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UPDATE: I was contacted by the owner Doug, and it looks like he is going to resolve the situation. He seemed alarmed that any of his employees would hang up on a customer and surprised at what I was told. I have been purchasing Bison hides of various shades for the past few years, primarily for the production of guitar straps. I have purchased numerous sides from Tandy and lately The Hide House in California and most recently Montana leather Company. I am able to make the straps quickly and because there is virtually no finishing required I am able to offer them at a reasonable price. I also have a wholesale contract with a guitar manufacturer to produce branded bison straps The bison is great for straps because the flesh side is soft, comfortable on the shoulder and also essentially padded. I sometimes purchase 10-12 oz and then skive the strap to 6-7 oz but leaving the middle like a built in shoulder pad. In addition I make a range of instrument cases using drum dyed leather in various shades from Wicket and Craig. I also use their dyed leather for musical instrument straps for guitars, banjos and mandolins. So over the past 15 years or so I have been through many dyed hides with no issues. I purchased two Bison sides from Montana Leather Company a few weeks ago, one was brown and the other had a reddish tint. I though the red tint would be great for folks with red electric instruments. Opened the package a few days ago and last night I started trimming the sides, first the brown and then the red. When I started cutting the red hide, I notice my hands were turning orange! The red dye was bleeding from the flesh side and of course, it would have been a disaster to make a strap from that side. I called the company and spoke to Brandon. I explained the problem and assumed I had a defective dye job. I was the passed on the the manager, who I believe was Patrick, the owners son. I explained that the hide was defective, it was unusable for my application and what could they do to help me. He then told me "It's normal for all dyed leather to bleed" "I have sold thousands of hides and they all bleed" I explained that in my experience of purchasing commercially dyed hides, for many years, that they don't bleed, and neither does the other hide I purchased from them. He told me that all his customers seal the flesh side of the leather he sells them. "That's Normal" . I asked him what they use and he mentioned Resolene. I replied that I have a gallon of it but I doubt it will leave the flesh side as I required, in a soft comfortable condition but I agreed to try. I asked what they can do if it doesn't work and he basically told me to suck rocks and hung up. I called back and explained that if they refuse to accept responsibility, I will contest the transaction with my credit card company. He then stated it doesn't work like that, clearly having had this issue before. This was the worst customer experience I have had in recent times with ANY vendor and I caution against doing business with this "bleeding" company. The below images show the bison swatch from their web site and the flesh side and the effect of Resolene on the left side. The Resolene effect would be fine for a bison bag, wallet or similar but a guitar strap..not so much. Also if they had posted the bright orange flesh side on their web site I never would have purchased it. Any comments, or suggestions much appreciated. Bob

Hello all, Can drum dyed leather be tooled and harden? I'm having tough time specifically burnishing an edge. Please educate and advise. Thanks.

I usually make gifts for friends and family, this time it was for me! I saw a handmade Gucci bag, wanted it, but as usual I have champagne taste and a beer budget, so I made my own version.