Understanding the Different Types of Leather
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- čas přidán 17. 01. 2024
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FYI I misspoke! Every oz of leather is .4mm, not 4mm, lol. So, 1oz = .4mm, 2oz = .8mm, 3oz = 1.2mm, and so on!
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#leathercraft #LeatherGuide #skilltree #CraftingEssentials #diyprojects #leatherworking #artisancrafts #LeatherTypes #craftingcommunity #beginnersguide - Jak na to + styl
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FYI I misspoke! Every oz of leather is .4mm, not 4mm, lol. So, 1oz = .4mm, 2oz = .8mm, 3oz = 1.2mm, and so on!
That makes more sense now. I was picturing one hell of a THICCCC (with 27 C's) leather!
I was wondering about that. I did the math and wow that would've been thick leather.
Thank you for this video. 😊it was very helpful. I'm one of those with no local lether retailers so online ordering it is. But this video needs a chart for all the various letters. I may need to re watch this a few times and write one out. 😅 great information 👍
I was just coming to correct what you said there, so I'm glad I found this. I use 3 to 4 ounce chrome tan usually when I make purses and wallets and such. For anyone wanting to get in to leather working this guide would be very helpful.
Thanks for the correction lol
..I was like wait a minute...
Oil tan is perfect for cloaks. As you said, it's fabric like so it flows comfortably while wearing and is more water resistant. I still like to heat up the leather and rub in a beeswax mix. Makes it a bit stiffer, but handles water better and will soften over time
you forgot half-tan, which is leather that has gone through the tanning process (usually vegtan) but pulled out before the tanning solution has fully penetrated the leather, leaving the core as rawhide and the exterior layer tanned. useful for shield-facing and armor.
on leather armor, SCA minimum thickness standard for leather contact fighting armor is 12oz iirc.
This is a good one to bring up. I have actually been looking for a source for half-tan leather; I have seen it recommended for making the soles of moccasins and turn-shoes but I have not found an outlet that sells it.
Additionally if you live in port cities, there is usually wholesale supply houses you can find things at. Los Angeles because of the movie industry we have the garment district and there are about 10 wholesale shops you can go and spend a fraction of the cost of a side of leather. I buy 9 oz side for about $60 (cash is king at wholesale places -even without a resale license 😜)
So Jelly cause yall also have fabric thrift stores like Remainders.
I showed your vids to a friend and now she’s hooked. She doesn’t do leather work but now that I’m getting into it she’s asking me to make some of your items so thank you for this! I wasn’t sure what leather to use.
Ask her to help you make them. It'll make the items a little more special in the end and it's a fun activity to do together
@@imdonewithyall I have her help with the designs. That girl is not coordinated and has broken multiple needles from my sewing machines and from hand sewing. She can help with the looks but just tell me how she wants it. Some of my things aren’t cheap. Lol
Clever just a heads up. I was talking to one of the managers at a local Tandys, and he said they are slowly closing brick and mortars to go to an online only platform. We had 5 or 6 in my area, and now we are down to 2, and he said they are closing another one in a few months. We had 3 during Black Friday, and by spring, the greater Houston area will be down to one. He also said they would reduce some stock, but most will be shipped back to their disruption center. No crazy clearance sale. 😢
Another type of leather hobby crafters may come across is Latigo. It is basically double-tanned with both veg and chrome processes and also oiled. It was used a lot in things like boots, horse bridles, and whips. It is pricey, but can be amazing in the right project.
thanks clever for these 'new person to leather' videos. would've so loved these when i started. keep up the awesome work.
1 oz leather is 1/64th inch thick. 8oz = 8/64th = 1/8th inch
it is also the actual weight of 1 square foot at that thickness.
suggestion: your drink glass should get fuller as the episode goes on instead of getting emptier... that would be so cool!!!
For book covers I actually recommend goat skin, based on both videos I've watched from bookbinders on CZcams, and my own experience doing it. Cow leather can work if you can find it thin enough or can thin it yourself, but goat leather is already really thin and just needs a little more thinning in areas like the spine and the corners and from what I've seen, it's generally veg tanned and you can buy it dyed or plain.
