My Disappointing Recent Order From Hermann Oak

[RawhideLeather]

Just thought I would let you guys know about a recent order I made directly from Hermann Oak. If you are a first time buyer they will sell you less than the 10 side minimum. I ordered 7 holster backs (much more than I usually order) with a moss flesh side and though I had used their leather many years ago and liked it a lot this order was extremely disappointing. The black backs were more of a charcoal color with a hint of purple so I have to re-dye those. The brown backs looked OK until I soaked them briefly for wet forming. The color washed out to an unattractive more light red than brown color - have to re-dye those. Some of the backs varied in thickness way too much - a lot more than any other leather I have purchased. Finally, there was a lot more waste than there should have been for backs. I have read that others on the forum like Hermann Oak leather. Perhaps they send their best to their distributors like Goliger and sell what's left over to guys like me. Don't know, but I do know that even though I was reimbursed $1 per sf after complaining to them, I will never purchase from them direct again - especially now that I would have to order a min. of 10 hides. No way Jose. I will be sticking to Wickett & Craig in the future - better leather and no min. order quantity. What has happened to the quality of many goods produced in the U.S.? Doesn't anyone care anymore? It's sad really...

[mulefool]

I buy alot of Hermann Oak Harness backs. I buy alot and could buy direct from Hermann Oak but I use the strap cutting service from Weaver because it saves me alot of time, so I get it from them. Over the past year or so I have had number of disappointing backs from them. I've been getting ready to write a complaint letter about this. For example the last order I had one back that out of about 23 straps that had been cut from it about 8 were completely unusable. I couldn't even find any spots where I could cut some shorter straps. I realize these are considered "tannery run" but it seems a very high percentage and I'm paying a premium price for those backs. So I feel your pain.

[K-Man]

The basic rule of thumb at H.O. is there's going to be a 1/2 ounce variable on either side of the thickness of leather you request/order. For example, if you order 7/8 ounce in thickness, you'll end up with a variable through the hide of 6.5 - 8.5 ounce. That is quite a bit if you're looking for consistency. I also order backs for my work and I have it split to a specific ounce weight. I have the moss finish on the flesh side. While there have been parts of the backs that I won't use on a holster, I do a variety of other things that it would be suitable for. I would estimate that there was 1-2% of the leather I ordered last year that would fall into that category.

I also buy some of the leather dyed - a shade of brown and their London Tan. I dip the item made from the brown shade in a bucket of brown dye. I end up with a reddish brown shade. It's easy that way and I get the shade of brown I ultimately want. I've never ended up with a washed out back from them.

BTW, I spent a large sum with them last year. In my opinion, I would rather order direct from them (cheaper in cost) than rely on some of the other sources available if I'm ordering a large quantity of leather. If I'm ordering 1 or 2 backs or sides, then obviously I have to go to one of their outlets.

My experience with Wickett-Craig is that their leather is not as firm or durable for the majority of the products I make. I have found it to be a better tooling leather than H.O. and it's excellent for those items.

[Ian]

I have founf that HO black bridle is not black enough and always has to be re-dyed. Kind of negates the purpose of buying pre-dyed leather. For bridle I prefer W&C, though I like the HO tooling.