What Type of Leather Is This?

[Sheilajeanne]

Hoping this is a better place for my question - no one was paying any attention to it in Leatherwork Conversation!

I had a wonderful gift given to me yesterday - a very large half hide, measuring 45" at its widest point, and more than 8 ft. long along the spine! But I'm stumped as to what sort of leather it is! The color is very close to veg tan, and I don't see evidence it's been dyed, though it's a bit darker than the veg tan I'm used to seeing. The grain side is smooth and soft, and feels almost like suede, but doesn't have a nap. It also won't stamp or tool, so I KNOW it's not veg-tan. The piece I cut off to play around with is about 6 oz. and it seems to have a pretty uniform thickness throughout the hide Lots of things I'm going to be able to do with this!!

The only markings on the flesh side are a number, 215, with what looks to be a W stamped in front of it. The arms of the W are very thick, and it looks almost like 2 inverted pyramids side by side. Anyone know what tannery that might represent?

If it would be helpful, I can post a picture.

[fredk]

I read it over there.

All I can think of is its a chrome tanned split.

Good for thin belts, lining thicker belts or for making handbags/shoulder bags with a 'rustic' look

[Sheilajeanne]

Fred, you'd use 6 oz. leather to LINE a belt? That's pretty thick!

[fredk]

1 hour ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Fred, you'd use 6 oz. leather to LINE a belt? That's pretty thick!

yup. 6 oz = 2.4mm, Main belt also about 2.4, = about 5mm, the minimum sort of thickness for a sword belt. Sword weighs in at 1.25 to 2 Kg. Some sword users like to wear the scabbard as well, thats another 1kg with its bits. Too thin or too light  a leather and the belt just twists and collapses

I only ever had to do a really thick belt, 6.5mm or so once.   Most sword belts were in the region of 4 to 4.5 mm

1 oz = 0.4mm

6 oz = 2.4mm

5 mm = 12.5 oz

6.5mm = 16 oz

4 mm = 10 oz

[Sheilajeanne]

I don't think this leather is chrome tanned. In my rather limited experience with leathers other than veg tanned, I would think chrome tanned would feel like a leather couch. This is much finer than that, like I said, it feels like suede, but without the nap. Will post a picture soon. Oh, and the flesh side looks natural to me, not like a split. But again, could be wrong...

[LatigoAmigo]

14 minutes ago, Sheilajeanne said:

I would think chrome tanned would feel like a leather couch.

Latigo leather (combination-tanned, both veg- and chrome-tanned) comes close to matching your description. Over the years, I've purchased latigo from different sources, and find that finishes range from very firm to very supple. Your hide makes me think of the latter. What throws me off is its size. Maybe you could show us a photo.

[Arturomex]

Nubuck?

[Sheilajeanne]

Could be, but wouldn't Nubuck have a definite nap to it? I did read the Wikipedia description of Nubuck, and yes, the leather did darken temporarily when I applied water. The colour is similar to the nubuck shoe shown on the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubuck#:~:text=Nubuck (pronounced %2Fˈnjuː,may be white or coloured.

As for latigo leathers, the ones I've seen are very shiny on the grain side, due to the waxes and oils used to repel moisture. This leather isn't. Will get some pics up ASAP.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Sheilajeanne

[Sheilajeanne]

Okay, here are the photos. First one show flesh and grain sides, next one shows tanner's stamp.

 

[LatigoAmigo]

Very similar to some Horween latigo that I picked up from Maverick Leather some years ago. My leather appears to be a little lighter in color, but the grain on this looks very much like yours.

Edited June 15, 2020 by LatigoAmigo

[Sheilajeanne]

Yes, that is very similar!  And I can tell from the feel of the leather that it's definitely high quality, so could be Horween. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Sheilajeanne

[bussted2]

What does the leather smell like??  If it smells of urine it is probably from Mexico or possibly Chile. They both tan with urine.

[Sheilajeanne]

It smells like leather, not urine. I'm not an expert in judging leather, but it seems to be quite high quality.

[jcuk]

On 7/14/2020 at 2:58 AM, bussted2 said:

What does the leather smell like??  If it smells of urine it is probably from Mexico or possibly Chile. They both tan with urine.

Have you ever had the misfortune to come across leather from India/Pakistan if you have then you will know what smelly leather is, tanned in urine and gods knows what else i will leave you to guess what the gods else is.

 

JCUK

[Sheilajeanne]

Can't say I have, but I once bought a cheap chequebook cover made out of eelskin that stank of mildew.

This smells like that expensive leather jacket you know you can't afford to buy. I really really, got a very nice gift from a man who was cleaning out his house in preparation for a move. Both the feel and the smell of this leather say 'excellent quality' to me.