RawhideLeather

Sold!

Howdy folks, I have decided to retire and so am selling my lightly used Toro 3000 for $1200 - pickup only. I am located in Lakeside Az. (next door to Show Low which is about 3 hrs. from Phoenix). For details, photos and contact info please refer to my Phoenix, Az. Craigslist ad: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/art/5858095733.html

Older thread I know but I have been buying backs from Wickett & Craig for years and yes, the quality has steadily declined. My last few orders probably had at least 30 - 40% waste and they were just pretty poor overall really. Spongey (and I pay extra for holstering!), lots of blemishes and stretch marks and even though I have them split, leveled and the back pasted - the backside in areas is still shaggy. Don't get it. And these were backs, not sides! I have come to think that they simply choose the worst hides for drum dyed - especially the black and I will no longer order black or brown. Doesn't matter what grade (I only buy the best grade) or how much you pay them per square ft. for it. I complained to them and even offered to pay them more if I could get some better quality hides to no avail. Same old crap. As a matter of fact It has become such a huge disappointment that I am even thinking of retiring earlier than I had wanted to. I think the drought has something to do with it but come on. If their top grade back still has 40% waste then how much would their cheapest grade have? How do they expect us to make a living off of this stuff? Wickett & Craig, I hope you read this!!!

Thanks for the safety tips guys. Good advice there.

It sounds like a great idea! Thanks!

Maybe I'll give the leather belt idea a go if the belt sander truing trick doesn't work well enough for me. Thanks for your input!

Thanks for your input! Have you tried this yourself? I had thought of using a dremel with a sanding disk but didn't think of the belt sander idea which is a better one as it is wider. I think I'll give it a shot!

Ahh, I see what you meant now. It was the belt part that threw me off. A leather wheel would still have to be trued up to run concentric so I don't understand the advantage there. I do have something like the photo you posted but have no idea where I could find a leather belt for it. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your reply. I actually have a leather strop board I made myself. This works just about as well and is so much quicker and easier that I usually prefer to use this. I can live with the runout but would prefer to make it better. I tried a rasp in the past but couldn't get the wheel as true as I wanted. Maybe I'll give it another shot. You're right, it makes a mess for sure!

Anyone know a good way to true up a solid felt buffing wheel mounted on a bench grinder? This wheel works great for putting the final razor sharp edge on round knives and other edged tools with almost no effort but it would be nice if I could get it to run a bit truer. Thanks, Richard

Thanks, there's some good advice there. I live in a pretty small town but might try the Craigslist route. I'm a senior citizen myself and am finding it increasingly difficult to find the quality of many things I purchase to match that of the good old days. I guess leather is just another one of those things nowadays. I appreciate your time in replying. Best of luck to you as well! Any one else care to comment?

Thanks for you input. My reasoning for ordering backs is just as you said, I have no use for belly leather, so I don't want to pay extra shipping cost to get it and then have to store it or discard it. I also prefer the smaller size of a back as it is a bit easier to handle (assuming it is cut correctly). And then, I just plain dislike belly leather. If this type of cut for backs is the norm nowadays then the diagrams I posted are either from a past when leather actually was cut that way (as I believe to be the case) or they are just plain incorrect, wouldn't you agree? Comparing my back to both diagrams it seems I am getting almost all of the belly. So perhaps I should just order sides since the cost is cheaper and I'm paying the higher back price for belly leather anyways. I just hate the thought of having to throw away even more leather.

So I'm guessing that it doesn't bother you very much. Honestly, it still does me. Perhaps some others will chime in.

Hi Paul, Thanks for the reply. I'm talking about the bottom right corner as I said, not the upper right corner which is the neck area as you said and is included in a back piece (as per the diagrams). I do know what the belly area looks and feels like and where it is located on the hide (the bottom side in my photo). I was mainly after other people's opinions as to whether or not this is normal these days or is it excessive. According to both diagrams it appears excessive.

I just received the skirting leather back I ordered from Wickett & Craig and it seems there is too much belly area included for a back. If you look at the lower right area of the back I got you will see it has been cut all the way down to the top of the front right leg. If you compare that to the images below it showing a diagram of different leather cuts, you can plainly see that much of the belly was included. To orientate the images to mesh with mine mentalIy rotate the first image 180 degrees and the 2nd image clockwise 90 degrees. I guess I should have just bought a side since it's cheaper per square foot. What do you guys think? Is this how your backs look too? Just doesn't seem right to me. Perhaps I should call them out on this one... And here's another one: