I think I bought the wrong type of leather to practice on? Or....

[battlemunky]

Ha ha ha, sucker! I stepped in this trap about 6 years ago and only find myself deeper and deeper. There was just no way I was gonna pay $150 for that sheath...

[tsunkasapa]

Since many others have offered you advice on leather, I will refrain to keep things simple. What I WOULD suggest, is, rather than just "USA" for your location, put your ACTUAL location so we could direct you to regional sources. Here in the Northwest we have several very good, very helpful leather dealers, and I'm sure that others have the same. So, help US help YOU. I promise not to send you spam!

[TestTube]

On 4/6/2020 at 7:56 PM, tsunkasapa said:

Since many others have offered you advice on leather, I will refrain to keep things simple. What I WOULD suggest, is, rather than just "USA" for your location, put your ACTUAL location so we could direct you to regional sources. Here in the Northwest we have several very good, very helpful leather dealers, and I'm sure that others have the same. So, help US help YOU. I promise not to send you spam!

I live in south Jersey (New Jersey) USA.

On 4/6/2020 at 8:56 AM, Frodo said:

Go to this site and buy this item.   it will give you an idea of  the different size leather 

 

https://www.springfieldleather.com/2lbs-Lightweight-Veg-Tan-Scrap

Soooo, it arrived !!!!...aaand....okay still new, don't bite my head off, but here's the quote from that link:

About two pounds of vegetable tanned leather pieces that are great for small projects like linings, wallet backs, embossing, notebook covers and much more. These are lightweight pieces (2-6 oz.) that are a mix of import veg tan and Hermann Oak leather. Naturally great for tooling. Total accumulation of pieces is roughly 8 sq. ft. of leather.

And here's what I received:

Okay now, what am I to expect for 22$ right?, aaand YES I did buy this to practice with and to test out different thicknesses, but you tell me, is that right there what I should have been expecting?

Basically I'm asking you guys to be angry or happy for me so I can jump on the bandwagon.

EDIT: (Let me just be clear that I wasn't expecting 8 square feet of beautiful unblemished leather, but I definitely was at least *hoping* for some pieces useable for a small project that I wouldn't want to throw away when I was done, oh well heh. The picture on the website and that picture reminds me of the McDonalds' Big Mac commercials)

Edited April 10, 2020 by TestTube

[Frodo]

 

Put it on a scale. is it 2 pounds or not? 

 

If it is 2 pounds then you received exactly what was advertised  If it is not 2 pounds call Springfield and tell them they fudged up

 

let me introduce you to some of that blemished leather

 

Looks pretty good once stained...

 

 

[TestTube]

Alright. Until I get the rest of the tools I ordered I can't really do much for now anyway. That does look nice in your picture though so I will have to see in the future. 

I'm wondering how imperfections like this happen. Are these where the animal was bruised somehow? Or is there really no way to tell / maybe you'd have to see it in person?

It's as if someone took a hammer and smacked parts of the leather at random and/or shaved away parts on the back. I'm not even sure what I would call those "dips" in the leather...they're not just aesthetically unpleasing, they're actually like almost holes. The leather is clearly weaker at those spots, like I could easily rip them open with my bare hands and very little force if I was so inclined.

Anyways...it IS two pounds and I won't be doing any complaining to Springfield. These pieces will serve their purpose regardless. I need to buy myself some dyes now though which I was gonna do anyway.

[tsunkasapa]

I have done business with these folks a couple times and was satisfied with the service. They are down in North Carolina. I don't know if the quality is any better, but their veg-tan scrap is running 3lbs for $16.

https://www.zackwhite.com/

A couple that I use more frequently are;

https://maverickleathercompany.com/

https://montanaleather.com/

And finally, here are some double shoulders that Weaver has a good deal on. It IS heavier than what you were thinking of, but it is a good sized piece for not much more than you paid for the scrap.

https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/lot-190507/veg-tanned-natural-double/pr_60902/cp_/shop-now/clearance

Hope any of this helps.

[battlemunky]

I usually buy sides or shoulders but I've never seen leather that looks like what you posted @TestTube. You will at least get the feel of vegtan and be able to make a few small projects. I don't know if I'd even try tooling that because it'll be really hard to tell if you are doing it right with that odd texture. In all honesty though, chances of you making a sellable item right out of the gate is low so you may as well beat up some less than awesome leather. Even poking holes teaches you something so you have a viable medium to learn from.

As soon as the COVID madness leaves I'd recommend hitting a Tandy or some other brick and mortar store so you can touch some stuff until you learn enough to buy a nice piece online. I'm gonna be honest though, I'd have thought Springfield would've done better on a remnant box than that.

[billybopp]

9 hours ago, TestTube said:

I'm wondering how imperfections like this happen. Are these where the animal was bruised somehow? Or is there really no way to tell / maybe you'd have to see it in person?

SLC did a youtube vid awhile ago which showed how they collect their leather scraps - they keep them in BIG carts - something like a hotel dirty laundry cart.  I'd suspect that what you got came from the bottom of the cart, and the dents and scratches that you see are from the weight of all that leather atop.   There's no way to know for sure, but that's my theory and I'll stick to it!

Nevertheless it'll be good for practice, and as stated above - put those flaws to use to your advantage exercising your creativity!

- Bill

[LumpenDoodle2]

2 minutes ago, billybopp said:

SLC did a youtube vid awhile ago which showed how they collect their leather scraps - they keep them in BIG carts - something like a hotel dirty laundry cart.  I'd suspect that what you got came from the bottom of the cart, and the dents and scratches that you see are from the weight of all that leather atop.   There's no way to know for sure, but that's my theory and I'll stick to it!

Nevertheless it'll be good for practice, and as stated above - put those flaws to use to your advantage exercising your creativity!

- Bill

I’d agree with that.   You’ve been sent all the seriously  blemished leather offcuts (the dregs, you might say).   You can still get good practice out of them, but save your money for better stuff next time.     

Don’t worry, though, I would imagine everyone on here has experience of being sent ‘interesting’ leather off cuts when starting.   I certainly remember being sent dyed chrome leather offcuts, which the seller had advertised as tooling leather offcuts.

He definitely came off my Xmas card list.

[fredk]

6 minutes ago, LumpenDoodle2 said:

 Don’t worry, though, I would imagine everyone on here has experience of being sent ‘interesting’ leather off cuts when starting.   I certainly remember being sent dyed chrome leather offcuts, which the seller had advertised as tooling leather offcuts.

Not just in starting out. Last year, just before Tandy Manchester closed, to top up an order, they offered me about 8sq ft of belly leather cheap-ish. I got it, and got taken. It was bits about 6 ft long varying from 1/2 inch wide to 2 inches wide. Covered in clamp marks and scars. 10 strips of useless is what I got.

 

PS: where ya bin LD2?