Did I Get Bad Veg-Tan?

[Art]

Yeah I can respect that, and upfront I gave them a ton of info with the order i.e. don't cut anything under 40", I wanted a longer hide hopefully at least 84" to get at least 2 40" straps per strap, the length they got right, the quality not so much. But this was my first side, I was hoping to have mostly usable material, with this I have about 60% usable, that just seems wrong. Someone elsewhere mentioned that maybe they tried to force a 4/5oz side to be a 8/9oz side, hoping I wouldn't notice since it was pre cut. Hopefully my pleasant but descriptive email gets the ball rolling on a resolution.

Side note, I'm down here in the Seattle area, neighbor!

Tokarsky,

I can almost guarantee you that the people selecting and cutting your leather at Weaver are not custom leatherworkers. They really wouldn't have a clue what you need or what you are trying to accomplish. That being said, maybe you were expecting more from a side than you are really going to get. I do remember when sides had a lot more yield, but that was some time ago. Back in the '90s, we used to make holsters out of shoulders, not so much now. We buy full sides when we can select them ourselves, and that means going to the tannery or maybe the supplier (we go to the tannery), but if I need clean straps (like you wanted) I order backs; higher price, but no shoulder and no belly left over. If you read the Weaver Catalog, most of their stuff is Tannery Run graded, which means you get the next hide off the pile. It is just business, you do what you have to, and I guess you may have learned a little more about the leather business. If you order a strap back, cut into one inch straps, the guy who selects your leather and maybe cuts it, doesn't necessarily know you need perfect 80" straps, and even if he went through the entire pallet of sides, it might be hard to find anything that will give you the yield you wanted.

Art

[Tokarsky]

Tokarsky,

I can almost guarantee you that the people selecting and cutting your leather at Weaver are not custom leatherworkers. They really wouldn't have a clue what you need or what you are trying to accomplish. That being said, maybe you were expecting more from a side than you are really going to get. I do remember when sides had a lot more yield, but that was some time ago. Back in the '90s, we used to make holsters out of shoulders, not so much now. We buy full sides when we can select them ourselves, and that means going to the tannery or maybe the supplier (we go to the tannery), but if I need clean straps (like you wanted) I order backs; higher price, but no shoulder and no belly left over. If you read the Weaver Catalog, most of their stuff is Tannery Run graded, which means you get the next hide off the pile. It is just business, you do what you have to, and I guess you may have learned a little more about the leather business. If you order a strap back, cut into one inch straps, the guy who selects your leather and maybe cuts it, doesn't necessarily know you need perfect 80" straps, and even if he went through the entire pallet of sides, it might be hard to find anything that will give you the yield you wanted.

Art

Yeah, after I saw what I got I scoured their catalog for an explanation, I without a doubt should have gotten a Strap Double Back.... to finish my job that's what I'll most likely get.

[NVLeatherWorx]

For better quality leather you should think about Hermann Oak. Have never had an issue with any of their products regardless of where I sourced it from. DO NOT purchase it from Tandy though as you will be paying WAY TOO MUCH for it, there are other options. I have been using H.O. for years and have found that their hides have the cleanest flesh sides (even in the neck areas) than any other hide out there. Not bashing Weaver but they typically stock their materials and supplies from the same sources as any of the other smaller suppliers and Tandy so you really aren't receiving much more than if you were to shop in a Tandy store, the name of the store is the only difference.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Weaver does carry Hermann Oak, but as I think someone mentioned above, only in TR grade. Honestly, I have gotten some really nice leather from Weaver, as well as some crap (which is basically the simplified description of TR), and I have also gotten some crap direct from Hermann Oak. Their hides do typically have less run-off in the shoulder and fewer wrinkles, as well as fewer cuts on the flesh side, which may be the biggest nemesis to a harness maker. Buying leather is always a crap-shoot, kind of like buying hay. Of all the hides processed, very few are perfect, or maybe none, so we have to take what's out there and make the best of it. Not trying to be quarrelsome regarding what NVLeatherworx said above, (for some reason I can't get my computer to quote) but I don't consider Weaver anywhere close to being on the same level as Tandy. Weaver is NOT a small supplier. OF course I haven't looked at a Tandy catalog in a few years, nor walked in one of their stores, but I do buy from Weaver at least once a month, sometimes 2-3 times a month, and it's rare that I have they don't have what I need in harness hardware. I'd hate to try to build harness using only Tandy as a supplier, but then it probably depends on the type of work a person does. But I digress, as far as Hermann Oak, I've only ever bought from Weaver or direct from HO. There may be better sources out there than Weaver that I don't know about.

[Tokarsky]

For better quality leather you should think about Hermann Oak. Have never had an issue with any of their products regardless of where I sourced it from. DO NOT purchase it from Tandy though as you will be paying WAY TOO MUCH for it, there are other options. I have been using H.O. for years and have found that their hides have the cleanest flesh sides (even in the neck areas) than any other hide out there. Not bashing Weaver but they typically stock their materials and supplies from the same sources as any of the other smaller suppliers and Tandy so you really aren't receiving much more than if you were to shop in a Tandy store, the name of the store is the only difference.

That was Herman Oak via Weaver. I didn't know anything about the TR grade, maybe that's where it went wrong.

[NVLeatherWorx]

As a minimum you would want the B Grade H.O. in order to ensure that such issues as you have run into aren't routine. Although there are some who believe that Weaver is a huge supplier/mover of product they don't even come close to what Tandy moves on a daily basis but that is another story altogether. I have run across a few suppliers of H.O. who list the product at an unbelievable price (lower than you would expect for something of quality with the H.O. brand) but don't give much information in the description/details about what grade it is. Don't know if it is intentional or just an oversight but it does cause issues like you ran into and, in my humble opinion, it isn't very customer friendly when not giving ALL of the pertinent details. That is just the way I see, others may see it differently and that is entirely acceptable. After all, that is what makes us all different.

Hope your next side of leather is of a better quality than the last one.