Horsehide

[pete]

Does anyone use horsehide(butts) for anything that requires tooling? I know that holstermakers use it, but wallets, checkbooks, small belts, etc?

Never used it- how does it tool and burnish? Anything special required as to casing, antique-ing, etc????

Springfield has a great sale going on.

pete

[DoubleC]

Hi Pete, I think when I talked to them about it, it's not for tooling, but I wouldn't swear to it. Why don't you give them a call and ask? Cheryl

[bison]

Pete, I tried tooling a piece of scrap horse I have and it does not work. Mi bought it from Springfield to make a belt. Worked great for the belt, but it does not case...and won't hold tooling impressions. It may be because it is specifically for belts though, I don't know.

Dave

[azrider]

You can tool horse butts. It takes a heavier hit with a mallet, and keeping the leather a little more moist than with steerhide. Horsehide is naturally water resistant, so casing can be a challange. I get mine wet, and leave them in a ziplock overnight. Attached are pictures of five horsehide wallets I have made. I love the look of it when it is dyed, and you can't beat the durability. I use a 20-24 oz maul to tool, and have broken two plastic maker mark stamps in it. You have to hit it signifigantly harder. I also switched to a 4 inch thick granite slab about the same time I started tooling horsehide. The other challange is that the hard rolled horsebutts like Springfield sells will spit sometimes if they are not oiled enough before folding. I always wet fold my wallets now, to try to avoid it. Take a look at the last wallet picture, and you can see the crack starting on the bottom.

Edited July 12, 2012 by azrider

[JAW]

Agree with AZrider, I have done a few tooled horsehide pieces. Just make sure you try to get soft or medium rolled butts, they are much easier to work with, and actaully can tool beautifully since they have a higher density. You can get very very crisp tooling. Maverick leather company has soft rolled ones if you are searching for them...

[cowboy bowhunter]

I just worked with it. It is very tough. I use laser cut makers mark and didnt use it because i didnt want to break it.

[olds cool]

I got one of the horse butts from SPL a while back and have tooled a few things on it so far. Maybe it worked well for me because I tend to overcase a bit. It did take a little bit more mallet to make a good impression but having never used premium leather, I didn't notice much of a difference from the budget & sale cow hides I've gotten elsewhere.