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

[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.