Leather Thickness

[Hibernicus]

Hi guys. So far I've been working with a bag of tooling scraps from tandy, which are ok to get a feel for the tools, but the pieces are too small and irregularly shaped to make anything really useful. So at this point I'm considering ordering a larger piece but I'm wondering what the most versatile thickness or type to get would be. The site I'm looking at is leprevo.co.uk. The problem is, I have to order this stuff internationally and its gets pretty expensive to ship, so I want to get the leather that can be used for the most different things, if that makes sense. I'm interested in making pouches, wristbands, small bags and things like that, tooling and wet forming, but I dont have any very definite projects in mind, I just want to experiment. Unfortunately I dont have a local supplier where I can view the hides or ask about it. So if any of you guys could give me any advice on where to start when choosing which leather to get it'd be a great help.

[Dwight]

Leather is measured in ounces, . . . and those ounces translate each to 1/64th of inch. One full inch of 64 oz equals 25.4 mm.

Breaking it down further, . . . 8 oz would be 1/8th of an inch or just a tad over 3 mm thick.

Most of the leather sellers offer their leather in like a 7/8 oz or 6/7 oz, . . . which means it is not absolutely perfectly uniform from edge to edge, . . . some will be very close to 6 oz while the rest will be closer to 7 oz in the last example.

If I made a suggestion, . . . it would be to go with a piece of 7/8 oz, . . . and order the piece called a "single shoulder" if your supplier offers it. Shoulder leather is good tough leather, makes good holsters, belts, cuffs, wrist bands, spur straps, . . . it usually tools nicely also.

Back leather isn't usually as tough, . . . is softer, . . . belly leather is even worse.

Good luck, . . . and welcome to the wonderful world of leathercraft.

May God bless,

Dwight

[humperdingle]

Hi, I don't know how much this would be to courier to you from England, but check ebay for a seller called: Heritage Abrasives. They auction huge boxes, sometimes up to 20kg, of natural veg tan. I've had a couple of boxes from them, and the pieces vary in size, but easily big enough for loads of possibles pouches, rifle bolt holders, sheaths, etc. What you can't use, practice tooling on.

[Cyberthrasher]

Ditto Dwight on the 7/8 oz shoulder. It's light enough that it won't seem too rigid for people when it's fresh of the gate, but still good and strong. I wouldn't make a bag or pouch with anything less, unless it was meant to be a really soft ladies purse or something. I'm not sure how it would come out all around for a watch band though. It would work for the main cuff piece, but if you need to add any straps to connect the watch you might have a hard time. All around it's a great cut of leather though. I was using 8/9 for all of my guitar straps but then switched to 7/8 when I started hearing that people weren't happy with how rigid they were. The 7/8 is a noticeable difference in stiffness, but still just as strong for my quality control.

[Harag]

Hibernicus, download the catalog from leprevo - and also the clearance pdf file. at the start of the catalog there is a conversion from US Ounce to UK mm - I've just started leather working and I've ordered my stuff from leprevo, though I've not ordered leather yet (I bought bookmarks to practice stamping/tooling on).

Not knowing about the different leathers I asked them the same question, email their sales, they are very helpful. and don't forget to ask for SAMPLES of the different leathers, they will send them with your order. For what you have in mind you might want to order 026 and 028. - 026 is used for things like archery braces, bags, etc, where 028 is used for things like armour (I plan on doing medieval type stuff).

Like you I too don't have a store near by and will have to order huge hides, which is a great expense when learning.

Hi, I don't know how much this would be to courier to you from England, but check ebay for a seller called: Heritage Abrasives. They auction huge boxes, sometimes up to 20kg, of natural veg tan. I've had a couple of boxes from them, and the pieces vary in size, but easily big enough for loads of possibles pouches, rifle bolt holders, sheaths, etc. What you can't use, practice tooling on.

Thanks for the ebay seller name, I'll also check this out as I don't really want to order full hides just yet.

[Hibernicus]

Thanks for the info, it all helps. I've got a few different things to consider now. The supplier is in the UK and doesnt sell by the oz, but I think from their conversion chart 7/8 oz would be 3mm .The scraps I've been using already are mostly round about 3mm, I feel like that might be just a shade thick for some of the projects I have in mind, but I'll try contacting the supplier and see if they can give me some further advice. I definitely appreciate the input from everyone.

[Cyberthrasher]

According to Tandy's conversion chart, it would be about 2.77 to 3.18 mm

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/infoandservices/leatherguide/leatherguide.aspx

Remember, if it's too thick, you can skive it down. But, you can't add thickness very easily.

[celticleather]

I would guess the ideal leather for what you need would be from J T Batchelor in Islington, London. It's called Natural Oily Tan Shoulder, 2-2.5mm. I use it all the time . . . it's first-class, and at £3.80 per square foot (last time I ordered) usually a good deal cheaper than the Le Prevo 026.

They have a website at http://jtbatchelor.co.uk/ but it's not very informative. Best to call them on 020 7254 2962 and speak to Ted or Rocky . . . both very helpful.