My Hides!

[entiendo]

Yes, I have 5 hides coming now! I'm so wickedly spoiled! Forest green, jade green, whiskey drum stuffed, natural drum stuffed, and black drum stuffed. The house is going to smell wonderful and I probably won't leave the house for a few days. Hee hee hee...I better get to cutting the two I have here now. Oh happy days!!

Oh, and I pay $13 and change per square foot before shipping. I'd never tried to figure it out before because I knew how much each hide cost. I either used it all in a bridle or made smaller pieces in which the real cost was in my time, not in how much roo, probably a little math lazy too.

[roo4u]

yes but shipping must be considered in your costs because it is an expense every time you order roo. i used to take the shipping and divide it between the amount of leather ordered and factor it into the sq foot costs to determine if my prices were still in line.

yes the smell of tanned leather is so nice....i used to order roo like 10 at a time...oh how i miss those days.

[entiendo]

I am now the top poster! Wake up call, get off the computer and go braid.

I added the total dm, converted the total to square feet and divided that by the total price. I don't have a total for the new hides yet, I'll have it by the end of the day.

[KnotHead]

Well cut me some lace to the size I needed for a Lanyard project. Hmmm. What do you think of it so far?

Can't wait to see how it really looks after rolled out.

Brian...

[lilpep]

well you guys i have to say i finally broke down and drove over to hardtke's and picked out the best and biggest hide they had in brandy. they actually have ALOT !!! of leather and lots of roo. i rolled out all their vegtan roo and picked out the one i wanted, they were really helpful now i just have to figure out what i wanna do with it. take care

[KnotHead]

LOL !!! You been bitten... LOL...

[Bevan]

We have all got the BUG mate !!!! and loving it

Edited October 24, 2010 by Bevan

[entiendo]

OH yeah! I was bit by the bug when I started braiding! I'm still excited when hides arrive.

I did the math on my new hides.....still under $12 sf, I can't remember the exact amount. I can't wait to see them.

Rainy day today, so lots of braiding today. very excited.

The braiding is very nice knothead. Did you use 2 different hides of the same color to get a little more color variation, it kind of looks like it. I do that sometimes, but sometimes that's just the way the hide is. Those are my favorite hides.

Personally I would have cut those strings in half and did an 8 plait, but I always cut my roo pretty small. As strong and as precious roo is, it's meant to do more detailed looking work.

You beveled it on the reverse side? I don't see a bevel.

Very nice braiding indeed though, can't wait to see what kinds of button work you come up with.

[bullwhips]

Brian,

It looks good! Have you ever tried plaiting from a hook in the wall? I love my hook, but sometimes a vice is nice too.

Lilpep,

Can you take a pic of the skin you got from Hardtke?

Louie

P.S. Here's what I did with a bit of two of the roo skins that just came in from Hardtke:

Edited October 24, 2010 by bullwhips

[KnotHead]

I used to do all the braiding from a hook. But eventually the hook for me got to be a cumbersome battle with the lace. LOL

Brian...

[roo4u]

hey bullwhips thats a nice crop...what do you use for a core

[KnotHead]

Progress update on the Lanyard.

Here's some photos of the progression. I just love to braid with Kangaroo Hide.

[KnotHead]

It's moving right along at a nice pace for me. Here's the latest photos of my progression.

[bullwhips]

Brian,

The more flat braiding I do I"m staring to like the vice for...but I for the most part I live by my hook.

Roo4u,

The core is twisted rawhide with a cane center.

Louie

[Alberta Bound]

Isn't buying leather exciting? I just ordered 2 whiskey, 2 red, 1 natural and 1 black hide from Hardtke. Apparently US fish and game has to inspect the hides before they are shipped to Canada and that's going to be around $100. I didn't realize that, I might have to find myself a friend near the border so I can avoid it next time. Makes me wonder if buying directly from Packer would have been any more expensive. Hopefully buying 6 hides at once will make it a little more economically feasible. I can't wait to see them, it's been so long since I've had new hides! I'm in love with the red drum stuffed roo, it's fantastic.

I really like your crop bullwhips, looks great!

[entiendo]

Yuck, that brings the price of the hides way up. Wonder if there is a way around that.

I can't wait to see what we all do with all these hides though.

[8thsinner]

You could do what I am trying to do, Bulk buy for other braiders in your area or country.

I have only a couple lined up so far but canada probably has more than the UK

Knothead, I couldn't help but notice in the last picture that the strands look very dry.

Have you been using plaiting soap at all, or do you only soap the next two three inches at a time?

[KnotHead]

A little at a time. I don't like to get it wet till I am ready to plait the next zone of strings.

Brian...

[Alberta Bound]

That might be a good idea 8thsinner. Unfortunately I don't know any leather braiders in my area. There are a few rawhiders but I'm the only roo braider (that I know of, anyway) for miles around. I imagine it's the same in Belfast? It sure would be nice to have someone to spit shipping and import fees with.

I'm planning a pair of romal reins as well entiendo! I ordered the cores from Oregon Leather today and they should be here soon. Hopefully when I get home at Christmas I'll have time to cut all my strings and I can finish the reins next semester. Now if I could just finish the headstall I've had on the go for a couple of months.....

[Alberta Bound]

I realize many of you are from the US and that this won't apply to you, but here's a small update on the hides from Hardtke: . Someone from Hardtke called me today (I didn't catch his name) and gave me the details on the price of exporting hides to Canada. On top of the $60 for shipping there was going to be a $135 charge to have the hides inspected. I believe he said US fish and game did this. So all in all, it would be $200ish more than the price of the hides themselves. Ouch! I felt awful telling him I'd rather order from Packer directly. I'm really impressed with Hardtke's customer service, it was very personal and he was extremely considerate. I wish I could justify ordering from them, but the extra two hundred dollars is just too much. I guess I'm back to Packer and their $60 export fee.

[entiendo]

Awe, I'm sorry, what a bummer, for lack of anything more intelligent to say. Fish and game inspecting kangaroo...geez, now I've heard everything. I guess you have to pay our national dept down too. Is that $60 fee just once, so you can order multiple hides from them? It would seem buying from the source is cheaper, but I guess that's not always true.

[Alberta Bound]

They'll only charge the $60 AUD once per order and can ship as many hides as you want with that export document. I believe that you need to have one for each shipment they send you, so it makes ordering in quantity worthwhile.

[entiendo]

Now you need to get a Canada order together. There has to be other braiders.

Well I received my hides from Hardtke, they are lovely! I 'd never had a drum stuff natural, I can't wait to cut it up. I received my Australian(I know they are all Australian) hides as well and they are equally as lovely, but a bit larger.

Thank you for this thread, I can't believe how much money I'm saving on the common colors.

[KnotHead]

Got me 2 more hides today. They just arrived. Saddle Tan & Black from Taubman & Webb. They are just sweet too.

[Alberta Bound]

Those are beautiful! Do you have any plans for them?

My order was finally finished yesterday: 8 hides from Packer in all colors except brandy. Leanne at the Packer outlet was kind enough to waive the fee for the export permit. Apparently they've changed the regulations since I first placed my order. I'm not sure the whole story behind the export permit, but I did get to order an extra hide with the $60.00 that I saved. I tried to get a green hide from them too but no such luck... Ah well, I'm still very pleased.