Water buffalo question

[MADMAX22]

Hey guys just wanted some info as far as leather workers go to what you all think of water buffalo hide.

When I was younger I had a jacket made form the stuff and it was strong as all heck, much stronger then any jacket Ive gotten since made of leather. It looked very good too, was a brendle color.

Now I have also heard that it is not desirable to use water buffalo hide for projects.

What is your alls take on this. Thanks

[Hennessy]

Hey guys just wanted some info as far as leather workers go to what you all think of water buffalo hide.

When I was younger I had a jacket made form the stuff and it was strong as all heck, much stronger then any jacket Ive gotten since made of leather. It looked very good too, was a brendle color.

Now I have also heard that it is not desirable to use water buffalo hide for projects.

What is your alls take on this. Thanks

i've done very little with buff but its big in asian saddles and mex also its tough and i think the tanner will make or break it.i've heard theres weak spots in the grain and it can tear a bootmaker told me so, but there are lots of projects where it would be effective,i would not hesitate to use it adios pete

[kevinhopkins]

Hi... Water buffalo is a pretty neat leather, but it really depends on what it's tanned for as to it how it will be for various projects. I've seen water buffalo calf skins that were tanned for bootmaking that would just make a grown man cry!!! The grain is just awesome! On the other hand, if it's veg tanned in heavy weights, it can be a bit brittle, have a tendency to crack when bent, and perhaps not work all that well in some applications. But if you know how to work with it, and use the stuff wisely, it can be one of the most beautiful leathers that you'll ever work with... It's sort of one of those relative things, y'know...

I know this is pretty vague, but it's the best I can do after a pretty long day!

Kevin

[frontpost]

Hey guys just wanted some info as far as leather workers go to what you all think of water buffalo hide.

When I was younger I had a jacket made form the stuff and it was strong as all heck, much stronger then any jacket Ive gotten since made of leather. It looked very good too, was a brendle color.

Now I have also heard that it is not desirable to use water buffalo hide for projects.

What is your alls take on this. Thanks

Water buffalo is what the people from India make harness and english saddles out of. The harness and saddles are very poor quality. Water buffalo makes for poor strap goods. The cow is holy there, so they don't use cowhide.

[MADMAX22]

Thanks for the input guys. Appreciate it. Guess its one of those leathers that has its place if you know what to use it for.

[mleathers]

On water buffalo. Water buffalo leather is a superior product to cowhide. It is a stronger leather if it is tanned correctly. Even poorly tanned cowhide can be brittle. I make leather belts out of water buffalo and my customer prefer it. In Europe motorcycle leathers are made of Water Buffalo because of its tear resistance. It is far more flexible to cowhide. Cowhide belts are stiff and take longer to break in while water buffalo is flexible and softer. Any leather poorly tanned will yield a poor quality product. If pull up oils are used its even better. It does not tool very well though. This is where cowhide exceeds in this respect.

I say all this from experience.

[rickmoo]

Hi, i bought a water buffalo hide from www.waterhouseleather.com and it is very nice. 4 oz.. or so in weight it is very flexible and tough. i have the brown color and was only $ 61. i make wrist cuffs with it and made a guitar strap also. i back it with veg tan, glued with contact cement then sewed. it has a beautiful grain and texture. i recommend it highly if you want something unique and get a good hide.

[StevenSiegel]

Hi,

This is Steve Siegel.

Having bought and sold this leather for over 40 years, I would like to the following.

Water Buffalo has a very different fiber structure to cowhide in the respect that it is more "stringy" (this is not an industry term, it is hard for me to put into words the difference in the fibers.)

We have been selling water buffalo for stirrup leathers for polo saddles for many years to the many of the 8-10 goal players world wide. It has superior strength to cowhide, but because of the fiber structure, it is more prone to stretch. Most polo players will NOT use anything other than water buffalo for stirrup leathers as it has superior strength. A typical pair of these leathers which are 1 1/4" x 60" in length with a buckle, a few holes, no additional finish work is very expensive; typically $140/pair at retail.

The properties of the leather are a function of the tannage, tanner and raw stock. So, vegetable tanned bufflalo can be very nice or a piece of junk. We have vegetable tanned buffalo made by J&E Sedgwick which sells for approximately $20/ft. It is very different from the leather that is commonly offered in the market place which can be a couple of dollars/ft. That is not to say that the leather that costs a couple dollars/ft is inferior. It is different, that's all.

Some of the other unique properties of water buffalo, other than it's unique grain pattern is that it has superior abrasion resistance over cowhide.

Prices for this leather vary all over the place depending upon thickness and selection.

I hope this is helpful

Regards,

Steven Siegel

[serendipitydesigns]

Might anyone know where to look for a nice grade, veg-tan water buffalo calf hide?

Just wanted to also say a big thank you to everyone on this site for the knowledge input, and for being so incredibly helpful . The forums are truly an awesome leatherworking resource!