Horse Hide, A Newbies Opinion **lots Of Pics**

[mrfixit]

I wanted to try some horsehide for making holsters and accessories, partly because I had heard how much better horsehide is and partly because of some photos of really uniquely figured horse leather I have seen here. Of course, I've also heard that horsehide is not any better than cowhide, and harder to work with to boot. I looked and looked all over for posts and thoughts on using it, honestly with not just a terrible amount of luck. I had seen the banner ads here on this site that Springfield Leather had horse butts for $12 and really got to thinking about it. The little devil on one shoulder said "Go ahead, try it", the angel on the other shoulder said "Oh what the hell".

I took the plunge and ordered 2 butts.

After I got them a couple of days ago, I thought I would post my thoughts on them as a newbie in the hope of helping other folks who have thought about it but never were sure what they might be getting into. I've heard several things about them such as;

• they are tougher than cowhide
• they are thinner
• harder to work/form/mold
• because they are "hard rolled/compressed" they are stiff like plywood
• the available strips are too small and you can only get one holster out of it

Now, keep in mind I'm a newbie. My leather work experience so far is small kit type pieces when I was a kid and now again with my own kids. I really got started by making a couple of knife's and sheaths for my office and a friend. Then I thought, I would like to make a holster or two for myself. So I don't have enough experience to matter much, in fact if I were you i wouldn't listen to much of what I say at all.

I ordered 2 butts and here they are:

As you can see they are different sized, one wider than the other, both about the same length.

I wanted, and asked for pieces with "figure or grain". I got some.

As and aside, you can see I use the International system to show scale, a US quarter, British pound coin, and Euro Coin.

Hopefully you can get an idea of size and what you might be able to get out of them. As I said I had heard or read rather that these would be stiff. But I didn't find that to be the case. In fact, they came rolled in a box about the size of a loaf of bread.

They did not feel stiff or plywood like at all. In fact, they were softer and easier to fold than the leather side I got from Tandy.

As for thickness, these are thinner than the 7/8 oz side. Ignore the poor edge on the holster please, just for comparison.

I had read that horsehide would have several "range marks" or damage that you would have to work around. And in fact these had some:

Some damaged areas, nothing huge, but it does limit use somewhat. Between the size of the hide to start with, and the blemished areas, layout is going to be really important. I can see that the smaller of these pieces will likely be able to make only one holster, but I can likely get several smaller pieces out of it as well for mag pouches and the like.

Thoughts on these: The feel heavy compared to how thick they are. Very dense. The best comparison I can think of is it feels like a piece of vinyl floor tile; smooth, dense heavy. Maybe a better analogy is a piece of angle food cake compared to a piece of pound cake- denser and heavier in the same size piece.

The surface is very smooth, I'm sure from the compression (something like 30 tons?). Compared to the cowhide, it is slicker and smoother, think of them as a piece of wood sanded with 60 grit paper (cowhide) compared to a piece sanded with 400 grit (horsehide).

I truly wonder if some of the conflicting reports I've read about horsehide is possibly due to some talking of the compressed and some talking about the non-compressed. The compression of the hide would make it very hard to absorb casing or moisture. Maybe non-compressed has characteristics more in line with cowhide? I don't have any idea.

I am looking forward to using these. I need to make a new holster since the one I'm using now which was my first completed holster and needs improvement in several areas (stitching, edging, etc.). I'm really looking forward to seeing how the leather will look finished, I want to see that grain or figure. In my opinion I don't think these will be significantly harder to work with than cowhide, however I do think the finished product will be distinct. I think that these will be harder to detail mold to a weapon.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts from a guy new to leather. Maybe someone will get something out of this.

Mr Fixit

[BobHur]

It appears you bought "hard-rolled" horse butts. "Soft-rolled" butts are as smooth, but much more flexible.

[Rayban]

Very good review on your initial experience with HH....glad you are one to just dive in and see for yourself what all the talk is about.

Some of those marks you show, I'm not so sure they are actual range, character, or "spur" marks.....looks like they may have been scuffed up after the tanning process. You have to remember that after these "strips' are cut away from the shell, they are thrown into a heap to be hauled off and sold by the pound...probably not handled with much love.

I get quite the thrill when I get one full of the figuring that you show......try dying it tan or lt. brown, finish in Resoline and watch it really pop out.

Have fun with it.....kinda tough to form/mold to make it look like Kydex.....but on some holster it really does well.

[mrfixit]

It appears you bought "hard-rolled" horse butts. "Soft-rolled" butts are as smooth, but much more flexible.

More flexible than this is?

[mrfixit]

Very good review on your initial experience with HH....glad you are one to just dive in and see for yourself what all the talk is about.

