What leather is used for what?

[CaptQuirk]

I swear there are almost as many flavors of leather, as there are flavors of ice cream. I've heard the names Horween, Latigo, and now Kangaroo? I know veg tanned is for tooling, but what about all of the others?

[Halitech]

Horween is an actual tannery and they do veg tanned and chrome based tanning.

Latigo is chrome and veg tanned and then hot stuffed with oils and waxes to make it supple and water resistant

Kangaroo is leather tanned by either method from kangaroo

[Thor]

Weaver used to have a glossary on that, but I couldn't find it right now. Tandy has a brief description on it here https://www.tandyleather.com/en/leather-buying-guide.html

[CaptQuirk]

Thanks Thor, but that wasn't the info I was looking for. Rather, I was looking for the actual leather names, and what they are typically used for. Horween is a tanner, and not a type, so that is cleared up. Latigo is used for hard use stuff that might get wet. But what do you do with Kangaroo? Like I said, there are a lot of names thrown out there casually, but for a beginner, it is a bit overwhelming. What is Bison good for? Pebble milled is usually soft and thin, so I would guess it is for garment, upholstery, or bags? The other technical terms I'm getting... sort of, except for the term "irons", used in weight I think.

[TinkerTailor]

Part of the problem is there are no hard and fast rules. People use english bridle for bags and wallets (which should be meant for bridlesi would think). You can make a coin purse or keychain out of anything, I have made many out of SB-foot (redwing boots) boot leather I get cheap because of blemishes. Each hide has room for a decent sized project and a dozen or two small things If you cut around the crap carefully. Molded, dyed and carved items need to be done in Veg tan.

The only way is to narrow it down for a particular project and try a couple samples and see what works for you. There are tons of experiences and reccomendations on here for any given project type. A lot of patterns also recommend leather.

The main qualities of a particular leather are:

Species-  Is it tanned from cows, aligators, mice or kenyan pigmey goats. Most have their strong and weakpoints. Kangaroo is really nice for lacing, not thick enough for a saddle but can make a nice wallet. Horse is used in fine shoes

Veg or chrome tanned?- tanning method. Most here use mostly veg because it can be carved, dyed and shaped easily. It is also the traditional way to tan leather Chrome tanned come finished and ready to use. Chrome tanning uses harsh chemicals and is fast, days. Veg used oak bark too tan and takes months-years.

Thickness- each type of leather will be available in multi thicknesses, and can be split thinner. I have seen pebbled veg leather in 8-10 oz and english bridle split down to 3 oz.  Project dictates thickness. A handbag with turned seams, pockets, zippers and other fiddly details will need to be thinner than a tote style bucket bag.

Temper- This is the firmness. Different leather types and even the same type from different tanneries can vary in flexibility. Generally Veg is firmer than chrome tanned. Good leather has uniform texture throughout most the hide. Crap gets softer as you move to the belly.

Finish: Is the leather raw, drum dyed a colour, has it been waxed and does it have a surface finish? Finished leathers are faster to use can be limiting in how creative you can be with dyes and tooling.

Grain: Leathers that are pebbled frequently have been embossed by huge rollers with this texture. Other surface textures are also available, sometimes a tannery will have the same leather available under two names, one embossed and the other with a smooth surface.

Cut: this is the part of the hide it comes from, there are charts for this posted on many sellers sites and all over google. Print one off and stick it to the wall next to the leather thickness conversion chart so you can easily convert mm to fractional inch to oz

One thing to be aware of, the less finish and grain correction/enhancement there is, the harder it is for the tannery to pass off bad leather as good by repainting it.

 

 

[CaptQuirk]

Thank you Tinker, that also helps a little. I'm not sure if I am asking the correct question or not. I understand a lot of the basic stuff, such as the cuts of the hide, the difference between veg and chrome tanned, thickness, etc. I just don't know about the different types of leather... is it still leather if it comes from a kangaroo or a stingray? Does kangaroo tool and carve well? Would it work for tooled holsters, or is that expecting too much from it?

