Montana Leather Company

[ChriJ]

Has anyone had recent experience with the Montana Leather Company? I did a search here on LW and didn't see any recent comments. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Chris

[lranger]

Chris, you still looking for info on Montana Leather?

I live near Billings and buy leather there occasionally. What would you like to know?

Keith

[ChriJ]

Keith,

Thanks for responding. I was interested in finding out if they are a good supplier to deal with and the quality of the products. Since I'll be buying sight unseen I will have to trust them to send me good usable leather.

Thanks in advance

Chris

Edited August 26, 2015 by ChriJ

[lranger]

Chris, I'll try to help you the best I can.

First, I have to say that I don't see how people order/buy leather online, without seeing it first. Almost every time I've done that I was disappointed. So,,,, I try to only buy it if I pick it out myself. I suppose the only way is to "bite the bullet" and try a supplier out until you find good ones that you can trust. (It helps to get opinions of suppliers on this forum, though.)

I have bought their Thoroughbred skirting leather, enough to build two saddles. I went through many sides to pick them out myself. I can't see any difference between the Thoroughbred and the Herman Oak that they sell. I was happy with the quality of the leather I bought.

I have bought quite a bit of their garment leather, Shearling wool skins, and I just bought three sides of 8 oz. bison leather from them. The wool skins are fine, but I go through a large stack to pick out the best ones. (There are plenty that I wouldn't want.) The garment leather is OK if I'm wanting it for something that doesn't need to be the best quality I can find. The Minelli sides at Tandy are the best quality garment leather I have found. I buy it when it's on sale. In fact, I always try to buy leather from Tandy when it's on sale, and when I can pick it out myself. The bison I just bought was all the 8 oz. bison they had, and it has LOTS of cuts/blemishes in it, so there will be lots of waste, but it's all I could find, and I'm making moccasins out of it so I can live with it. The good part is that the price is low enough. A lot of the garment leather is $2.00 a sq. ft. and the bison was $5.75 per sq. ft. Shearling wool skins are roughly $100.00 apiece.

My opinion is that they are like a leather "discount house", and the quality is not of the highest. But, unless you're wanting ONLY the best quality, it's plenty good for the price. They buy a lot of "odd lots". May not be the best, but it's priced right.

I've never ordered from them, so I don't know how they are about that. I personally feel that they aren't very helpful/friendly when I'm there, but then I don't really care. I just look at what they have and pick out what I want.

They have much more stuff there than what is shown in their website. They have all the hardware needed for building saddles, for instance. I don't know how a person would go about buying from them without going there, but, I think you would have to REALLY have a talk with them on the phone and tell them exactly what you want, and don't want. Find out how they deal with you returning an order that you don't like. Maybe you can get them to send samples. Try making a small order first.

I hope I've helped. Don't take anything I've said here to mean that I don't like the place. It's OK, but with issues.

Keith

[ChriJ]

Keith,

Thanks for the information. It did help quite a bit. I wish I had the opportunity to go to a supplier and choose the sides I want but the only places to buy in person are that I'm aware of near me are the Tandy's in Tulsa and OKC which are 3-5 hours away. Both are relatively small and I havent cared much for the selection and it's even worse if I order online. That's why I'm trying to find a place to order online that others have has good experiences with.

Thanks for the info.

Chris

[mlapaglia]

Keith,

Thanks for the information. It did help quite a bit. I wish I had the opportunity to go to a supplier and choose the sides I want but the only places to buy in person are that I'm aware of near me are the Tandy's in Tulsa and OKC which are 3-5 hours away. Both are relatively small and I havent cared much for the selection and it's even worse if I order online. That's why I'm trying to find a place to order online that others have has good experiences with.

Thanks for the info.

Chris

Springfield leather sells Herman Oak and I have always received good quality hides from them. I call them up and tell them what I want and what I plan to do with it and they pick me a hide that meets my needs. Calling is better than ordering online. They are a supporter of this forum.

[Twofinger]

I am with Chris. I live in central Oklahoma, and there just isn't any supplier close, and I'm not a big fan of Tandy. I have had to order all of my leather online, mostly from Springfield. I have a hard time finding what I want. I really want to get some Dublin, but I am having a hard time. I don't know about Montana leather, but I am going to look at them as I am always open for a good source.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Twofinger