Comparing Prices On Sides

[Vianeth]

Before I put in an order for Tandy's Royal Meadow tooling side, I want to know if I'm making the right decision. The royal meadow is $7.45. I've browsed through these forums and have seen good things said about the royal meadow so far. I know W&C is known for being one of "the best" next to Herman oak, are their hides the same price and would I be much better off ordering from W&C instead? I might try HO but I don't need anything more than 1 side at 3/4 oz

[BigRiverLeather]

A lot of it will depend on what you are going to use it for. So, What are you going to use it for?

I have some of the Royal Meadow, and while it is impressive (blemish free, cuts like butter) I don't care for it. I don't like the way it finishes nearly as much as the HO. I''ve not used WC before, but someday.

You can get Grade B from Springfield for nearly the same price. I've been buying Grade A "Moss back" backs from Goliger Leather. Hermann Oak turned me on to them as they were the only smaller dealer that would sell Grade A single sides in small quantities.

[Vianeth]

A lot of it will depend on what you are going to use it for. So, What are you going to use it for?

I have some of the Royal Meadow, and while it is impressive (blemish free, cuts like butter) I don't care for it. I don't like the way it finishes nearly as much as the HO. I''ve not used WC before, but someday.

You can get Grade B from Springfield for nearly the same price. I've been buying Grade A "Moss back" backs from Goliger Leather. Hermann Oak turned me on to them as they were the only smaller dealer that would sell Grade A single sides in small quantities.

I'll be replicating costume armor, which involves tooling, leather paint and finish, and molding with beeswax. 3/4 oz is for the neck gorget and straps, i'll be using 6/7 oz thereabouts for the larger pieces with beeswax molding.

Edited June 20, 2011 by Vianeth

[Spinner]

Before I put in an order for Tandy's Royal Meadow tooling side, I want to know if I'm making the right decision. The royal meadow is $7.45. I've browsed through these forums and have seen good things said about the royal meadow so far. I know W&C is known for being one of "the best" next to Herman oak, are their hides the same price and would I be much better off ordering from W&C instead? I might try HO but I don't need anything more than 1 side at 3/4 oz

The Royal Meadow is decent leather but in my opinion, the W & C is better. I have a RM hide and a couple of W&C hides in my posession right now and the difference in quality is pretty clear. Even the #3 W&C (called Special - $5.48/sqft) appears to be smoother, cuts & tools slightly better and takes dye & paint wonderfully. The RM cuts and tools nicely but it has a tendency to still be splotchy when it comes to dye absorbtion, even after cleaning with Oxalic Acid. I don't need to clean the W&C leather, just simply wipe down with DNA to take any surface film off and that's it. I wet form large sections for motorcycle gear and the W&C also molds better as it generally takes to casing easier than the RM. I generally use the #2 W&C (Utility grade - $6.35/sqft)) but for really high end projects I use the #1 (Standard grade - $7.25/sqft) which is much better than the RM at the same price. W&C will also cut and split a hide to your request. In my last order I needed two different sizes but not an entire side of each size so they cut it in half (asked if I wanted lengthwise or back to belly cut) and split each half to different thicknesses at no additional charge. Tandy won't do that. Just some food for thought.

Chris

[Vianeth]

Thanks for the reply, Spinner. I think I will give W+C a call and see about ordering a side from them. The Tandys RM is priced quite steep, and I doubt theirs can compare to the $7~ W+C leather based off opinions here. Hopefully shipping won't be too bad and it will arrive relatively quick because i'm dying with no leather to tool!