I know that most finished leathers are pretty well what the name implies, you might be able to dye or re-dye it, but it is meant to be used as is. Skirt leather is used for saddles mostly, but thinner grades make good holsters or belts, and can usually be tooled or carved. As you said, the thickness and strength sort of predetermine what you can do with it. So, am I just getting too hung up on brand names?

[TinkerTailor]

Yup, there is alot of marketing that confuses the issues.

For most of the standard different types of leather the tanneries just change one or more of the above. For instance, skirting is generally unsplit and can sometimes range in thickness from 8-16 oz within one hide. Saddle makers like this because the hide naturally provides the different thicknesses for the different parts of a saddle and it ensures the thick bits are as thick as possible. This type of leather does not work well for belts because of this. The same side of leather sent through a splitter to make it exactly 8 oz all the way through is perfect for uniform thickness strapping and other projects. There are other subtleties as well, some tanneries claim to tan skirting a little "fluffier?" than strap leather because it tools and molds nicer, where as strap leather you want nice firm leather for less stretch.

Tanneries will have secret blends of oils, fats and waxes for harness and bridle and may vary from brand to brand. There are general recipes for each and bridle from anywhere should look and feel like bridle, pre-dyed and treated to have a waxy feel and rich coloring with a fairly firm temper. Some is waxier than others.  Regular veg leather, if of good quality, should be pretty uniform from tannery to tannery and hide to hide.

Now, Horween is its own goat. It's leathers are pretty distinct and vary quite a bit amongst their own brand names and rarely have equivalents from other tanneries. This is a whole catagory itself.

Non-bovine (cow) based leathers are a whole other topic. Any animal skin that has been tanned to preserve it is technically leather. You can buy fish leather. Yup, tanned fish skins. Snake is leather. Kangaroo is leather. How you use them is in the advanced course......

Really the only way to learn what works for what and what you like to use is to experiment. Keep your eye out for people on here selling random remnants. This is a great way to feel and look at different types and see if they are to your liking without buying whole hides.

[MADMAX22]

Kangaroo is primarily used for either making lace (the vegtan stuff is the best) and also for falconry. It is pretty strong for the thinness but it is somewhat expensive. It also makes a good liner for things like wallets where you want thin and strong. 

Most of the other exotic leathers are usually used for inlays and overlays in my experience. 

[CaptQuirk]

3 hours ago, TinkerTailor said:

Yup, there is alot of marketing that confuses the issues.

For most of the standard different types of leather the tanneries just change one or more of the above. For instance, skirting is generally unsplit and can sometimes range in thickness from 8-16 oz within one hide. Saddle makers like this because the hide naturally provides the different thicknesses for the different parts of a saddle and it ensures the thick bits are as thick as possible. This type of leather does not work well for belts because of this. The same side of leather sent through a splitter to make it exactly 8 oz all the way through is perfect for uniform thickness strapping and other projects. There are other subtleties as well, some tanneries claim to tan skirting a little "fluffier?" than strap leather because it tools and molds nicer, where as strap leather you want nice firm leather for less stretch.

 

Now, Horween is its own goat. It's leathers are pretty distinct and vary quite a bit amongst their own brand names and rarely have equivalents from other tanneries. this is a whole catagory itself.

Now we are getting to what I really wanted to know! What is so different about the Horween? Not having a lot of money to experiment with, I'd like a bit of foreknowledge before spending on the wrong stuff... or look for the right stuff to spend my money on. Not having a splitter, buying skirting would have been a mistake, especially buying any large piece.

[MADMAX22]

Wickett and Craig will split there skirting to whatever thickness you want. They will pretty much split most of there leathers and can refinish the flesh side for ya. W&C is a good price point also and they make great leather. Horween makes some nice leather, is popular with certain crowds I guess you could say however there prices are up there unless you are getting 1000sq/ft at a time. 

I think the better question would be "I am making __________ and _________, what kind of leather do you guys recommend?"