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Best online leather supplier?????
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Hivernant
posted
Need some help???

can you share your favorite supplier of leather
for building shooting bags,knife sheaths etc.???

All I can find local is 3 lbs. bags of scrap in 8 weight.
Thank You...Dan
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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Your best bet online is probably Tandy. Crazy Crow just sent me some buffalo splits that were absolute garbage so stay away from them. I'm lucky in that we have a shop in Kalispell that caters to blackpowder and craftsmen. Not only can I buy genuine blackpowder but they have some locally tanned leather that's excellent quality. If only my leather working skills were of as good a quality!
 
Posts: 214 | Location: Big Arm Montana | Registered: 17 September 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Thanks for the tip on crazy crow..What is the name of the shop in Kapsell????
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Might try Ebay. There are alot of deer and elk hides on there. Also, Paulettes Fur Company. They have hides, tanned fur and more.
 
Posts: 127 | Registered: 10 October 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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There's a leather supplier on e bay who goes by the name of the leather guy. I've seen some commercial braintan that came from him, both buffalo and elk, it was smoked and it seemed very good.
 
Posts: 507 | Registered: 14 August 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Posts: 507 | Registered: 14 August 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of Sage Rider
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I have used the Leather Guy on eBay a lot...and he has never failed me. Always provides good stuff!


"Don't Retreat, just reload"
 
Posts: 411 | Location: Oregon Territory | Registered: 26 February 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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quote:
Originally posted by fowl:
Thanks for the tip on crazy crow..What is the name of the shop in Kapsell????

Powder Horn Trading Company
 
Posts: 214 | Location: Big Arm Montana | Registered: 17 September 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Larryp....GotIt! Good Throw!
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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sage N scoundrel thank you..
Can't get past pay-pal...
May take some other form of payment.????
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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never thought finding 3-5 oz natural colored leather would be an issue.
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of Notchy Bob
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For sheaths and so forth, I'm assuming you want vegetable tanned leather. There's always Tandy. Brettuns Village Leather Supply may also be a possible source. They seem to be a small outfit. I have not dealt with them, but I believe they were recommended on this forum at some point in the past. Ragnar, at Ragweed Forge, recommended Waterhouse Leather as a good source. I have no experience with them.

I ordered some smoked commercial braintan buffalo hide from the Leather Guy a few years ago. I was very happy with the transaction and quality of the leather. It might be a little too flexible for a sheath, but would be good for shooting bags, quivers, and some types of moccasins. The only problem was that it smelled like creosote. The odor was unbelievably strong. I had to improvise a rack on the back porch and let it air for six weeks (I'm not kidding) before the stink dissipated. Now, it's fine. Good leather at a fair price.

The comment about split leather above is noted. I have not had good success with split leather of any kind, and no longer buy it. Thongs cut from it are weak and prone to breakage, stitches tear out, thickness and suppleness of the hide are uneven, and unless it is very thin, it tends to be stiff. This should not be a reflection on the dealer who sells it, unless they misrepresent the product. Crazy Crow has been serving the blackpowder community for several decades, and I have ordered from them many times, with no complaints. I would not hesitate to order from them again.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob


"Should have kept the old ways just as much as I could, and the tradition that guarded us. Should have rode horses. Kept dogs."

from The Antelope Wife
 
Posts: 333 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 May 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Notchy Bob ..Thank You...we have one Tandy store in the state..2 hrs south...
will check out the other references you posted..
Not interested in splits..Vegetable tanned is what I need.
Would love to touch and feel the leather before purchasing....
I'm a green horn to leather work...

"Thanks to all that took time to post and share"

Hope this "environment" can carry to the new site!!
Put another log on the fire....Dan
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
Picture of Ohio Rusty
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There is also a fellow over on Frontier Folk named Kent Klein that sells leather. You might contact him to see what he currently has available.
Ohio Rusty ><>
Purveyor and Blacksmith
The Ohio Frontier Forge
 
Posts: 19 | Location: Falls of the Hockhocking, Ohio | Registered: 28 May 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of GreyWolf
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quote:
Originally posted by fowl:
Vegetable tanned is what I need.
Would love to touch and feel the leather before purchasing....
I'm a green horn to leather work...

....Dan


FWIW - I am a full-time leather smith and have been for 50 years so take this advice as is - while the other places noted sell some good leather (Tandy's quality for instance unfortunately is far too often all over the map to satisfy me) if you looking for a supplier with the best of the best offerings in veg tan (actually old style pit tanned)then I suggest RJF Leather

http://rjfleather.com/content/index.php/products/

Roger will send you free swatches but the leather is the best being offered out there
I use mostly the Natural full grain double shoulder that average 13 square feet in various weights dependent on the project...


aka Chuck Burrows
 
Posts: 616 | Location: Southern Rockies | Registered: 03 April 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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"Thank You" Grey Wolf
Heading to their web page now....Outstanding....Dan
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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I buy Tandy, but only because I'm close to one of their stores, and can hand pick. I would advise against buying mail order from them. I was there 2 weeks ago. They had a lot of leather, but I found only one piece in the whole store that was suitable for making sheaths. Even their best grade was not as good as their economy grade used to be. All was scarred, had holes, scrapes, gouges, ect. and none was even near uniform in thickness. Thickness used to be labeled in a variation of two ounces, such as 3 to 4, 6 to 7. Now the labels read as 3 variables, and I saw a lot that could run into 4. All we saw was marked "Mexico". Could be just the time of year, but if they don't improve, I will be buying else where.
 
Posts: 557 | Location: geneva,fl | Registered: 29 March 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
Picture of Stophel
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Tandy (The Leather Factory) has definitely decreased in quality the past few years.

I have recently gotten some nice stuff from The Leather Guy

www.theleatherguy.org
 
Posts: 48 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: 02 August 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
Picture of Woodyrock
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On line, I deal with Leather Unlimited. They have always supplied good quality material, and have catered to the the blackpowder market for years. They also put up scrap leather in small lots of good quality. I recently got a couple of buff ropes for an order, and had a hard time letting them go. They were brain tan soft.
Directly from the store, I use McPherson's in Seattle.
Tandy is not to be trusted unless hand picking.
Woody
 
Posts: 36 | Location: Wet side of Warshington | Registered: 30 April 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of Josh Crain
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I mail order from Tandy Leather, and they've worked just fine for me. I always get good quality leather for a fair price. Though, I'll be sure to check out several of these other sources to see if I can get better deals.


"Return unto me, and I will return unto you," saith the Lord of hosts.
~Malachi 3:7b
 
Posts: 297 | Location: MI | Registered: 18 August 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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