Is The Leather In Kits Good?

[rschreck]

Just wondering if the leather in the kits you can buy at Hobby Lobby is decent leather. Kits like these here.

[immiketoo]

As we discussed in chat, the leather is ok at best. Good to learn but I quickly outgrew the intermediate leather's quality deficiencies.

[Cyberthrasher]

You'll find that most of the kit leather is really poor compared to even the scrap leather available for sale at other retailers. That's my experience anyway.

I had used the Tandy stuff that came in my kit and it wouldn't case right, and sure wouldn't dye correctly. It's like they add chemicals to it to treat it or something. When I bought my first bag of scrap, I thought I had went to heaven with the difference in tooling. That's pretty sad considering it was something that was deemed not fit for use!!!

[Sylvia]

Good for use as tracing templates, maybe. Usually it's really thin inexpensive leather which in my opinion is harder to tool. I would prefer to see new people get scraps too... for a couple reasons. 1. If they start right in tooling projects without practice... they are too nervous and tense and freak out when they "screw up" a project piece. 2. It's important to learn to cut and design your own pieces from scrap. Since it is scrap there are less freak outs and it's "ok" if you screw up... it was only scrap.

That said, if you want a selection of tools, albeit poor quality tools, and books and dyes, etc the kits are ok for getting enough to get started.... but know that you'll quickly outgrow the kit's tools and will start searching for quality instead.

[JLSleather]

I've seen some kits containing good leather, others it was easy to see why they hid it in a box! As a rule, even if you find good leather in them, they are priced way too high. But that's also true at "suppliers", you get more bang for the buck buying larger pieces and cutting your own. The kit you show is priced at $15 plus shipping. At most suppliers, you can get decent leather to make 18-20 belt straps for the price of 4 of those kits.