Horse Hide

[Ferg]

There may be a lot of folks on the forum that have never heard of Shell Cordovan. For those: There are two pieces of "Shell" on each horse hide, right over the rump. I bought the Cordovan Shells almost 50 years ago

for $10.00 to $15.00 each, they are now right at $150.00 each. You can make one pair of shoes from each shell. You couldn't tool or stamp this but I use to place names in gold leaf on it. One of the most

beautiful leathers I have ever had the opportunity to work with.

I bought a piece of "Horse Butts" from Siegel this last week. That is a strip from the shell toward the neck and close to the spine. This is vegetable tanned, you can carve it.

Anyone had experience with this leather? I attempted to case a small piece but it did not "Take" well. Anyone using it like to give some information on how you cased this?

BTW: Seigel is selling these pieces for $13.95. They had a Friday special this last week for $10 I believe. They are moving and trying to unload a bunch of inventory. Don't bother to send them an e-mail, they don't acknowledge them.

ferg

[conceptdiba]

I'm a big fan of shell cordovan. It really is beautiful stuff! Couple pictures for the newcomers:

I'll be using these for wallets....shell cordovan exterior, kangaroo interior

[Ferg]

I'm a big fan of shell cordovan. It really is beautiful stuff! Couple pictures for the newcomers:

I'll be using these for wallets....shell cordovan exterior, kangaroo interior

I am jealous. Where did you get the shells?

ferg

[horsewreck]

I have used the horse butts in the past for holster and small case work. I like the leather real well though I'm not crazy about it's natural color. It seems to be a very tight close fiber leather, and is a little harder to case. I bag it for a full day before I try to form it. On the first projects I would suggest starting off with the soft rolled butts of the light weight (5 to 7oz.), not the hard rolled heavy weight stuff. I have not stamped it much but have found it easy to work after a few practice pieces. It's good leather but takes a little getting used to, it is a little tougher to mold but it holds shape and detail real well. It is easy to over oil horse butt. Everyone that makes small cases or holsters should try it at least once.... Jeff