The goat skin ones is more of a straight price thing where a single book cover is, normally, the right size for a single skin of leather there
@AzraelThanatos I'm not 100% certain what you said, but I, and binders I've seen on CZcams have always gotten a whole hide and cut out the pieces they need
Brain tan is amazing for traditional garments. I believe Oetzi's clothing had some brain tan in it. Last time I saw some for sale it was in the $45 a square foot. I made it once and it is worth every penny. I have used it for 19th century native american inspired rifle cases. Great stuff!
Thank you so much for making this Clever, this is really helpful. As someone who knows nothing about leather as a fabric, this type of video is super useful!
Love the commitment to saying "this skill" no matter how directional the intro 😂
A lot of the places that sell leather like Weaver or Buckleguy have samples of the leather you can buy. Its really handy to have on hand. You can see and handle small pieces of the leather to help you decide what you need for your project.
Just throwing this out there: leather Orc armor using Rawhide for Bone like armor! That would be stoke!
I am so desperately envious that you actually have a Tandy Leather store near you.
Invaluable info. Thanks man!
I like to use horse leather. Maverick leather is a preferred supplier. They do second runs craft cuts ect. You’re able to get nice leathers for a great price.
Been watching your channel for awhile and i think with your wood skills and your textile skills and leather skills you could make a hobos camper its basically a 4 framed tent with a door you already have the tent all youd need is to find away to make canvaced frames that can be taken apart from the tent would be cool to see and the frames and door would allow winter camping
I like the way you young kids share information. You gave a very good program for leather. Well worth keeping track of to review when wanted.
Just picked up leatherwork because of you, perfect video for a beginner!
That's what we were hoping for!! We want to make content that helps people get into the hobby themselves
I love some Nubuck. Frogjelly leather has had a screaming good deal on Red Nubuck for the last few months.
Springfield leather sells by the square foot and has decent prices. Minimum shipping seems to be around $20 which kinds of sucks, but they have a wide range of products in a wide range of quality.
No, I don't work for them. I just really like their service lol
Don't sleep on chrome tan for projects that need to take a beating. Even finished properly, a veg tan will accumulate scratches and wrinkles over time (which might be nice for certain projects) and even stretch a bit when faced with great forces over a prolonged time. Chrome tan, especially the upholstery kind, is a lot stronger that veg tan with the same thicknes and designed to avoid this and will work better for seats or very heavy bags. So for projects that need to be withstand a lot of force but still be relatively light or compactable, chrome tan might be prefereable to a thick veg tan.
It's also often easier to get for beginners, I started out with leftover pieces that I got online because upholsteries often need to throw out/sell large pieces if there are any rips or flaws because they won't work for a couch anymore.
Then: "I have no idea what any of this stuff is."
Now: "Let me tell you what all of this stuff is."
Truly leveling up.
There is the boot camp convention that’s brand new, but I’ve heard it’s worth going to. You get to see artisans conducting their craft and talk with other like minded people. The boot camp I believe is run by “stitchdown”, but I could be mistaking that for the competition he runs called, patina thunderdome.
Thank you for all the leather working content!
Hi Skilltree guy, hope you are having a lovely day.
This video was awesome!
I learnt so much from it.
I also checked out a couple of other topics from your channel and I enjoyed every second of it!
You rock, I love the projects you are doing and on top its super usefull for a crazy guy like me who loves to make stuff himself.
Keep up the inspiring work you are doing.
Greetings from the mountain country Austria :)
Also Maverick leather supply, Acadia leather is great to pick up leather with free shipping, and of course the guys at District leather supply are absolutely great for that high end leather and always willing to help out.
Very informative, well done. Thanks for everything you do.
Another useful video; thank you 👏
I've worked a lot of😢 leathers for my projects. This video has opened some learning opportunities. Thank you.
there is also my favorite which is Latigo leather which is treated with both the Chrome and Vegetable processes
Lots of information. Thanks 😊
thank you!
