Why grain side out?

[ScottEnglish]

Hi.

Why do leather suppliers deliver leather rolled grain side out? It makes it more likely to sustain damage. After purchase I reroll it so it is flesh side out.

Scott

[Tugadude]

No idea, but I will say that it is much easier to cut from a piece of leather that isn't curling upwards.  And since every time I cut from leather it is grain side up, the bend facilitates that or at least doesn't hinder it.

[fredk]

I've checked some of my unwrapped leather. The wrapping is inconsistent. Some is flesh out and some is grain out. What is consistent is that the different suppliers put a piece of brown wrapping paper over the grain side before rolling it, both leather and paper as one, like a Swiss Roll

Edited December 18, 2021 by fredk

[bruce johnson]

One supplier I dealt with said rolling it tight grain side in compresses it and can wrinkle the grain. The flesh side is looser and not as prone to wrinkling. I store it that way too. 

[ScottEnglish]

Tugadude: A useful observation. Thanks. I've sometimes had leather curl upwards a bit whilst cutting out parts of a pattern because of rolling it flesh side out. I'll stop rerolling it flesh side out.

fredk: Lucky you! I've bought leather from Metropolitan Leathers, J. Wood Leathers, and Abbey England. There was no paper within any of these rolls of leather. It was only on the outside. It surprises me the suppliers I've dealt with don't usually box the leather but just cover it in layers of wrapping material. I've returned a side of leather before as it had obviously been bent whilst rolled up and this had caused significant creasing. A box would have prevented this. Presuming the damage occurred during transit of course.

bruce johnson: I'll store my leather grain side out from now on. Thanks. Interestingly, the grain was wrinkled on my latest leather purchase despite being rolled grain side out.  

[fredk]

26 minutes ago, ScottEnglish said:

. . .

fredk: Lucky you! I've bought leather from Metropolitan Leathers, J. Wood Leathers, and Abbey England. There was no paper within any of these rolls of leather. It was only on the outside. It surprises me the suppliers I've dealt with don't usually box the leather but just cover it in layers of wrapping material. I've returned a side of leather before as it had obviously been bent whilst rolled up and this had caused significant creasing. A box would have prevented this. Presuming the damage occurred during transit of course.

. . .  

Le Prevo never boxed the leather sent to me but they did use a lot of corrugated cardboard around the roll which was inside a huge thick plastic 'bag'. Never had any damage. Leather bought from Tandy recently had the rolls inside carboard boxes

 

2 hours ago, Tugadude said:

No idea, but I will say that it is much easier to cut from a piece of leather that isn't curling upwards.  And since every time I cut from leather it is grain side up, the bend facilitates that or at least doesn't hinder it.

 

29 minutes ago, ScottEnglish said:

Tugadude: A useful observation. Thanks. I've sometimes had leather curl upwards a bit whilst cutting out parts of a pattern because of rolling it flesh side out. I'll stop rerolling it flesh side out.

I just use weights on the leather to hold it whilst I trace the pattern then cut out. I have a few 2kg weights which do the job. You can get bar-bell weights real cheap now