Members KeithHideWorks Posted February 1, 2017 Members Report Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) Just bought a HO 8/9oz TR side from a local vendor. Looked at their A and B's, and was NOT impressed. They were right out of shipping wrapper so I assume they were not pre-sorted, But those hides looked like ass. The TR I bought was much nicer than most of the A and B's. It was $6.5sq around 23 ft. So not a bad price considering. I'm nervous making a big order from them now. O'h, and i destroyed half the bend by using a shitty tandy wood strap cutter. It was measured and tightened down hard, and still drifted over cutting 10 strips. Started at 1.25" and ended at 1.75ish...... Plough gauge, here I come. Might have to try W&C Backs next time. HO was not impressive at all. Even their Brindle they had was pretty shitty. Edited February 1, 2017 by KeithHideWorks Quote
MADMAX22 Posted February 1, 2017 Report Posted February 1, 2017 10 minutes ago, KeithHideWorks said: Just bought a HO 8/9oz TR side from a local vendor. Looked at their A and B's, and was NOT impressed. They were right out of shipping wrapper so I assume they were not pre-sorted, But those hides looked like ass. The TR I bought was much nicer than most of the A and B's. It was $6.5sq around 23 ft. So not a bad price considering. I'm nervous making a big order from them now. O'h, and i destroyed half the bend by using a shitty tandy wood strap cutter. It was measured and tightened down hard, and still drifted over cutting 10 strips. Started at 1.25" and ended at 1.75ish...... Plough gauge, here I come. Might have to try W&C Backs next time. HO was not impressive at all. Even their Brindle they had was pretty shitty. Well I wouldnt let some local vender hides get in the way of your opinion of HO. By the way they probably get the TR grade or lowest grade possible more than likely and sort out the "better" ones and call them A and B sides. However if your getting them at that price I would use those to practice with while you learn to use your tools and find out what works and what doesnt. Quote
Members KeithHideWorks Posted February 1, 2017 Members Report Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) Does HO mark them A and B on the flesh side? They all were marked from the factory with the HO stamp and the sqft, but the actual grades were like a blue pen on the corner. I am wondering if they had pre-sorted them? $6.5 was the TR2 price/deal. I have spent over a grand there the last couple months. I think the A/B were around 9-10/ft. Edited February 1, 2017 by KeithHideWorks Quote
MADMAX22 Posted February 1, 2017 Report Posted February 1, 2017 As far as I know and remember HO just marks the sq/ft. They may do the stamp as well but dont recall. Never scene vegtan marked with a grading mark from the tannery WC or HO. So most places that I know of when they order large quantities from a tannery get TR (unselected grade), basically they pull the next 100 or 200 hides or just get a pallet full basically, no real sorting. Some are gonna be A some B some more like D. Atleast thats my understanding for resellers. Now if your some big wig manufacturer that they supply on a regular basis they may have a deal for selecting all A grade leathers regardless of the large quantity they get however that is just a guess on my part as I dont know or have worked for a big name manufacturer. Quote
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted February 1, 2017 Author Contributing Member Report Posted February 1, 2017 Yeah, basically "TR" means some of all grades. And HO does mark them -- there's a "A" or a "B" in the corner of each one when it arrives from the tannery. This doesn't mean someone else doesn't mark them as well. I haven't had any issues with ordering from HO. They send a mix of "A" and "B" -- tell em you want their best, and you'll get about 80% "A" and 20% "B" hides. Even the B's are quite clean and firm. I have ordered from a number of places, all claiming to be selling HO "A" and "B" grades, and none of it has been anywhere near as nice as the stuff from the tannery. And some was quite bad... nothing like what the tannery sends. Since I wasn't there to see who was doing what... can't really say WHY,... but order from the tannery is always the way to go. Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted March 22, 2018 Author Contributing Member Report Posted March 22, 2018 Kicking this up, what with all the questions and comments lately about leather cuts and quality. This is what leather is supposed to look like - this isn't a "stellar" piece I hand picked by going through a stack , it's one of 10 standard HO leather from HO, all look about the same. Weird, I didn't get the new price list this year, or maybe I did and it's at the old address .. Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
Members JD62 Posted March 23, 2018 Members Report Posted March 23, 2018 Um ..... Am I missing something? I dont see a pick! Quote One day at a time my friends John
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted March 23, 2018 Author Contributing Member Report Posted March 23, 2018 Back on Jan 30, 7 posts ↑ Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
Members JD62 Posted March 23, 2018 Members Report Posted March 23, 2018 Yup figerd it out after I posted Quote One day at a time my friends John
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