This was a great episode, i just normally get scraps of Leather at Axeman surplus where i live, but now i can sort it and know what would be best to use for my projects!
Your Tandy is much better stocked than mine. Many websites will sell you swatches of their leathers.
Now do leather dyes, paints and glues. I have found that some glues just don’t work on some leathers, and that can be very frustrating.
I hoped if there was ever going to be an episode sponsored by Tandy Leather it would have been this one! One day...
Another thing about Vegtan, it is safe to laser cut and engrave where chemical tanned leathers could produce harmful fumes.
One thing in particularly I would 💓❤️LOVE❤️💓 to see how to make using #Leather are leather mask that of different animals faces for a like a masquerade party, sneaking/blending in
to places, or maybe your character is some kind of animal/human hybrid of the likes of such a Dog…🐶, Wolf…🐺, Fox…🦊, Cat…🐱, Tiger …🐯, Lion…🦁, Owl…🦉, Bear…🐻Eagle…🦅, Horse…🐴, Frog…🐸 & so on. As well as leather mask for Daredevil. Maybe Deadpool just off the top of my head.
The information you gave is very useful to me! I got a bunch of leather from a friend; all kinds of different types other than veg tanned. I guess I’ll have to head over to Tandy’s and get a piece to try out. In the bunch of leather I got from this friend was, what found out, was bonded leather. It seems to have an outside/external surface that is quite smooth, a center layer of white leather, and a layer of rough like inner surface. It sews up nice but any edges showing have to be dyed to the same tone as the top or bottom layer. I found that it’s hard on anything sharp: rotary cutter blades, Skivers, edgers, punches and needles ( hand or machine ). From what I’ve read is that it’s ground up scraps mixed with glue of sorts and bonded together.
That was a good overview but I think you missed vegtan splits. I dont think tandy carries them. So when they take a hide from 12 oz to say 6oz they run it through a system that splits off the topgrain so that would be the 6oz leather. The remainder is called a split. When you find them they tend to be very cheep, I paid $30 for a whole hide of 6oz split. It is stiff and strong like vegtan but does not have the topgrain. I tend to use mine for backing when im working with a soft leather that I need to add some stiffness to.
Works well for lining holsters and sword sheaths.
Great work my friend. Can u make some dwarven build like costume, gear, and props?
@Skilltree One thing about milled leather is it can be tooled also
Just came across your page and have binged more than half of your videos already. Love your work and what you have going on here. I've noticed you like to have a drink at the start of each video. Just an idea maybe do your openings with your drink mix so we can enjoy those same drinks with you. Social hour and skill tree time. Either way, roll on and let's skill up.
Remember when Tandy used to sell radios and components to fix them in a shack?
I went to the Tandy HQ in Ft. Worth, Texas, OMG! So much stuff. I got out only spending $200. I now wish I had bought a lot more.
Thanks for the millimiter clarification!
FYI I misspoke! Every oz of leather is .4mm, not 4mm, lol. So, 1oz = .4mm, 2oz = .8mm, 3oz = 1.2mm, and so on!
I'm not sure why but I understood that the first time 😅
Thanks for the video! Now i Know there is a Tandy Leather store right near me that I never knew about.
Love Tandy... but there is also Buckskin which gets different varieties too. Hugs from Esquimalt
You need to mention with chrome tanned leathers. Can do damage to metals so if you have a sheath made from chrome tan leather. You should not leave your blade in it for a long period of time. Also, all suede leathers are chrome tan.
Listening to this surrounded by my leather working stuff while working on a belt for reck... knew most of it, though now I'm curious about the milled leather
Can’t recommend it enough! If you want to see it in use, we used it for our Staff of the Traveler seat. 😁
The leatber trade shows are all out west....there's the sheridan show in Wyoming, and another one i can't remember in Texas.
