TexasLady Report post Posted August 23, 2013 8/23/13 At a local Asian grocery store, I bought some fish,... striped sea bass, farm-raised in California, they tell me. I bought the Tandy tanning lotion and followed instructions. The fish skins are tough and only smell like leather, not fish, so I figure that's a good sign. I bought a Fossil wallet that I liked, so that I could use it as a pattern, or at least as a 'size reference'. I'll post the photos of what I made. Since then, I've taken out the zipper and started over on it. I'm going to widen the zipper this time. I was just tickled that I could make something all the way from tanning it through sewing it. I'd probably rather just have kudos than a critique for now, so please forgive me for not asking for 'help'. Thanks. - TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted August 23, 2013 OK, the IDEA of fish leather just sounds gross, so you get a lot of credit for doing this. It will be interesting how it stands up to wear/tear/ moisture. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benlilly1 Report post Posted August 24, 2013 Something smells fishy in here... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jessebeckham Report post Posted August 24, 2013 Very interesting.... The other day I saw some tilapia leather on some random site and though it was rather odd. I think it's awesome you made the entire project leather included! I'm hoping I'll get a good buck this season to do the same. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immiketoo Report post Posted August 24, 2013 Fish skin can be highly durable and useful. I have a djembe that has a sturgeon skin head. I've beat that drum as hard as possible and the skin holds up like nothing else. I wouldn't make a holster out of it, but it would be a cool inlay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cogs Report post Posted August 24, 2013 TexasLady, Did you have to deal with scales? (Don't know if Striped Sea Bass have scales or not.) Salmon are running through the back yard and I'm considering the tanning idea for inlays and wraps. (King Chinook and Coho Silvers). Any pointers on the process? Thanks, Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cem Report post Posted August 25, 2013 I find it cool you did the whole process as well Texaslady well done. If anyone else wants to have a go with fish leather and doesn't want to do it themself heres a place that sells it http://www.sealeatherwear.com/ I haven't used it but they have been advertising in the PSLAC magazine for a number of years and I'm sure there was article about them as well in one of the mags. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silverback Report post Posted August 25, 2013 Great work from "go to whoa" with the fish skin. Cem,have you heard of the guy down Esperance way who deals in fish leather.Pretty exxy I believe but fantastic stuff.Sorry I don't know the name or address except it is one of the main streets in Esperance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cem Report post Posted August 26, 2013 Great work from "go to whoa" with the fish skin. Cem,have you heard of the guy down Esperance way who deals in fish leather.Pretty exxy I believe but fantastic stuff.Sorry I don't know the name or address except it is one of the main streets in Esperance. When Leather Direct was in Perth city, Paul told me about someone doing fish leather didn't give me the name though so I completely forgot about it could be the same place. Might have to look into it as I've wanted to try something with an inlay for awhile and snake skin gives me the heebie jeebies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silverback Report post Posted August 26, 2013 Cem,if I come across the info again I will pm you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Fantastic. I'm delighted to return to the forum and find such kind and inspiring comments about my tanned fish skins. Yes, removing the scales is one of the steps before tanning. I went on to make a really pretty billfold from salmon skin. I used a standard Tandy Leather kit to save time. I just traced around the nice piece of leather that would have been the outside of the wallet, but used my fish skin instead. I do have some bad news. About seven months after starting this Thread, after a fender bender, while calling in the accident on my cellphone, I was hit by a car on the freeway. I'm now an amputee and paralyzed. Yep. But my hands and eyes are still good and steady. And guess what I've been wanting to get home to do? ...finish making wallets out of the rest of my tanned fish skins! Just thought I'd let you all in on the fact that nearly dying doesn't change who we are as much as one might think. What we make with our own hands and ingenuity is part of what gives meaning to life. I'll hunt for my photos of that salmon leather billfold and post it later. For now, here's a link to one of those "nine-in-the-world" places where they make tanned fish skins. (I think I should get to 'count' as the tenth place in the world that makes it!) http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/08/05/3818592.htm Texas Lady Edited February 5, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) ...Here are photos of that one wallet I got to make out of my tanned salmon skin. I saved these images in September 2013, six months before my life changing accident. One photo shows the wallet open, with the edge lacing incomplete, another closed, and one close-up. There are no scales left on the leather. That's just the texture of the tanned fish skin you are seeing. Edited February 5, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Oh, one caveat,...i glued (using light colored contact cement) a thin piece of white fabric to the back of my fish skin before cutting it out. Also, I cut out that wallet cover with an extra margin of fish leather sticking out around the edges so I wouldn't come up short when finalizing fitting it against the rest of the wallet. It may be that the fish skin doesn't stretch quite as much as leather would have stretched when folding the wallet closed. Also, as I recall, I reinforced the salmon skin around the edges, on the viewable top side by gluing on a thin strip of seam binding. I did this before doing the edge lacing. The lacing then covered up the seam binding almost completely. I did this to prevent any weak spots around the edges of the wallet cover from pulling loose at the punched holes. I don't remember now whether I punched the holes first or glued on the seam binding first. I probably punched the holes first. Sorry. That was two surgeries and lots of pain killers ago. And I gave away the wallet, so I can't go back now to see just how I did it. TexasLady Edited February 5, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 5, 2015 One more thing,...I'm pretty sure I put a coat or two of clear acrylic sealant on the fish skin. Maybe some thinned-down shelac would have been better. But I do believe it's a good idea to put some kind of sealant. TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
biglew Report post Posted February 6, 2015 next time I order fish for dinner I will ask for extra skin in a togo container Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MonicaJacobson Report post Posted February 6, 2015 Wow, TL - so sorry to hear about your accident. Awesome idea and cool wallets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgleathercraft Report post Posted February 6, 2015 Sorry to hear of your accident...I know they are just words on a screen but they are sincere. I have been looking for information for quite a while on how to tan fish. Most of what I've found is for taxidermy and I wasn't sure if those methods would hold up to the use of a wallet or such. Your info has helped me a lot. Now the ice needs to break up so I can catch some catfish! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) Biglew, Hope the restaurant will give you a bag of big fish skins. Please freeze them until you can get the tanning chemicals. Edited February 8, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) Monica, You work is spectacular and the quality amazing. I hope you'll have some fun tanning fish skins, too. I read an Australian advertisement recently that says each type of fish skin has some optimal way of being tanned for strength, elasticity, satin finish, etc. I'll try to find that link for you. I hadn't been too picky. Mine all came out stiff. I was just grateful to be able to tan them at all. Edited February 8, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Cgleathercraft, Your work is also beautiful. And I want to find that fish tanning info site for you, too. Thanks for your condolences. The broken back will limit me in swinging a mallet for tooling leather, so it's a good thing that I also love tanning, patterns and lacing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasLady Report post Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) This isn't the site I was looking for, but it talks about making the fish skins soft and supple, and it gives the process, so I'll paste it here. TexasLady http://www.ehow.com/how_2306721_make-fish-leather.html#page=0 And, oh, look, look! A site with jillions of chemicals for tanning specialties. The super solve degreaser mentions fish. http://www.knoblochs.com/chemicals.html Edited February 8, 2015 by TexasLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
