Different Leather

[Syd]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can tell me what these two different kinds of leather are good for.

Both item are from a tannery

Cheers

Garry

1, I was offered a leather by a guy and he called it (KIP) he said it was good for tooling with and great quality.

2, Leather Hide Natural (Unfinished) Vegetable Tanned shoulder split,ideal for crafts he said and tooling.

[Johanna]

KIP

The hide of a young animal usually a calf. Kips are thinner, smaller and less blemished than adult hides, and more expensive.

SPLIT

The under portion of a hide, split into two or more thicknesses. It may be either sueded or pigment finished and embossed.

Maybe someone else can talk about tooling on them?

Johanna

[Syd]

Hi Johanna,

Many thanks for your reply and help.

Garry

[whinewine]

SPLIT

The under portion of a hide, split into two or more thicknesses. It may be either sueded or pigment finished and embossed.

Maybe someone else can talk about tooling on them?

Johanna

Because it is vegetable tanned, it can be tooled (as in roughout). But because it is a split, it has been my understanding (& I certainly may be wrong- if I am, please correct me) that it is weaker than the part that has the grain still on. Splits are generally split into numerous thin pieces rather than kept in a single (let's say, 8-9 oz) thickness. So out of 1 piece of split, you can get several thin splits. One of tandy's vest kits is comprised of splits, & there are other beginner-types of their kits that are made of splits. While they can be tooled, the results are mostly less than satisfactory & split items are primarily decorated with paints or stencils or pyrography.

[Syd]

Hi Whine,

Many thanks for your reply and your insight about the Shoulder Split Leather.

Im new to Leathercraft so i could probably use the Split leather for training on.

Thanks

Garry

ps: Dont know what i would do with out the help of the members on this forum,respects to all

[Hidemechanic]

Syd, I don't know what you are working on, but if you are talking about tooling you dont' want to use split. I don't have much use for splits anyway(maybe line a belt if the split is firm temper). If you want to do items in 'rough out' then use a regular hide but the rough side out. The rough side san be 'tooled' but you don't get near the detail as with tooling on the grain side.

As WWine said you have to really look over a split hide to be sure it is strong enough for what you want to use it for because different splits can be less durable than others.

Let us know what you are working onand we can give you more specific info. You need to be careful what info you hear from the people in the stores (refer to Johanna's pole on working at Tandy) some sales people may tell you things that they are repeating because they are there to sell but if you can find someone who works with the stuff they sell then they will be able to give you info based on experience in the craft.

Nothing against sales folks but if you are new to the craft you want to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about before you spend money on something that may not be what you wanted.

You are doing good coming here and researching , but you have to get your hands of the hide too, to get a feel for things. Keep at it, you'll get there. GH

[Syd]

Hi Hide,

Many thanks for the information you put on the thread about SPLIT,im just starting to collect different kinds of Natural Vegetable Tanned Leather for future project (Like many years away lol),I thought the Split might do for parts of projects that cant be seen,and i was wondering could it be tooled also,but after what you said above i know now it cant,so cheers for the info.

Worst about living in N,Ireland you cant buy leather here, so i have to buy in England,so i have no option but to trust the guy at the other end (Seller) and get it posted which ends up expensive after postage charges,

Thanks Again

Garry (Syd)

[Hidemechanic]

We do have some members from your side of the pond, maybe they will jump in here with some suggestions for you, other resources. Like I say, the more you handle the stuff the more you figure out what you need. I understand that you are limited because of your situation, it's gotta be frustrating. I would check around to see if someone closer to you is doing leather work that could help you out.

You might try going to Siegle of California web site and others, look at the pics and read descriptions. That should help you figure out better what to ask for when you do order from Brittland.Good luck with that, GH

[Syd]

Hi Hide,

Many thanks for your help with this thread.

Havnt met anyone yet from the forum who live over here,if anyone out there lives in UK could you contact me.

Cheers

Syd

Edited January 26, 2008 by Syd

[Hidemechanic]

Garry, don't just look here, check in the community where you live for leatherworkers. GH

[Alexblow]

Hi,Syd

I'm not working with tooling leather,but i want to give it a try some day.

I can understand your frustration,why ? Because i'm living in Belgium and here,everything reporting to leather is expensive...(tools,hides etc...)There's only one good store,but the prices kill me.

I was doing some things to learn and to give it a try...etc

And one day i was just searching for an 1/2 hide of leather and decide not to spend so much money on it.So i search a lot and discover a tannery near from my house.Talk with the guy and get a pricelless discount.

I don't know how expensive can the shipping costs be,but if you give me a good description of what you want,and how much Sq/feet you need...I can ask him a price.

Or for a begin ask him a small sample.

Alex

[Syd]

Hi Alex,Many thanks for your offer to help me out,its just im trying to get somewhere local to by the leather and just cant get anyone who sells it,im buying stuff in from England and i dont really want to buy any further a field,but thanks any way for the offer.All the best withthe tooling when you start.SydHi Hide,I have tried to contact other Leather workers in N,Ireland that i found on the web,but they dont seem to want to help as i never received an email back from any of them.Thanks for the idea.Syd

[Syd]

Hi Hide,

I contacted a lot of Leatherworkers and Saddlers from N,Ireland that i found on the web,and not one of them replied so i guess they are keeping their secrets to themselves,i havnt even had one reply from UK Leather workers on here.

Thanks for the idea.

SYD

ps: At the moment im paying £37.00 for 10 Sqare feet of Full Grained Kip Natural Tanned Tooling Leather,thats the postage add on also,that would be $74.00 to you,i find that really expensive.

Edited January 27, 2008 by Syd