Am I Being Too Picky/particular?

[Dink]

New to me supplier, I recently bought a couple sides from American Leather Distributors (800-624-7642 or info@leathered.com) I have no long term experience with them to compare but with the two sides I got from them to try I was pretty happy with the usable yield as well as the temper for tooling.

[reddevil76]

Hey Reddevil,

I had the same experience with the Royal Meadow, I hand picked the nicest piece in the store - looked very clean and a very mellow, light color great for painting on. Once I cut, carved and dyed it about half a dozen spots showed up that didn't even show up when the piece was cased. I did notice though that it was soft, really soft. I curved nicely but even applying Pro Oil dye was enough for the carving to raise back up and loose some definition. Should make good rustic bag leather though.

Before you place your W&C order, let me check out the H.O. from Sheridan Leather Outfitters. It's almost the same price (about 20 cents difference) and shipping shouldn't be much different. With my last piece from Goliger, the H.O. was great to work with. A little stiffer than W&C so for wet molding it was a little more work but on the tooling side of things it was probably my best carving experience ever. The H.O. takes and holds detail extremely well and even with 5/6 oz. I was able to get some great definition & depth, moreso than any leather I have used previously. Hopefully my recent explorations into different vendors can help folks like yourself. Here's a piece in progress carved on the H.O.:

Chris

The HO I had, not only had blemishes, but large areas of loose flesh. And this was on the back. It was on the belly, I could have accepted it. Hopefully the A grade not only does away with the blemishes, but also the loose flesh problem.

Thanks Chris for the update. I have just ordered a Sheridan carving book and a Leather Wranglers blade. Once I start carving seriously, those properties you mentioned would be important for consideration.

[cem]

. Hopefully my recent explorations into different vendors can help folks like yourself.

Chris

Thanks for the info Chris, it's definately helping me though the overseas suppliers for Hermann Oak are definately looking to be out of my price range. Not their fault the shipping is so high but for me to have spend about $17 sq foot combining the leather & shipping is just a bit too much to bear. Thankfully though it looks like one of the Australian distributors carries A grade so I'm hoping their postage is fairly reasonable even though they are still on the other side of the country.

Clair

[cem]

Just wondering would you guys consider this A grade Hermann Oak, it was bought here in Australia I'm not going to say who the company it is at the moment as I haven't spoken to them about it yet as I wanted get you guys opinions first as this is the first Hermann Oak side I've bought having only seen pieces before.

For A grade leather I'm just a bit surprised by the deep gouges, uneven colour and the marks throughout it, I've bought plenty of lower grade sides and they have been cleaner than this. Is this normal for Hermann Oak A grade or have I just been given the first piece off the pile they couldn't sell locally so decided to offload it on someone interstate who probably wouldn't bother with trying to send it back. I've been happy with the leather I've bought locally but wanted to try the Hermann Oak for that nice golden colour you get after oiling. With the other leather it isn't possible to do that but after this side I'm a bit disappointed and think I might just go back to trying to get the colour by dyeing.

My father in law who is in the meat trade and buys his own cattle for slaughter also wasn't too impressed with it for being labelled A grade like Spinner am I expecting too much for the A grade tag.

I've zoomed in on the worst parts but there are marks throughout the whole side it probably looks better in the photos than what it actually is, the bottom third is barely usable where those gouges are it's barely a mm thick and for quite a bit before and after them there is a big variation in thickness which I haven't seen before even in the belly section on the previous sides I've bought, that leather also had the hanging marks trimmed out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and if possible a photo of what you guys consider A grade for Hermann Oak would work wonders for what I should be looking for with it.

Thank you,

Clair

Edited November 27, 2011 by cem

[reddevil76]

Just wondering would you guys consider this A grade Hermann Oak, it was bought here in Australia I'm not going to say who the company it is at the moment as I haven't spoken to them about it yet as I wanted get you guys opinions first as this is the first Hermann Oak side I've bought having only seen pieces before.

