Tigdim Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Hello all, My wife and I just recently decided to get into leather work, and I found this site through google. I am interested in making functional (I am not the artistic type) wallets, belts, holsters and saddle bags and my wife is interested in making wallets, clutches, purses, other bags and tooling leather. (she is very artistic, and loves looking at all the carving/tooling stamping pictures on this site. She has a art / graphic design background) 2 weeks ago we took a trip to the local Tandy (100 miles away) to grab some tools and some single shoulders to start to play with. (on sale at the time for $30) It was while we were in Tandy digging thorough the pile of shoulders I came to a realization.... each piece has a distinct feel. (I have read about the feel/smell/texture on this site, I just did not realize how obvious it would be I thought it would take a while to feel the difference) Some are firm, others squishy, some are stiff, some flexible, different textures.... and these were all the "same" 7-9oz veg tan shoulders. ( that does not even get into the visual differences... discolorations, stretch marks, shades, ripples... other strange visual things that are hard to describe) How does someone new to leather know what is a good piece of leather for a specific use? I would imaging it comes from experience working with the different leathers making different projects until you build up that knowledge. SO can they without guidance? I am looking for guidance... Is there someone in south central Wisconsin that would be willing to show me what quality leather feels like? I am a firm believer that quality materials make quality products, I want to know what quality leather feels like... can anyone help us out? Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuttish Report post Posted March 11, 2016 Nobody will ever be able to answer such a broadly framed question for you. Google is your friend for learning about the huge variety of tanning methods and how they affect the texture and temper of the leather, as well as the parts of a side of leather. That said, PM me if you're in Chicago and I'll give you some scraps of various types of leather so you can get an idea of how they feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Cent Report post Posted March 13, 2016 Good leather is like pornography. Unless you can walk into a store and smell, feel, and look, our answers ain't gonna help you. There is, generally, a random post on here from experienced leather crafters telling us about the crap they received from a top leather wholesaler. You will not know until you open the package. You are going to using a few different weights in your endeavors and that will be a problem also. I buy sides and order two at a time. One 8-9 ounce and one 5-6 ounce. A bunch of the sides were not split evenly and weight varied from one end to the other. I have went back to Zack White (40 minutes from the house) where I can smell, feel, and look. Good prices also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tigdim Report post Posted March 14, 2016 I wrote this a while ago and just realized that I must have erased part of the last paragraph, since it is not there. My wife and I are looking for someone in our area that can show us some Quality leather. Whether that means we drive to you and you show us some stuff you have on hand. Or meet up at Tandy or any other supplier in our area... and look at what they have on hand. We are able to travel up to 2 hours from Madison. (we have a 1 year old, getting a baby sitters for 6 hours or more can be a challenge) Is there someone in southern Wisconsin willing to educate some newbies? PM me if you are willing. Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
