Goonhorse

Thanks for the replies! The football will likely not be used, so durability isn't so much of an issue. I'm not at all against using cowhide if that would be a cheaper option. Is there anything you guys would suggest? How thick does leather need to be, to be carved? Thankfully I do have a close friend that has quite a bit of experience with working with leather, and she said she has plenty of scraps I can practice on! Also thankfully, his birthday isn't until May! :D

Hey everyone! I'm rather embarrassed to even be asking this, because I have very little experience working with leather, but I got this crazy idea that I wanted to make a football for my rabid-football fan boyfriend for his birthday. I want to do some (hopefully) simple tooling (carving? Is there a difference?) on it, but now I'm not sure if the leather I was planning on getting is compatible with that. This is what I picked out, since I mean, a football should be pigskin.....but it doesn't say veg tanned. So if that's not what I want, what would you guys suggest. Also, can you tool/carve leather that thin? Anyway, if I manage to do this, and the end product even somewhat resembles a football....I might post pictures!

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'll be looking into the Ron Edwards books, since that seems to be everyone's favorites for beginners like me.

I wondered if that was the case, because I read that both latigo and redhide felt slightly oily to the touch. Thanks!

Thanks, that's handy to know!

Myriam: Thanks for the book suggestion! I don't know that I'd ever seen those books before. I'll have to check on eBay or Amazon to see if I can get them for cheaper. Butch Thank you, as well for the "book review". That gives me a better idea of what the books involve.

Thanks! According a leather conversion chart I looked at, it would be about 8 oz. I don't know if that's correct or not! I'll have to look in my Tandy catalogue. I thought about this AFTER I asked this question, too. But thanks for the tip!

Not sure if this the right place to put this, but I'm wondering what is a good weight for a guitar strap. And a good leather, as well. I'm new to this stuff, so I hope this isn't TOO dumb of a question!

I've had my eye on these two books: Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding And.... Braiding Fine Leather But I don't want to spend money on something that's hard to understand and won't help me. Are these good books? And if you have any other book suggestions, feel free to tell me about them! Thanks, Ariel

I finally figured out where the introductions go! :D Obviously, I'm new here. I know VERY little about working with leather, but I'm hoping to get a few books, spend lots of time here and getting some leather to practice with. Eventually I'd like to try to make my own bridles and reins and other tack. Ariel

Yup, I've already practiced braiding some with shoe laces. I never thought about baling twine. Goodness knows, we have plenty of that around! Thanks for the advice.

Well, first of all, I'm new here. I pretty much know nothing about working with leather, but I'm hoping with lots of lurking and asking questions I'll learn a bunch of stuff. Someday, after I've practiced with easier stuff, I'd like to try to make a whip--okay it's a LONG ways in the future, but I'm wondering what kind of leather is best. I've heard that redhide is good, but I'm thinking it must be kind of an Australian thing. ??? Obviously, kangaroo leather is also good, but the price.....*gulp* So I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative.