Chrome tan, Veg tan, Other tan....Help me understand

[Rossr]

Ok folks, I have done some reading and searching on this topic but I am still unclear.    I make a knife sheaths and have made some holsters of the years.   I used veg tan for that.  Mainly so I can tool or carve.  I have also read over the years that chrome tan is a no go with anything metal ie guns, knife blades etc. In regards to sheaths I have made I recommend folks kep thoer knives stored outside the sheath since the leather can hold moisture.  That being said I am guilty of not doing that and have had litttle problems over the years.   So with that in mind I want to understand what leathers are chrome tanned?

 

Veg tan:  Not chrome

Bison: Chrome I think

Deer: ?? This one interests me as it seems this is used to line sheaths which is very nice but I want to make sure that it is ok

Pig:??

 

Others?

 

Thanks Folks

 

Ross

 

[kiwican]

Good question. As these leathers can also be tanned in other ways too. 

[fredk]

All leathers can be chrome tanned or veg tanned. You need to ask the tannery you buy from what tanning the leather got that you want to buy

[Rossr]

Ok this is kinda what I thought.  

 

So lets review:

All Leathers can be tanned either way and the only way to know would be to ask the tannery you buy from or if it was listed when you purchased.

Which then leads me too what happens when you buy from a secondary seller, I will use Maverick leathers as an example.  Understand I have no issue with Maverick nor am I picking on them.  I bought a couple of deer hides from them.  I didnt ask what kind or tanning nor did the listing say. I would suspect its possible that may not know either.  

So now being educated I will ask in the future of course.

 

23 minutes ago, nstarleather said:

 

Basically all leathers can be tanned any way...there is the "most common way" for some things and as far as I know tooling leather is "only veg tan" but everything else depends on the maker.

There are specific tannages from specific tanneries that are "veg" but it's not really a thing where you can say "x leather" is always chrome tanned.   Horween's Dublin, Essex, and a few others are all veg-tanned.  I've seen European veg that looks just like any any other garment weight leather.  

Pardon me if you've already read this post:

https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/vegetable-tanned-leather-much-more-variety-than-you-think/

Mike That is a great informative article and I dont think I have stumbled on that one before.    Part of the reason I posted the question was to educate not just myself but others.   Your article is great for that.  Thank you!

 

Ross

[Dun]

I wanted to ask about this topic too for making tool covers. Is it okay to store tools in Veg tan things like this or just use for travel purposes?

Edited February 5, 2018 by Dun

[kiwican]

Ive had some of my carbon steel blades in veg tan sheaths for years now. Not problems thus far 

[YinTx]

1 hour ago, Dun said:

I wanted to ask about this topic too for making tool covers. Is it okay to store tools in Veg tan things like this or just use for travel purposes?

This is my question exactly.  Also, would a heavily oiled/waxed leather like Sedgwicks be better for tools and knives?

YinTx

[Dun]

1 hour ago, kiwican said:

Ive had some of my carbon steel blades in veg tan sheaths for years now. Not problems thus far 

Unlined and rough towards the tools?

25 minutes ago, YinTx said:

This is my question exactly.  Also, would a heavily oiled/waxed leather like Sedgwicks be better for tools and knives?

YinTx

That's a good thought yin, but what oils are both good for leather and tools?

[chiefjason]

Chrome tanned can't be used for holsters is an old Wive's tale.  I believed it for a long time.  But lots of small IWB holsters are made with Chrome tan from major manufactures.  It's stiffer for it's weight than veg tanned so you can use lighter leather and get the same result IWB.  

[fredk]

If you have a bit of pigskin or deer and you want to know; try wet moulding it. Veg tan will mould, chrome tan won't [in my experience anyways]