Straight up though, you should reach out to Tandy. If you shop with them often they like to hear from their customers. Youd be surprised. :)
1:41
Hey I've shopped at that tandy b4!❤🎉 I know that veg tan assortment anywhere! 💯🌹🔥
"I can always find use for little pieces of leather" Oh yeah, Kit? Name 3 uses for the little plugs from your rotary hole punch
My comment section has trained me well! Pin cushion, bean bag, diorama making, putting them in resin for decor, boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew!!
@@SkillTree I'll remember that last tip if I ever get stuck on a Sierra Nevada mountain pass in the middle of winter on my way to California.
That viking helmet in the background i love them 😍 😍
Have you heard of Rabbitstick gathering? It is a primitive skills gathering full of classes on things like braintanning leather and making moccasins
I highly recommend Tandy.. My store In Harrisburg, Pa. have always been helpful and very knowledgeable
A great resource! Figuring out some of those details is hard to do on your own because there's conflicting information, and of course the influx of those weird bot-created websites that scrape data from everywhere regardless of its quality. I was trying to find out if it's true that chrome tanned leather can rust or tarnish metal and couldn't find a definitive answer, and every other search result was a bot site. D: So thanks for this! I never did figure out the chrome than thing for sure, though apparently modern chrome tanning is more refined than it used to be so it's probably not going to cause tarnishing or skin issues if it's well made, but I didn't find much real data. I made pouches to hold and carry my lockpicking tools, and used veg tan just to be safe. Also veg tan smells nice lol
I make Buckskin leather on a micro Tannery scale, I use egg yolks instead of brain matter and source the hides locally. I would be happy to send you some if you are interested in using it for a project? P.S. They would be coming from Scotland.
There is a tradeshow in Prescott, Arizona, Feb 23-25. You would be a great addition to their presenting artist.
Does it cost money to get into this trade show? I live down in Phoenix and have been looking for exactly something like that to try to get more interest from people.
@@randelldawson666
This is my first trade show, but I don’t see any fee to visit the trade booth floor.
Yeah, I should have refreshed the comments before making mine...😂
Another excellent video!
I'm starting to get really frustrated, I've been able to practice and make some items but its all been chrometan (ofcuts from an apholstery store). I'm in the UK, and finding a retailer for vegtan (or any leather really) that doesnt cost an absolute fortune seems impossible, I think here its a very niche hobby, which keeps prices quite prohibitive for a beginner. 😢
For finishes, there's also a newer thing where it's a pattern pressed method into vegtan leather with a setup for making a kind of pseudo-scale pattern that comes dyed because the process of making it tends to seal the leather at the same time. But it's a more consistent and easy to handle leather compared to the more common reptile leathers.
You mean embossed leathers? Like the snake skin and croc skin ones? Those are definitely good options if you don't want to or can't shell out the money for the actual exotic leathers. Croc and alligator especially are crazy expensive.
Cool!!!
Thick oil tan is great for chaps. Remember chrome tan can be painted with what is used for car seats. Don't want to say a brand or I will be in trouble with ytube. Moose, elk and bison make longer lasting moccasins or boots. Pig and goat are great glove leather.
Distant Drums leather is a great online company that has some affordable leather if you don't have a leather dealer close to you.
You forgot Latigo leather. It is both Chrome and Veg tanned and then infused with oil and tumbled. Or did you clump it in with Oil tans?
You know, I've never heard of that one! I'll have to look it up
@@SkillTree it is designed to provide both flexibility of chrome tan with the body and strength of veg tan but like chrome it cannot be tooled but can be hot stamped. Originally designed for whips is what I found when I first heard about it.
Depends on who makes the Latigo some of its straight veg tan.
@@warofwrath well I do know from investigation that Latigo is always tanned twice once in chromium and then in Veg.
It is interesting hearing the different versions from place to place
@@SkillTree True latigo that is fully re-tanned is just a little softer than veg tan but has its full strength; but won't take dyes as well because of all the oils most tanneries put in it.
I've been stripping leather furniture that people toss out on bulk garbage day.❤
Oh dang how cool that you get free material and are recycling!
