Is it Veg Tan?

[JenGranger]

Hi, I've been learning to work with leather for about 6 weeks, so I'm pretty inexperienced when selecting leather. I get my practice veg tan scraps from a dusty, old box at the local Army Surplus Store.  Most of the time I have no trouble telling veg tan apart from other types of leather.  But there is this one piece of leather at the surplus store that has me really scratching my head.  It looks like it may be a piece of belly, looks to be between 7-9oz, kind of grey in color instead of a tan to salmon color like what I'm used to seeing, slightly shiney like veg tan, a little less firm than most veg tan I've felt (I've never felt good veg tan, so not much to go by).  The piece is $8.  I know that doesn't sound like much  to spend on an experiment,. But I'm on such a tight budget that $8 feeds me and my sweetheart for a whole day, so for $8 I have to be pretty sure it's the right thing. Even though it looks and feels a lot like veg tan, somithing in my gut says it ain't right.  Is it possible for veg tan to come the way I described?

[Mark842]

Hi Jen,

 Unfortunately without being able to see/hold the leather in question you will probably not be able to get a good answer. There are a ton of different tanning methods.

Mark

[JenGranger]

Yeah, I wasn't expecting much of an answer on this, just kinda hopeful.

[TonyRV2]

Since its in a dusty old box at the army surplus store, ask the manager if you couldn't just cut a few square inches off of it for testing purposes.  Then you could take it home, see if it will properly case and take an impression from a stamp.  If it does, then its likely veg tan.

[billybopp]

see if you can get a small piece .. Maybe 1" or so ... Drop it in boiling water.  If it curls up, it is most likely veg tanned.  If not, then it's not!

[JenGranger]

Thanks guys.  The guy that owns the store really likes me, so I bet he would let me do that.

[Halitech]

or just see if you can take it to the bathroom and drop some water on it. If it absorbs the water, pretty good odds it's veg tanned

[JenGranger]

he doesn't even have a bathroom there  LOL, the store is quite small and crowded and connected to his house, so no public bathroom.  But, since he likes me so much, and if no one else is in the store when I'm there, he would probably go into his house to get a cup of water for me (I'm the only person in town that he will leave alone in the store).

[TinkerTailor]

20 hours ago, billybopp said:

see if you can get a small piece .. Maybe 1" or so ... Drop it in boiling water.  If it curls up, it is most likely veg tanned.  If not, then it's not!

Yeah, this. Plus it looks kinda neat. It curls up really fast when its veg and hardens, chrome will stay much more floppy.

Careful with the dipping it in cold water. Some chrome tan leathers will absorb water, the difference is veg can be marked/stamped/formed when wet, and it stays while chrome does not take impressions or form to shape as well. Boiling water is a better test. You only need a tiny piece.

[JenGranger]

Thank you

[TinkerTailor]

Just show up with a full electric kettle, some cups, cookies and tea bags. Tiz da season. Mighten getcha a deal.

[JenGranger]

LOL

[Weaver Leather Supply]

If you can cut a small bit off take it outside with a lighter and hold the lighter to it for a minute or so then let it smolder a bit.  If its chrome the ash will be a bluish to greenish tint.  Veg will just be normal ash.  

[JenGranger]

He might let me do that!