palehorse

I just got off the phone with their general manager. He's a really nice guy. We went through a lengthy conversation about the leather, the condition, etc. Based on what I'm gathering, he's saying that the scuffs, burnish marks, etc. are just an artifact of handling and can't be avoided. He also said that the wrinkles and other issues of that sort are more due to the fact that HO (and other domestic tanneries) are limited to using some extremely large cattle... this isn't the case with imported hides from smaller animals that will have shorter lives, less size, and less inconsistencies in the visuals of the leather. Honestly, it all sounds reasonable. That being said, he said that the discoloration in the photos isn't something that is acceptable and warrants a return / exchange. However, I was told that he didn't want to just replace it with something else that I"m going to complain was almost the same as what I returned. I asked him to grab a side that he was personally comfortable was a fair representation of what SLC could provide as graded A by HO, inspect and approve it, and send it over. I want to be reasonable and I also want to know what to expect in the future. At the risk of spending $$ on something that will disappoint me, taking this course of action is a learning experience, I guess. If the replacement comes in looking very similar, which it very well might, I guess I will actually carve up a piece and see how it goes. Like Cumberland said above, perhaps I need to actually use it and see what it produces. As I said, I don't want to come off as unreasonable... so I'll do that much and then decide if it works for me or not. My personal experience is limited to buying hides from various Tandy locations. I've seen lots of hides and bought lots of hides, but if they all fit into the framework of what SLC's manager said above about imported veg tan, I guess it would make sense that it is more "clean and even" in appearance in the shop. Thanks again for your input, everyone; as well as providing alternatives in case the HO doesn't work. I have a reasonable amount of experience for a hobbyist, but I'm not a pro and have a lot to learn so I welcome the advice. I would also say that I'm impressed with the treatment I got from the staff at Springfield. I wasn't thrilled with the side (right or wrong, it's yet to be seen); but they are doing all the right things so far. Even if I don't end up deciding that buying future leather from them is the right thing for me personally, I wouldn't have a problem purchasing other related goods from them. I do wish I had two or three grand laying around to place a direct order with HO for a bunch of sides... that would probably be enough leather to last me years.

I'm actually in Frisco / Plano, so not too far from you. I ride my motorcycle out your way all the time. I'll check out what W&C say. I've seen some of their videos on YT. I didn't know they were local... good to know and definitely will look into them. Thanks.

If I can get them to pay the freight for return shipping, I'll be less salty about it... I guess we'll see what they say. Unfortunately, I have already disposed of the box. (Although if all I have to pay for is a new box, that's a small sacrifice to get this rectified.) You might be right about what is happening with these subpar sides going out the door. I don't have the energy to go full Karen on anyone over the phone, but I can't see how I'll be okay with ordering leather sight unseen any more unless I hear a ton of positive reviews from people that I trust know the difference. I work in supply chain / procurement, so the last thing I feel like doing is dealing with this type of thing in my personal life when I spend a lot of my day doing it at work. AFAIK, HO has a significant minimum order quantity so that won't work for me. I don't know if Weaver is any better. They sell HO but don't list the grade. It's only specified as "tannery run", which seems like a great way for a vendor to say they just sent you the best of what they have in stock, even if it's not good. If W&C (or anyone) will sell one or two sides at a time, I'm game. However, I can't justify more than that since I'm not in business; and anything I sell is from someone saying "hey, that's cool... where did you get that?" That's also why blowing almost $350 on an ugly side that I had such high expectations for hurts. If I was in person and it was sitting on a table with a sign that said "Economy / Craftsman Grade -- $150", I probably still would have passed because I just can't use it for anything I make and have reasonable hope of churning out a quality item. Maybe if I was making keychains and willing to have a lot of waste. Thanks, guys, for letting me bounce my thoughts off you. The only leather I've ever bought online before has been exotics that I can't find locally at Tandy, and even those have been a little disappointing from time to time. I personally try to live by the idea of under-promise & over-deliver. Seems like m

I look forward to reading it. Much appreciated. I live in DFW and can actually go to Tandy's flagship store in Ft Worth over a lunch break at work so it was the natural option when hunting for leather that I can pick out in person. I don't know that I'd buy it sight unseen as there is some variety in quality levels that I've found in their stores, but I can pretty easily find some really nice looking sides and double shoulders when I shop in person. It tools pretty well, but I've never used HO or W&C so I can't compare. From what I've heard from others, and based on comparing things like their tools vs what I get from Barry King, I think they are probably a solid mid-tier option that is proportionate to what you pay to get it. I don't seem to get a lot of the natural burnishing that I see when I watch videos of people carving HO online. I chalk that up to a lower level of quality in the tanning process, but it's not anything that isn't remedied when I antique the finished piece anyway. This experience from Springfield was so disheartening. Like I said, I was really looking forward to finally carving on a piece of grade A HO. When I opened the package and saw the leather, not only was it a financial hit, but it was an emotional one, too.

Hi, everyone. Up to recently, I've been buying my veg tan sides from Tandy because they are available locally; and I can pick them out by hand. However, I wanted to give HO a try for the first time. I decided to buy from SLC via mail-order. At $315 for a side plus $19 shipping, it was quite a chunk of change; but I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I received my shipment with great excitement yesterday; but when I opened the box, my heart dropped. I've attached some pics, but the lighting and photos really don't do it justice... the leather is dirty, scuffed, marked, scraped, discolored, wrinkled, etc. Heck, the condition of the flesh side looks better than the "good" side. Obviously the belly area is a waste, which is fine, but basically I would have a hard time finding a section large enough to to cut something the size of a journal cover that didn't have at least one noticeable blem. There aren't any holes, and the weight seems pretty even throughout; but cosmetically, this stuff isn't anywhere near as visually acceptable as even the economy stuff I could get from Tandy at a third the price. I find it hard to believe that anyone who cares about the quality of their products enough to actually spend the premium for grade A would find this to be even remotely acceptable, and I really feel like a vendor the size of Springfield would know this. I'm so disappointed... this is not only an expensive lesson to learn, but I was really looking forward to carving on the best of the best. As far as I know, nothing on Springfield's website would indicate that I would not be paying the cost for shipping back returns out of my pocket. Throwing good money after bad is hard to stomach. As it was the weekend, I haven't called them yet; but I did send an online message. No response yet, of course. Like I said, I wish the photos better represented how this stuff looks; but you should be able to get the general impression... everything that looks like a blemish in the photos looks twice as bad in real life. In your experiences, am I being unreasonable for grade A at this price? What kind of expectations should I have if I give them a call to discuss the situation? What outcome should I be pushing for? Exchange, return, or just eat this leather as a ridiculously expensive supply of practice stock? I'm not a pro, and I mostly make items for friends and family. Quite frankly, I would be embarrassed to give them anything with such bad looking surface finish... really, unless I'm doing a piece with 100% tooling coverage or dying it dark, this stuff is definitely not going to be useable to make anything I wan't other people to see. Any advice y'all could provide to a newbie like me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.