Working With Crust?

[Spincycle]

I to didnt know of this local company. I sent Fish Leather Wear an email requesting some skins and to pick them up or meet as I am in Calgary. I'll let you know how it goes. I read through their website. It seems that they have finished a bunch of fish skins then for whatever reason their tannery was shut down. They claim it was because of the Kyoto accord, which I don't know much about. I suspect that this person(s) have a large quantity of fish leather and have rented a cheap apartment to store it all. That's just my guess. Their processing technology is for sale. I also read that you can get a box of crust for the cost of shipping if you mension that you are affiliated with a tannery. Anyway I buy bicycle parts from a local business who also does strictly web orders. He will only ship as well even in the same city. That's just how some of these small business operate and for good reason. I wouldn't want anyone to know that my house is filled with new merchandise. I'd surely get robbed. I wouldn't hesitate to request some fish crust samples and see what happens. You don't know unless you try.

[ramrod]

i'm intrigued with this. i have seen this website before, but i can't remember where. i'm interested in the strength of the skins. i always thought that kangaroo leather was the strongest leather available. i'd like to work with this stuff to see what it's all about. if it's as strong as what's been said, this would make some cool watch bands.

i wonder what the average thickness is. it can't be THAT thick....not like cow. it looks to be less than 1 oz. (or equivalent).

spin - let us know what you think when you get your samples.

[Spincycle]

I heard back from Mr. Stanley Major from SeaLeatherWear yesterday. Quite promptly actually. I'm hoping to visit his "showroom" on Saturday. With any luck I will have something to report this weekend. No guarantees though. My feeling about the strong fish leather that is mentioned on his website is that it's probably limited to shark skin.

[Spincycle]

Well I got some fish leather on Saturday. The showroom was just that; a room full of fish skins. Although the lighting wasn't great I was able to decide on the variety you see below. Some carp and salmon skins. The carp has large scale pockets and the salmon small. He also gave me the three sueded skins you see below for free. I wouldn't hesitate to order anything from this company. Mr. Major was very kind and easy to deal with. As long as you make an appointment (Beaverslayer!). That is if your in the Calgary area. He even ensured that a parking spot was available for me! Once his inventory is gone that's it! Unless someone buys the tanning "technology" for fish skins and starts churning more out. Some skins are thin and some are fairly thick. I'd say in the 2oz-8oz range. He said that if he puts your finished fish skin project on his website that he would give a fish skin credit for more skins.

[Tiara]

There are other places producing fish leather http://www.atlanticleather.is/en/products but I'm not sure how one would buy small amounts. Ebay has some odds and ends of various types of fish leather and etsy has a few more.

How supple are the skins? Any info on turning crust into dyed, finished leather?

[Spincycle]

Most of the glazed and suede skins feel about equivalent to a economy grade vegtan of equivalent weight. The salmon is somewhat less plyable. Although he said it has been used for pens. I would say its more delicate but not by much. The sueded skins are just like thin suede leather.

I had a quick look at the unstreched and stretched crusts. The unstreched crusts would be a lot of work in my opinion. They are bunched up and crusty like a dirty dry rag. He said that they would need some sort of wetting to be stretched. It's out of my knowledge range. The stretched skins were exactly the same as the suede skins less the color. I'm skeptical that the dyes found at Tandy would be the correct type for this skin. But again I'm not to knowledgeable about fish crusts. They would be hard to buff after dying.

Again I wouldn't hesitate to order a sample of everything. He was easy to deal with. I'm sure if he'll spend an hour selling me $35 worth of skins it's because he wants to move his inventory.

Edited December 3, 2012 by Spincycle

[Tiara]

thanks for the info! I think I'll try some samples.

[bluegill]

Pardon me for reviving an old thread.... Just FYI this fish leather guy is still in business and he was very helpful when I was deciding what to order; he sent me pics of what I was specifically interested in and even answered some questions I had comparing it to cowhide. In addition, after placing my order, I found out that he is also sending some scraps for free!

I am planning on making an outback style hat out of seabass. What would be more appropriate for a bass player? I've seen some nice boots with seabass hide on them, so I am incredibly enthusiastic about this. Originally I was going to buy a sharkskin hat from a manufacturer and then I found out about other types of fish leather and decided to give it a shot. I found a nice guide online.

Other items I intend to try to make are a guitar strap, dog color, and wallet.

[Tiara]

Post some pix when done. Do you have a link to the online guide?

Pardon me for reviving an old thread.... Just FYI this fish leather guy is still in business and he was very helpful when I was deciding what to order; he sent me pics of what I was specifically interested in and even answered some questions I had comparing it to cowhide. In addition, after placing my order, I found out that he is also sending some scraps for free!

I am planning on making an outback style hat out of seabass. What would be more appropriate for a bass player? I've seen some nice boots with seabass hide on them, so I am incredibly enthusiastic about this. Originally I was going to buy a sharkskin hat from a manufacturer and then I found out about other types of fish leather and decided to give it a shot. I found a nice guide online.

Other items I intend to try to make are a guitar strap, dog color, and wallet.

[bluegill]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103523

This one