randyandbella

Here are a couple of pics. I contacted the person that I purchased it from and I'm just waiting for a response about what type of leather it is or if any process was done to it. The texture feels like a raw hide for dogs but obviously bendable

Hi, I'm Randy and new in this forum and have a few questions. I recently purchased a pair of leather saddle bags that are heavy duty, really stiff, that still have that raw leather texture to them and I want to do some design carving/beveling and stamping. I tested a small piece on an inner flap by dampening it and making a small cut before making a bevel. This leather is so heavy duty that the cut didn't open up the leather at all, making it hard to even see where I made the cut. I wanted to do some tooling before dying and applying leather softener/protector but should I do some softening to it before I even tool it or is it OK to go ahead and tool it as is? I'm not sure what kind of leather it is. I bought it from a Tack store and the only description was that it's "american made heavy duty leather." Any suggestions would be appreciated.