Leather Super Hard To Cut

[Shooter McGavin]

Mods: If this question would fit better in a different forum, please feel free to relocate it. Maybe just let me know where it went

I bought a #1 Import double shoulder, 7-8 ounce, from a supplier who advertises on this forum.

I've been using the 6-7 ounce Tandy single shoulders until now and was excited to get this new stuff in, as it is the largest, not to mention priciest, piece of leather I have purchased to date. To me, it's a sign that things are going well.

Anyway, I cut some pieces out for some holsters I have sold and wow, is this stuff tough. Even with a brand new blade on the exacto knife it took me 4 hard cuts to make it through. I usually run a groove on the flesh side of the leather when I stitch on a trim piece or something, and I can barely get my groover to make a dent in the stuff.

All in all, I'm a bit disappointed with the purchase. I expected it to be better stuff than the Tandy I've been buying but so far... not so much.

So I guess my real question is, is this the quality I should expect from the leather that I bought, or did I maybe get a questionable piece?

Thank you for any advice.

Dan

[Denster]

Mods: If this question would fit better in a different forum, please feel free to relocate it. Maybe just let me know where it went

I bought a #1 Import double shoulder, 7-8 ounce, from a supplier who advertises on this forum.

I've been using the 6-7 ounce Tandy single shoulders until now and was excited to get this new stuff in, as it is the largest, not to mention priciest, piece of leather I have purchased to date. To me, it's a sign that things are going well.

Anyway, I cut some pieces out for some holsters I have sold and wow, is this stuff tough. Even with a brand new blade on the exacto knife it took me 4 hard cuts to make it through. I usually run a groove on the flesh side of the leather when I stitch on a trim piece or something, and I can barely get my groover to make a dent in the stuff.

All in all, I'm a bit disappointed with the purchase. I expected it to be better stuff than the Tandy I've been buying but so far... not so much.

So I guess my real question is, is this the quality I should expect from the leather that I bought, or did I maybe get a questionable piece?

Thank you for any advice.

Dan

I have some imported double backs in 8/9OZ that is the same way. Much harder to cut that even Hermann Oak and I had to hold my groover at a steeper angle to get it too cut. The upside is that even though it took longer to absorb moisture for molding it made up into very nice holsters. I think it probably has to do with the method of tannage. I think if I were you I would loose the exacto knife and get a good round knife or at least a good utility knife and strop the blades before use.

[Lobo]

Dan:

Quality of tanned leather products will vary widely. There are imported hides that are quite good, and there are imported hides that still smell of the horse urine used in their tanning process.

There are suppliers that will provide a reasonably good product one month, then send something unusable for the intended purpose the following month.

My recommendation is to stick with reputable North American tanneries like Hermann Oak and Wickett & Craig. They will provide a consistently excellent product without surprises and disappointments.

If the minimum order deters you from ordering directly, just contact Kevin at Springfield Leather Company (see banner ads). Kevin and his staff will bend over backwards to help you with your needs, and usually have Hermann Oak veg-tanned sides in stock in most weights, with no minimum order requirement (in fact, I think they will supply cut pieces on request for small volume customers). Let them know what you intend to do with the leather that you order and they will do their best to send appropriately selected material for your needs.

Stop wasting your time with substandard imported garbage. Get with Kevin and his crew and stock your shop with leather that is worth your time.

Best regards.

[dirtclod]

Dan the first thing i would do is get a better knife. You might try wetting it a little and then see if your groover works better on some scrap. I had some hard spots in piece of imported leather to and i've had hard spots in US leather to. But a sharp knife made it bearable. I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

[Shooter McGavin]

I do own one of the Damascus Al Stohlman trim knives, I just need to get the hang of using it due to it's different handling than the Exacto that I learned with.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

[particle]

I agree with Lobo that you should stick with the American tanneries - obviously to support the "local guys", but also because it's a nice buzz word that you can put on your website to promote your "American Made" products. For what it's worth, you can order directly from Wicket and Craig with NO minimum order - so you can order one hide at a time. When I spoke with a salesman at Wicket & Craig, they said their average square footage of backs was about 20 SF. For the "A" (they call it "Standard") grade, you'll pay just under $7 per SF. If you get the back (instead of the whole side), you'll tack on $0.95 per SF. I did the math, and it was actually a little cheaper to buy the back because I was paying for less square footage.

Another thing to think about - once you start buying your various thicknesses of leather, you're sort of "invested" in that tannery - a bit like buying camera equipment - once you buy a Canon and buy all the Canon lenses, it's hard to switch over to Nikon. Okay, stupid example. My point is - I bought a bunch of hides (bulk buy) from Herman Oak. I used all my 8-9oz hides, but still have some 6-7oz and 5-6oz left. I bought a 8-10oz hide from W&C just to see the difference. The W&C leather is very pale whitish in color, where the Herman Oak has that nice warm "amber" tint to it. If you start mixing leathers from the different tanneries, it can make it a little difficult to keep your finished product's colors consistent across an entire order. Plus, if a customer comes back to you in 6 months and wants to order something else to match the stuff he already bought from you - well, you get the point.

Lastly - I highly recommend you get yourself a nice round knife and learn how to sharpen it properly. I think you'll find it's much easier to cut with a round knife than it is with the exacto knives. There is an excellent video on YouTube that was posted here a couple weeks ago that shows the proper way to sharpen them, which would also apply to any other knife as well.

Edited January 21, 2011 by particle

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks for the reply particle. You make some good points.

UPDATE: Taking Lobos advice, I contacted the distributor I bought this leather from.

My original order was for a double shoulder of #2 leather in 6/7 ounce. I was informed 2 days later that they did not have that, and would replace in with #1 leather at no upcharge, and also bump it to 7/8 ounce leather since that is what they had.

Being new to this, I thought that #1 would be better than #2, since it cost a bit more. I guess that is not the case.

At any rate, I called the distributor today and told them what had happened and that I was unhappy with this piece of leather. The person I spoke with apologized for the mix up and is hand picking me a piece of leather and guarantees that I will be happy with the quality. They are exchanging this flat across and even covering return shipping for the piece I bought, which has had a bit of material removed from it.

They are even including at no cost a sample of the Hermann Oaks leather in an attempt to get me hooked no doubt

I will post back when I receive the replacement material. Appreciate the responses!

Dan

[Tree Reaper]

I don't make a habit of it but I have used my band saw to cut leather and it works really well.

Not that you would want to run out and buy one but maybe you have access to one.

Use a fine band.

Kevin.