Type Of Leather For Shoulder Straps And Other Outdoor Straps

[danmc]

Hello,

I'm looking at making some traditional heavy canvas canoe portage packs and am planning on using leather for some shoulder straps as well as some straps that cinch the pack down. The leatherworking aspect of this project I hope should be relatively simple which is good because I'm a total beginner with leather.

The bit I'm feeling unsure about is what sort of leather should I be looking at for this sort of application? For anyone not familiar with portage packs, think short, wide, backpack that can hold quite a bit of camping gear. It *will* be subjected to some rough environments. It will get wet, it will be in the sun, etc. I'll need a handful of 3/4" wide straps that are 8-16" long, probably 12 oz leather. Shoulder straps will be a couple of feet long, ~ 2.5 inches wide, again likely 12 oz leather. There will also be a bunch of small pieces in the 2"x2" range for reinforcement where the straps and buckles attach to the pack. The reinforcements will be hand stitched to the canvas and then the straps rivited on.

I know how to do basic leather hand stitching and that should be all I need for sewing skills (on the leather end). I don't have any real plans for any sort of tooling although if I get really motivitated I may cut out some small oval and carve a logo into it and stitch onto the back.

I'm far more concerned with functionality and durability in the back country than looks.

Anyway, any advice about type of leather (what part of the skin, tanning method, etc) and finishing of the leather (stains, oils, etc) would be most appreciated.

As far as I know, the tandy about an hour away is the only "local" supplier I have (Atlanta area) but I could be wrong.

Thanks

-Dan

[BDAZ]

You will need to use latigo leather, 9-10 oz. Forget carving as this heavily oiled leather will not stamp or carve. You would need a heat embosser for a makers logo. The good nes is that you can buy latigo straps in various widths at Tandy.

Cya!

Bob

Edited May 5, 2014 by BDAZ

[danmc]

Thanks!

-Dan

[danmc]

So it only took 15 months from my original post to buy the leather and make a matching pair of packs but they are finally done! My next question is that the leather (latigo as suggested) is fairly stiff. Should I use something like mink oil to try and soften up the leather used for shoulder straps? Or perhaps I just need to be patient and they'll soften up with use?

Thanks so much.

-Dan

[Paddywhompus]

I personally find Neatsfoot Oil and bees wax or "Sno-Seal" to be efficient in applying a nice dark color and giving the leather much suppleness. I choose those because they are natural oils and waxes with no added artificial 'magic in a can' crap.

I typically do 2-3 passes on my projects with the oil, then finally stuff them with bees wax and put them under a heat lamp to absorb the wax. I am a sheet metal roofer, so I deal with hot, cold, rain, snow, chemicals, and rough abrasions from asphalt.

I also crafted my own drill holster, leather tool belt, suspenders and a heavy duty tool bag for work using those methods. The tool bag is semi new but the rest is pretty old and still holds up strong as ever. I unfortunately made my straps out of regular vegetable tan (I had no idea what I was doing and was just doing research, not asking questions) leather, they have stretched some unfortunately, although they hold 50+ lbs for 8 hours, but given my experience with their performance in my kind of environment, the neats/wax combo gives the leather the level of supple you want. As for with use, that happens too. The leather has gotten far more supple with use on the field beyond my oiling, that happens naturally, but very slowly, the neats/wax oil combo kinda speeds up that process.

Hope that rant helps, happy crafting!