For A grade leather I'm just a bit surprised by the deep gouges, uneven colour and the marks throughout it, I've bought plenty of lower grade sides and they have been cleaner than this. Is this normal for Hermann Oak A grade or have I just been given the first piece off the pile they couldn't sell locally so decided to offload it on someone interstate who probably wouldn't bother with trying to send it back. I've been happy with the leather I've bought locally but wanted to try the Hermann Oak for that nice golden colour you get after oiling. With the other leather it isn't possible to do that but after this side I'm a bit disappointed and think I might just go back to trying to get the colour by dyeing.

My father in law who is in the meat trade and buys his own cattle for slaughter also wasn't too impressed with it for being labelled A grade like Spinner am I expecting too much for the A grade tag.

I've zoomed in on the worst parts but there are marks throughout the whole side it probably looks better in the photos than what it actually is, the bottom third is barely usable where those gouges are it's barely a mm thick and for quite a bit before and after them there is a big variation in thickness which I haven't seen before even in the belly section on the previous sides I've bought, that leather also had the hanging marks trimmed out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and if possible a photo of what you guys consider A grade for Hermann Oak would work wonders for what I should be looking for with it.

Thank you,

Clair

We'd have to wait for Chris to chime in on the A grade he has in comparison to this.

I have only seen Craftsman grade HO which I bought from Springfield. Way worse than this. Those lines looks more like wrinkles which have been "ironed" out at the tannery.

After Chris's recent post, I was kind of gearing up to order A grade HO despite my last bad experience. But looking at your pics, I am kind of wary of HO leather now. Or is it that most of their leather destined for export are usually those that is worse of the pile?

[hidepounder]

Chris,

I've been using Goliger Leather for several years now and I just can't express how happy I have been with them. They are a family owned and operated company and are more than willing to spend time sorting hides to get me exactly what I want. I haven't shopped prices so I have no idea how they compare to other companies and I really don't care. I am far more concerned with quality and service. Cheryl, the owner, almost always answers the phone. Her son in law, Carlos, handles the leather and is very willing and available to speak with you about your needs. And my leather almost always goes out the day I call. I highly recommend them!

All the same things can be said of Sheridan Leather Outfitters. Like Elton said, they are a small family owned company, so when you call you are dealing with folks who really appreciate your business. Luke and Vandy really know leather. They understand what you need and will sort sides to get you what you need. I would expect Sheridan Leather Outfitters and Goligers to be fairly close in price.

If you talk to either of these companies I'm betting they will be able to help you.

Bobby

[leatheroo]

cem, thanks for your post...i was going to order some HO as well, but after seeing what was sent to you, i dont think i will order. I usually order morgan oak from lefflers and it is usually cleaner than what was sent to you.

cheers

[Ladykahu]

I saw the morgan oak at lefflers last time I was there! there where some nice hides !! .. and a couple I wouldn't have picked if I was choosing. Do you go in and select yourself ? or mail order? They are out of my price range until I start selling a bit more stuff, but its given me something to compare with in the mean time and seeing as how I can get in to hand pick, I just spend ages going through the 'cheaper' options till I find something usable.

Natalie

[leatheroo]

sometimes i order and sometimes i go and pick, but on the whole i have been happy with their quality...if you buy alot of products it is worth joining their wholesale club and you get 33% off the cost of most things. the membership is $35 a year from memory.

cheers

[Spinner]

Sorry I haven't gotten back to this post in a while folks, it's been busy as heck lately. I did order a hide from Goliger and one from SLO and both of them were excellent quality worthy of A grade status. I meant to get pictures of them but orders required they get cut up pretty quick and 1 1/2 hides are already turned into tank bibs and out the door. I couldn't tell the difference between the two; the temper, color and clarity of both hides were equally nice and price was almost identical including shipping ($200 each for 22-24 sq. ft of 5/6oz. including shipping to L.A.)

Now the personal dilemma comes in...as it turns out HO is excellent for carving and I have literally had the best time carving, cutting, etc. on both hides. The problem came in with the temper being a touch too stiff for the type of wet forming I do. So I'll have to choose when doing projects, HO for the flatter projects and W&C or something similar for the large formed tank bibs.

Clair - that is not what my recent A grade hides looked like. Yours appears to have a lot more stretch marks in the belly area and definitely more marks/scars on the body. I'd guess that either that's an A grade from a lower tannery or someone grabbed a B/C off the pile by mistake.