A (Possibly) Stupid Question About Hides, Coats, And Snakeskins

[Ched]

Hey there,

First off I might want to explain that it won't be me who is doing the leatherworking on this. I've got a friend who is somewhat afraid of the internet and forums in general so I'm asking mostly on his behalf. I personally know nothing about leatherworking, though I own a few handmade pieces.

Just some general info questions:

How much leather, of whatever kind, would one need to make a reasonably sized man's jacket/coat? I've heard that it takes, for instance, 4-6 deer. But I don't know how large deer hides are on average, so I have no idea how much hide/leather is actually required to make a large outerwear item of any kind.

Is it feasible to make a snakeskin jacket / cloak / trenchcoat? If so, about how many snakeskins would you need (not sure what size these normally are)? Are there any tricks to making large items with multiple snakeskins? Like are only portions of the skins usable, does the size decrease because of whatever method you use to stitch them together, etc? Seems that most people only make large items like those out of more traditional leathers rather than snakes. Mostly we need to know how much material would be required though (for a large item as well as smaller ones I guess).

Cheers, and thanks in advance for answers or help of any kind!

[Ched]

*bump*

[Chief31794]

Ched,

I don't have an answer, you might get more input on this if you posted it in the Other Specialty Forum under Clothing, Jackets, Vests and Chaps

As to your question about Snake Skin you might want to post that in the Exotics, Reptiles, Furs and others forum section.

Sorry, but I don't have a clue,

Chief

[Spinner]

I don't have an answer on how to make a jacket but I can tell you that it will take a heck of a lot of snakes to make a cloak/trench/etc. snakeskins are typically bought about 3'-6' in length and 2"-4" wide. figuring that a standard jacket back is about 16-20" wide and 28-40" long, you'd be looking at 5-7 snakeskins just to make the back panel not considering for take-offs, seams, etc. so more like 8-10 just for the back. At $10-100 per skin depending on the quality, vendor and species that would be one expensive jacket!

[Ched]

Thanks everyone! I'll pass this along. Much appreciated so far. Still looking for any other info, but this has been helpful (especially the info from Spinner about sizes and amounts, and the other place that I might post the question at from Chief).