you would expect no surface blemishes across the majority of the leather and firm consistent leather(except for the usual soft spots around neck/belly). By the time you get to C grade I'd be expecting a blemish around every hands breadth or so. Think of it as a guide to yield - the higher grades get you more clean real estate to play with.

Of course - if you're doing small items it may not matter as much as you're able to work around blemishes. If you're doing lots of tooling and backgrounding you may be able to hide small marks in the "noise". Sometimes you want something that has a bit of "character", so you don't really care if deep brand marks and barbed wire scratches run across the front flap of a messenger bag or something. If you're cutting your own belt straps you probably want nice firm leather from the spine area without marks......

Cheers!

[Red Cent]

Folks I apologize. I meant to type feet instead of yards. Nothing like a newbie.

Cyberthrasher, then the "bargain" at $6.00 sq/ft is not such a bargain. Their "premium" leather", at a little over $6.00, seems to be super smooth, and from the eyes of a beginner, seems to be free from blemishes. Gaining a little experience with my Cobra 4, the leather sews well, does not seem to be dry, and does not crack or split when rolled.

How does one determine the "goodness" of a piece of leather? I mean, do you simply ask where was the leather tanned? Apparently there are a number of tanneries in Mexico.