jduffy Report post Posted March 6, 2013 I've been cruising around here for awhile trying to learn as much as I can. But I haven't been able to find an answer I've been looking for. I am wanting to make a couple of wallets. I'm using 4-5 oz veg tan for the exterior & was planning on using 2-3 veg tan for the interior. So here is my dilemma. The wallet ends up being WAY to think because of all the material I have to use to create a liner I am happy with. I've looked at using pig skin, but I am not really a fan of the look & feel of it. I would really like to stick with veg tan or something that has a similar look & feel. I've seen people say they use bridle leather & horse hide that appears to be 1-2oz. I have been unable to find those types of leather sold in that thickness. Is a leather splitter being used by the wallet maker to achieve these thicknesses? The first pic is of my first attempt at a wallet. The other pics show the thickness of leather that I think will work well for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sylvia Report post Posted March 6, 2013 Look for "kid skin" I believe it comes in the thicknesses you are looking for and looks more like cow hide. An alternative is calf skin here's some calf nappa leather. 1.5 oz... but it's precolored. http://springfieldleather.com/33908/Burgundy-Nappa-Calf/ and here is some kid skin in brown, says about 2oz. http://springfieldleather.com/18124/Kidskin%2CFinished%2CDk-Chocolate/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted March 6, 2013 If you're stuck on using Vegtan, the only thing you're going to be able to do to cut down thickness (without expensive splitters) is to only use the vegtan on visible portions of the pockets. Cut a strip of vegtan about 1/4" or so wider than your exposed space and then use some other type of material sewn in to make up the rest of the length for the pocket. A lot of people actually use Tyvek (house wrap) for this because of its strength. Also, take a look at all of Kevin King's binding and wallet tutorials that are pinned. He has good examples of how to stagger your pockets so that there's only about 1 1/2 of the thickness in any one spot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferg Report post Posted March 6, 2013 There are a number of lining leathers available that are 1 - 1 1/2oz. You do need to skive the edges of all pieces. I use quite a lot of Kangaroo Leather. ferg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted March 6, 2013 I think Kangaroo is what chaylor-fenelli uses for their liners...very thin, but strong. If you'll take a look at a commercial wallet, you'll see that almost all of them use a fabric backed leather, and only have leather at the visible portions as cyber was describing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted March 7, 2013 This is always a problem if you want to make an all leather wallet. I've made wallets where the inside of the slots is nylon and that cuts down a lot on the bulk. You can also try to split veg tan down but you really need to get to the 1- 2oz range to get anything useful. To be honest, it's very difficult to split anything down to that level with any amount of precision without a band knife splitter. You can go to wickett and craig and buy a side of leather and have them split it down that thing but its a but of a waste since you have to buy an entire side that way. Kangaroo is nice but its probably more expensive than the leather you're using on the outside. There's not much of a good solution other than getting your own splitter. It'll have to be either a crank splitter or maybe a skiving machine (you make multiple passes). Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferg Report post Posted March 7, 2013 Yes the kangaroo is expensive, from $14 to $20 per foot and higher. Beautiful leather, strong, light weight. I have some Mission Pig lining that is cheaper but I don't like it's texture. Stiff in comparison to Roo but it is a lot cheaper. Tandy has some as does Waterhouse Leather. If you are making high end wallets or want to, Kangaroo is the way to go. There are some leathers available from India that are thin, I am not sure if they are distributed in the USA. ferg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aguilerag Report post Posted March 7, 2013 How about buffalo calf? I used that for the inside of my personal wallet and think that it is amazing. I was thinking of doing a trifold made out of nothing but it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferg Report post Posted March 7, 2013 I have the Buffalo Calf also. It seems a little stiff for the inside of wallet. Probably okay for lightweight exteriors. Pretty leather! ferg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted March 7, 2013 Where do you guys get buffalo calf leather? I bought something from Tandy that they call glazed buffalo calf that was pretty nice. It was in the 2-3oz range and useful for bag liners. Not sure how it was tanned but the stiffness suggests that it was veg tanned. They only had black and dark brown. I was hoping for a lighter color. What are other good sources for this leather? Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jayjay Report post Posted March 8, 2013 jduffy I know how you feel. Check out this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40068&hl=reddevil76 Reddeveil 76 helped out with the thickness problem. I have since created a different style of wallet interiors. Hope this helps you out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aguilerag Report post Posted March 19, 2013 I got my buffalo calf from tandys too. I got the dark brown one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jduffy Report post Posted March 19, 2013 Thank you all for your reply's! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
