Thoroughbred VS. Wicket & Craig

[GoldenAge]

Trying to decide between thoroughbred or Wicket and Craig bridle and skirting leathers to keep in stock. Would love to hear yalls opinion between the two. Thanks!

[chiefjason]

Both are very good.  I used Thoroughbred for a while and had a salesman I worked with there.  He left and I kind of got bounced around.  Tried W&C and liked their leather a bit more in the Veg tan and I always deal with the same guy there.  Oddly, the Bridle leather from Thoroughbred was better in some ways though.  They don't use the same tannery, some smaller distributors do.  So their leather is actually a bit different.  With veg tan W&C natural is really light colored while TB is a bit darker.  With the bridle TB was waxed different and struck through while W&C is a bit drier and not struck thru but in general it's firmer.  

For leather, can't go wrong with either.  Never had a CS problem with either.  The only reason I left TB was getting bounced made ordering a bit more difficult.  I could leave a message with the salesman and it got done before he left.  So if you can get one person to deal with you would likely be good to go with either.  

[nrk]

On 9/23/2019 at 8:53 PM, chiefjason said:

W&C is a bit drier and not struck thru but in general it's firmer

this is something that makes me sad - i mean, you have a tannery, you have dyes and other stuff - make it damm finished (dyed thru)
 

On 9/22/2019 at 4:31 PM, GoldenAge said:

Trying to decide between thoroughbred or Wicket and Craig bridle and skirting leathers to keep in stock. Would love to hear yalls opinion between the two. Thanks!

just to note - TB is not providing down splitting

 

[chiefjason]

9 hours ago, nrk said:

this is something that makes me sad - i mean, you have a tannery, you have dyes and other stuff - make it damm finished (dyed thru)
 

just to note - TB is not providing down splitting

 

I have not asked but I'm guessing it's a Gov/EPA thing.  W&C is tanned in the US.  TB is tanned in Mexico.  Not sure on ALD but their bridle is not struck through either.  And keep in mind, I'm dealing with 12-13 oz sides on my bridle.  

[Matt S]

10 hours ago, nrk said:

this is something that makes me sad - i mean, you have a tannery, you have dyes and other stuff - make it damm finished (dyed thru)

Through-dyeing affects how the leather handles and works, and is not always possible with all different finishing methods. I know of one tannery and several curriers who use hand-colouring (sometimes by brush, sometimes by sprayer), especially for small batches. I'd rather they do that and get the type of leather I want than they tumble it all through a dye bath. It's really no hassle to colour the edges.

[JerseyFirefighter]

4 hours ago, chiefjason said:

I have not asked but I'm guessing it's a Gov/EPA thing.  W&C is tanned in the US.  TB is tanned in Mexico.  Not sure on ALD but their bridle is not struck through either.  And keep in mind, I'm dealing with 12-13 oz sides on my bridle.  

They offer struck through services if you buy 50 sides and get your own "run" as they will be dyed to your specs. Nothing against W&C, but I found their bridle and latigo (besides not being struck through) has a much different appearance and feel over thoroughbred. Thoroughbred does have limitations of stock at times so you should plan your material needs ahead of time. 

 

I was also ordering with them around the time they had their dedicated salesman like W&C has a few, and I find ordering a bit easier now with thoroughbred you are always speaking with either Jeff or Brian anyway.