Usable Area Of Leather Sides

[DavidL]

Im looking to make a few wallets for my friends and myself but am looking for the best option to make the most wallet out of a side of leather or individual piece. My options are to buy pre cut pieces of leather 2ft by 2ft and buy 4 sheets which totals 16 sq feet of usable leather or 20 sq ft side.

If i buy a 20 sq feet side how much of it is usable?

[JLSleather]

Buy the side. It's going to be less expensive. Beyond that - define 'useable'. Ordinarily with a side, it's all useable, less i cut a bit off of the neck / outer shoulder area (whre it joins the belly) to use for testing colors / setting sewing machine tensions, wiping my feet at the entry, etc. And the bellly is generally noticeably "looser" grained, really not for tooling. Still, it lines belts just fine.

If you're making billfolds, I'd go with a 3/4 oz (some prefer a bit on either side of that) and get the side. Depending on where you shop, you may get away with 1/2 side (but expect a cutting charge). As a rule, figure about 3.5 billfolds per square foot. This will depend on the style wallet you make, obviously.

Short version, I like to buy backs most of the time, whicih is a side with the belly removed (for the reasons already stated).

[DavidL]

with the leather pieces in 2 sq by 2 sq the pieces are all from the back of the hide. I never bought a side before and want all the cuts made for the wallet to be the same thickness. I should have wrote in the original post that with the full hide I want to make only the out side portion of the wallet and the inside will be kangaroo or pigskin lining.

So would the full side for the purpose of making thick heavy duty wallet exterior be only 10-15 sq feet of the hide and the rest would be too thin and stretchy. Id rather not pay for the belly portion if it is unusable for the exterior.

[dirtclod]

How ever you buy it by the side or a back your going to pay for the belly. If you get a back it's going to cost more per square foot than square footage by the side. It's as broad as it is long IMHO.

[nrk]

Im looking to make a few wallets for my friends and myself but am looking for the best option to make the most wallet out of a side of leather or individual piece. My options are to buy pre cut pieces of leather 2ft by 2ft and buy 4 sheets which totals 16 sq feet of usable leather or 20 sq ft side.

If i buy a 20 sq feet side how much of it is usable?

have a same dilemma.

did you manage to find a solution or else?

me personally going to get test piece from SLC veg tan Hermann Oak.

but in general I agree, that there are more options to work with a hide rather than of the piece.

[Chief31794]

In pricing, I use a parametric of 10% in cutting loss. I use Hermann Oak and that works out pretty good. I tend to cut multiple pieces from the same cut line when possible to keep waste to a minimum. I use the edges for things like straps on holsters and even belt loops on the back of cases, etc. Minimizing waste should be a priority in any shop.

Chief

[nrk]

In pricing, I use a parametric of 10% in cutting loss. I use Hermann Oak and that works out pretty good. I tend to cut multiple pieces from the same cut line when possible to keep waste to a minimum. I use the edges for things like straps on holsters and even belt loops on the back of cases, etc. Minimizing waste should be a priority in any shop.

Chief

seems you are practiced well. That's the experience I believe

[Chief31794]

Or it could be that I'm just real cheap!!!

Chief

[nrk]

Or it could be that I'm just real cheap!!!

Chief

^_^ don't think so. At least do not wish you that )

[Early2rise]

Get the side. You will use every inch of it for something sooner or later. Every time I have an off-cut from cutting out a pattern, my mind immediately starts thinking of what I can use it for. As stated before, there's always dye testing, making strops for your knives, practice cuts if you tool, straps, etc.