@SnowFox102 that's the thing, I was like, tossing out leather that I could turn into midevil garb for us!!! Right! Rich people do it like every 2 years. Got to scout the new huge home communities on bulk garbage day. Which is once a month here with Waste Management.
You forgot Latigo.
latigo leather, a cowhide that is distinguished by its particularity of undergoing two successive tannings, first a mineral tanning with chrome and then a vegetable tanning, giving it particular characteristics.
It is considered a "pull-up" leather because it undergoes a treatment that makes it particularly "greasy", distinguishing it from other vegetable tanned leathers.
Latigo leather is mainly used in the manufacture of shoes and boots because it is extremely resistant and patina incredibly well with time. Indeed, thanks to its double tanning, it is more resistant than other pull up leathers but also more flexible than other vegetable tanned leathers, which makes it incredibly versatile and therefore appreciated by many designers, despite its high price.
Also I'm just trying to be helpful and not nitpicky. I had noticed you didn't mention Latigo and wanted to makes sure people knew about it :D Keep up the great work, Clever.
1 oz leather is 0.4mm or 1/64 of an inch thick
the oz is the weight of one square foot of the leather.
Thanks, I was wondering where the ounce weight came from. I knew it had to be the weight of a given measurement but hadn't found what the measurement was.
Cool 😀
Hello. A not so on topic question.
Is there a way to harden a finished leather product?
Recently I bought myself a bow holster. The product however is from very soft leather. Therefore I cannot put the bow in the holster with one hand, but I have to do this with two hands. I kind of want it as hardened as a regular leather arrow quiver.
Is there a difference between the source of the leather? By source I mean beef, horse, sheep, goat, deer etc..
Good video Clever
There is! He touched on it but you kinda have to see for yourself how they vary. It's not just thickness, but also texture and how flexible it is. Pig leather is soft and is usually chrome tanned to make it even softer, for example. But don't get confused by the names, it's very common for cow leather to be treated in a way to make it look and feel like leather from another animal: "Mustang" is still cow, for example. There are even leathers imitating rhino! It can be difficult to determine what animal a leather came from, they're not always clearly labeled. The ray skins and crocodile backstraps in the video are from those animals, but most of the other stuff is cow.
Mostly in what's called the temper or flexibility/softness....horse being very stiff, and goat being very flexible...
Deer is my favorite, thin but very strong and abrasion resistant; at the same time the grain comes off readily if you want to for brain tanning. Deer is the best for this sort of true buckskin because it has dense fibers in the dermis and a somewhat weakley attached epidermis so 1) wet scraping is possible while 2) you don't rip it to sherds while wet scraping! Sheep and goat are very thin, and sheep swade is often used as an imitation buckskin, but its much weaker. Horse is its own category. It has supper dense fibers; which in the butt patches with will form a light reflective surface (called shell cordovan) if you shave it down to the basement membrane, wax and buff it (this is what patent leather was patented to imitate in a cheaper form.) Deer have the supper hard butt patches to; but to a lesser degree and even on a skin from a gigantic buck the thick patch is at most 3" across...so no shell cordovan from deer! Cow is not the strongest leather relative to thickness, but it the strongest leather on the market because it is so stupid thick! Ug it is a monster to try and scrape a full cow hide! Several have kicked my butt! But, if you take that thick harness leather and shave it down to the same thickness as a deer skin the deer will win the strength test...and then in turn get beaten by kangaroo. Pig is very nice, thin and soft, when finished but is a big mess to tan because of all the oils in it. It is also pretty easily ripped...relative to leather, that is. Don't use hog skins for armor, chaps, mocs, ect. Use it for something thin and flexible that won't be in direct contact with rocks and thorns; then use deer or cow for the rough and tumble stuff.
@@oldwaysrisingfarm personally, I like pig skin suede for liners because it's so soft. I've got a few projects in mind that I'm going to use pig skin as a liner for.
@@randelldawson666 yep! I have 4 pig skins tanning in bark liquor at the moment that I want to use for backpacks and belt bags.
What about making a wax book it cool
Witch thiknes sould I use for knivesheths ?
