Novice buying leather

[MtlBiker]

I'm a total novice when it comes to buying leather and it seems I would have to buy from an online source without seeing the leather first.  Which makes it even more difficult for a novice.

I would be machine sewing small belt pouches to begin with, maybe to hold a leatherman or a little metal credit card holder I have (think about 6-8 credit card thickness).  I'm not sure what kind or thickness of leather I should be looking at.  I guess veg tan leather would be the right choice?  (I did buy a couple of used leather coats at a thrift store and took them apart for the leather but I find it's really too thin for what I want to make.)

I found a source online which is here in Quebec Canada (as I am) but when they list the leather with the price they don't specify how much leather that price gets you.  I'm guessing it's some kind of industry standard that you all know, but for a beginner it's all just unclear.  Here's the leather source I found.  They list two "vgni" (???), one 2-2.5 oz and the other 3-3.5 oz.  I guess the thicker one would be more appropriate for what I want to make?

And once I do get some leather, I guess I'll also need a burnishing tool, dies, and I have no idea what else.  What tools/dies/glues/etc. would you consider the basics that I should start with?

Thanks very much!

 

[fredk]

Culture differences. Here in N.I. / UK we measure leather thickness in millimetres. I can picture that thickness in my mind better than by the ounce.

Your 2 - 2.5 oz = about 0.8mm to 1mm,  your 3 - 3.5 oz = 1.2mm to 1.4mm but that link shows 3 - 3.5 as 1.1mm. I reckon that's just about too thin. For what you want I'd be going 1.6 to 2 mm. or 4 to 5 oz. 

Also, on that link, is a second menu choice, with the square footage, when you choose your thickness then choose your footage the price automatically changes

I think vgni is just the store code for veg, natural, India

There are loads of discussions on; tools, beginners, for the use of, on this ere forum. Do a search for them

[MtlBiker]

8 minutes ago, fredk said:

Culture differences. Here in N.I. / UK we measure leather thickness in millimetres. I can picture that thickness in my mind better than by the ounce.

Your 2 - 2.5 oz = about 0.8mm to 1mm,  your 3 - 3.5 oz = 1.2mm to 1.4mm but that link shows 3 - 3.5 as 1.1mm. I reckon that's just about too thin. For what you want I'd be going 1.6 to 2 mm. or 4 to 5 oz. 

Also, on that link, is a second menu choice, with the square footage, when you choose your thickness then choose your footage the price automatically changes

I think vgni is just the store code for veg, natural, India

There are loads of discussions on; tools, beginners, for the use of, on this ere forum. Do a search for them

Duh (smacking myself on the head!) for some reason that second menu choice just didn't register with me.  Thanks!

I just started sewing a year ago (during Covid isolation) and I've been slowly learning and working my way up to making things from leather.  It's too expensive to play with until having more sewing experience. 

The same place I linked to also has "European Vegged Tanned" leather... I don't know if the price is good, average or high... 1 sq. meter (converts to about 10 sq. ft.) of 4-5 oz leather costs $130 Cdn.

[Klara]

Regarding the amount of leather you'll get, it's in the lower little box (in the upper one you choose the thickness). Can $ 95.25 is for 9 to 10 square feet (foot?)

But you'll probably want European veg. tanned leather (because you can get it thicker), and there the price is in square meters (about 10 square ft. to the m2). 

(Anybody else thinks it hilarious that they sell European leather in Canada and leather from Argentina in Europe? And I wouldn't be surprised if my local shop's supply came at least in part from Tandy - many of the tools certainly do.)

(Oops, I took so long typing that the post is superfluous. But I don't see a way to delete...)

Edited April 30, 2021 by Klara

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, Klara said:

Regarding the amount of leather you'll get, it's in the lower little box (in the upper one you choose the thickness). Can $ 95.25 is for 9 to 10 square feet (foot?)

But you'll probably want European veg. tanned leather (because you can get it thicker), and there the price is in square meters (about 10 square ft. to the m2). 

