Alligators giving me headaches... scales peeling off.

[scrapyarddog]

Finally bought my first 3 pieces of small alligator hides and immediately I'm puzzled by this revelation: if you fold the hides a certain way, the tip of some scales peel off a bit. It's probably not serious enough that it would endanger the integrity of the hides but it's enough to make me worry they would snag and eventually become unsightly. Does anyone have any suggestions? Did I just happen to have received some subpar pieces?

[Sheilajeanne]

Alligators shed their scales in order to grow:  http://www.alligatorleather.net/alligator-skin-shedding/  That's what you're seeing here. Having never worked with alligator, I can't comment on how to deal with this.

Hopefully someone else will chime in!

[mike02130]

https://jayhardtke.com/collections/alligator

This guy knows everything about gator.  I suggest you ask him.  He's in Texas.

[Sheilajeanne]

Found this: Scale slip is when a scale is loosen or detached from the skin. This is usually caused by bad preservation.

http://www.rojeleather.com/crocodile-skin-grading/

So yeah, that is not a high quality skin.  

[scrapyarddog]

4 hours ago, mike02130 said:

https://jayhardtke.com/collections/alligator

This guy knows everything about gator.  I suggest you ask him.  He's in Texas.

Thanks, I actually just placed an order for some lizard skin with them. Will definitely ask for their opinion.

 

I'm sooooo disappointed with the tannery I bought these hides from. They were marketed as 1/2 and 2/3, but for example the one piece that's graded 1/2 has 2-4 scales slipping/lifting at almost every segment in the tail area. Another one graded 1/2 has at least 1 scale slipping at EVERY segment. There's no way these are 1/2 grades... Or maybe I'm just being ignorant.

4 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Found this: Scale slip is when a scale is loosen or detached from the skin. This is usually caused by bad preservation.

http://www.rojeleather.com/crocodile-skin-grading/

So yeah, that is not a high quality skin.  

Thanks... lesson of the day... don't believe in sales and don't oder anything when you wake up 5 am in the morning...