My own step by step (by pictures) to making a "DECORATIVE", possibly "LIGHT USE" leather faced shield will be coming soon to the Discord!!!
25th
I think the OZ rating is more like 0.4 mm per ounce.
Correct! I misspoke 🤣🤣🤣🤣. I added the correction to the pinned comment
@@SkillTree Also, your talk on the different kinds of leather is thorough and well presented. I would count this as thoroughly completing the Leatherwork merit badge for Scouts.
Have you considered doing a video making a pipe?
the leather place i have access too only goes up to 4.8mm ..... so one ounce? yet they class it as heavy. this cant be right can it?
i wish my Tandy leather wasnt an hour away... though its probably better than its an hour away lol
Random thought when you were naming off random leather places. I think it'd be pretty cool if you could do a Collab with Prince Armory. His leather working is fucking next level. So like maybe you could make a armor or something from one of his patterns and maybe he could take something you've made and added extra flair to it.
What is the background music named
Almost first!
Sheep leather is a lot like your tumbled leather.
Its veg tan, seems like chrome but can be dyed n tooled
Brain tanning can also be done with eggs as an alternative.
First
Almost beat you, but I think you win by a few seconds😂
Question for you:
I was felting a wool felt ball recently and my needle broke so I had to try and dig it out to salvage the ball so I didn’t stab myself later on. I tried cutting it open, and noticed the wool felt ball was highly cut and stab resistant. Would heavy wool felt work well for armor?
So wool is flame resistance, good insulation, depending on type water resistant, and as you learned tightly packed as felting. It has a lot of properties that could be useful depending on application. A nice thick wool coat can protect from a tumble well, so I imagine there's possibilities with armor
Wool actually was part of medieval armor. That's what the padding was in gambesons, which went underneath your mail or plate armor for exactly that reason
You can lightly burn a design in chrome tanned leathers. They makes a leather burning tool. 😊
Not recommended due to toxic fumes.
@@kelseywatts589 That's an old wives' tale. It stems from people not knowing how chemistry works. It stinks like nothing you've ever smelled before, but it does not produce toxic fumes. Unless you happen to be talking about chrome tanned that was produced prior to 1970, before safety standards were established.
What about english bridle leather? I know it has a great finish, but i know little else.
What would you like to know?? Been working with leather for about 5 years now.
If 1 ounze equals 4 mm that means your helmet is made from 24mm thich leather or an inch in imperial terms... You sure you didn't mean 0.4mm?
Yes! I just caught and pinned that correction LOL
Kangaroo leather is super strong and thin and is used for motogp race suits👍
Hey, I realy love your show and would like to get in to leathercrafting aswell, but I‘m no great fan of killing animals in order to have fun. So my question is, what you think about leather-alternatives made of pineapple and stuff and for what kinds of projects they are usefull?
When I first heard Veg Tan in one of your videos, I thought it was a vegan approximation/replacement for animal leather.
What about pull up leather?
Can be either oil or veg depending it falls under his finish category...most pullup leather is just a darker dye with a lighter dye on top and oil in-between.
If you hear the term "roughout," that means the rough side of the leather is on the outside. It makes for really durable, hardwearing boots and stuff.
Also, if you are interested in brain tanning but don't want to use brains, you can use eggs because they have the same stuff.
Hey, I realy love your show and would like to get in to leathercrafting aswell but I‘m no great fan of killing animals in order to have fun. So my question is, what you think about leather-alternatives made of pineapple and stuff and for what kinds of projects they are usefull?
I have been leather crafting for several years and so far I have never come across an alternative that is nearly as durable or versatile as leather, although I have looked. That said, it is worth noting that cows are not generally being killed for the sake of their hides. The vast majority of cow leather is a byproduct of the beef industry. Obviously it's a personal choice whether that makes you feel ok about it or not, but if you want to work with leather you are not causing the deaths of more cows by doing so. I would bet that McDonalds alone produces more cow hides than us leathercrafters can possibly use each year.
Lol, I'd like a belt that gets longer than shorter. 😜