Some of those marks you show, I'm not so sure they are actual range, character, or "spur" marks.....looks like they may have been scuffed up after the tanning process. You have to remember that after these "strips' are cut away from the shell, they are thrown into a heap to be hauled off and sold by the pound...probably not handled with much love.

I get quite the thrill when I get one full of the figuring that you show......try dying it tan or lt. brown, finish in Resoline and watch it really pop out.

Have fun with it.....kinda tough to form/mold to make it look like Kydex.....but on some holster it really does well.

I'm looking forward to playing with the dye and seeing what I get. I need to thin my med. brown dye so I dont cover anything up. I'd love to know the dyes and ratios others use to show figure through the color.

And it's just personal opinion, but I'm not a real big fan of a holster that the outside is molded perfectly to match the pistol. It does look too much like plastic to me that way. I do however want to be able to mold in some retention on the weapon.

Unfortunately, it will likely be after Christmas before I can get some time to get in the shop and work with this stuff.

Mr Fixit

[BobHur]

More flexible than this is?

Yes, in fact it's fairly soft before molding and water/heat hardening. If it's vegtan (most of it is), it turns out well and is easier to work, but requires a finishing technique like water-casing and drying with a bit of heat in order to take boning and shaping as easily as cowhide does. It's a bit more work, but worth it to me.

[Rayban]

Made this proto from a piece in my scrap bin.....ends up having really nice figuring. I left it nat'l with just a couple coats of Resoline on it.....

[JoelR]

Personally, I do not like the HH that Springfield sells. Steve's been great about handling any problems I have had, but the last batch I got (which was over a year ago so things may have changed) was loaded with rawhide. Now I only buy from suppliers who get their stock from Horween. The couple of hides I have received from Horween have been all but flawless.

[Rayban]

Where does Springfield get their hh?

[mrfixit]

Where does Springfield get their hh?

I second the question. (can you do that?)

I thought Springfield got them from Horween.

SO where are they from?

Mr Fixit

[Rayban]

I second the question. (can you do that?)

I thought Springfield got them from Horween.

SO where are they from?

Mr Fixit

It is my understanding that Horween is the last hh tannery standing in the US, and that all the retail outlets get the strips from them....BTW, I'm getting nicer looking strips from Zack White than I did from my prior source. I wonder if Horween offers lesser grades to some than to others(?).

[gregintenn]

Sir, I really appreciate your taking the time to post this. I've bought leather from Tandy, and I've noticed their quality of leather steadily taking a nosedive. I'm looking for a better source, and I never considered horse hide. I look forward to seeing you actually making something from it.

[TwinOaks]

After reading a bit of the info about the horse hide, I also decided to try some.....and somehow completely overlooked this thread until tonight....which is kinda fortunate.

The piece I got WAS pretty stiff and was rolled into a flat rate box. A little time unfolded/unrolled and it straightened out.

The hide does take longer to case, and is VERY dense in comparison to cow hide of the same thickness. However....after a little experimentation and learning that it needs a little longer to case, I've found it to be quite suitable. The flesh side was almost as smooth as the grain side, and the cuts were so smooth that they needed very little in the way of 'finishing'. I evened them up, and skipped the slicker...moving straight to burnishing.

The results were quite a bit better than I was expecting. HH is already on the re-supply list, and provided I get some decent pieces, will be a regular item.

I also purchased some of the strips, and likewise, the flesh is almost as smooth as the grain. If I can get a longer butt, or more skinny customers, it will probably become the staple of my lightweight belts.

Here's the most completed rig made of HH. Everything except the thread, dye, and chicago screws is horse hide.

[BobH]

Thanks for the report, mrfixit!

I did about the same as you did and ordered a couple of the Springfield hb's which came TODAY.

My first impessions are much the same as yours, except the pieces I got were pretty stiff and hard compared to my very limited experience with cowhide. I was thinking that the horse hide might make a liner for the holster I plan to make from vegtan 8-9 oz cowhide but it might be too hard and slippery. If for no other reason, I like the hb's because they give me another type of leather to learn about and they were reasonable at $12 apiece.

[JoelR]

TwinOaks hit the nail on the head. The key to working successfully with HH is understanding you need to do things a little bit differently than you do for cow. First, you need to allow it to soak a little longer when casing it. If you do not, it will be tough to work with and will not take to boning very well. If you use a press, there is a good chance of cracking the leather if not cased properly as the center section will still be dry. I certainly don't have a nice full rig like TwinOaks, but I do work with it from time-to-time and prefer to use it as a belt lining for gun-weight belts and recommend it for all IWB holsters.