(Anybody else thinks it hilarious that they sell European leather in Canada and leather from Argentina in Europe? And I wouldn't be surprised if my local shop's supply came at least in part from Tandy - many of the tools certainly do.)

(Oops, I took so long typing that the post is superfluous. But I don't see a way to delete...)

Thanks very much Klara!  I appreciate your effort to be helpful.

So, there's European leather and Argentinian leather... No Canadian or US leather?  Surely there must be.  And the other one that was on my link was Indian.

[fredk]

7 minutes ago, MtlBiker said:

So, there's European leather and Argentinian leather... No Canadian or US leather?  Surely there must be.  And the other one that was on my link was Indian.

Mentioning where the leather is from is often a marketing ploy. Basically, good leather is good leather irrespective of where it originates*  but some people, especially the end user, put large importance on where the leather is from. eg some people I've come across think Italian leather is better than Spanish or Scandinavian and these people expect to, and are willing to, pay more for something made with Italian leather.

One exception to this, European car manufacturers prefer to use Scandinavian leather as it is better. Better as far as scars and marks but not general quality. Scandinavians do not use barbed wire and they have far less tics to bite cattle, thus their hides are cleaner.

Source other leather sellers and ask if they have US or Canadian leathers, but don't ask for 'American' as that will include Mexico and all the countries in 'South America'

* a whole topic is devoted to this in another area but I'm keeping it to basics.

[MtlBiker]

8 minutes ago, fredk said:

Mentioning where the leather is from is often a marketing ploy. Basically, good leather is good leather irrespective of where it originates*  but some people, especially the end user, put large importance on where the leather is from. eg some people I've come across think Italian leather is better than Spanish or Scandinavian and these people expect to, and are willing to, pay more for something made with Italian leather.

One exception to this, European car manufacturers prefer to use Scandinavian leather as it is better. Better as far as scars and marks but not general quality. Scandinavians do not use barbed wire and they have far less tics to bite cattle, thus their hides are cleaner.

Source other leather sellers and ask if they have US or Canadian leathers, but don't ask for 'American' as that will include Mexico and all the countries in 'South America'

* a whole topic is devoted to this in another area but I'm keeping it to basics.

As a total newbie with leather, I really don't care where the leather comes from.  And I'd certainly not have the experience really to tell one quality from another.  At this point, I simply want leather thick enough to do my project as something to learn from.  So as long as the leather I get is suitable, I'd get the least expensive I can source.  I really need experience under my belt before I start working with higher quality ($) products.

 

Thank again for your help.

 

[Hardrada]

Kip doesn't burnish well. It's very soft tempered.

Now, I don't know how firm you want your pouches to be, so I won't dismiss it right off the bat, but I wouldn't use kip for that application.

[MtlBiker]

10 hours ago, Hardrada said:

Kip doesn't burnish well. It's very soft tempered.

Now, I don't know how firm you want your pouches to be, so I won't dismiss it right off the bat, but I wouldn't use kip for that application.

I'm afraid I'm such a newbie with leather that I don't understand what "kip" is.

I'd like to be able to form my pouch and I'd like it to stay fairly firm.

Here's the kind of pouch I want to make (as a first leather project)...  It's just to hold my shielded metal credit card holder and I plan to have a belt loop on the back and a snap closure.  It probably doesn't need any lining.  And I'd like the finished item to be black.  What kind of leather would you suggest for it?  I'll be machine sewing.

Thanks!

[mike02130]

This is getting pretty complicated.

Go here, https://www.oaleathersupply.com/ and buy their 3/4 oz leather.  Make a simple pouch like the one you show but eliminate that wrap-around thing covering the edge.  If you're using a machine you need nothing else.  Burnish the edges with some water and a stick.  No need line it, you're just asking for trouble.  Apply the KISS method--keep it simple s.....  After making one then you can explore further.  The horse goes in front of the cart.  Come back here and show us what you made and then we'll go from there.