Bag leather, anyone?

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pudinka
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Bag leather, anyone?

Post by pudinka »

If anyone is interested - perhaps this applies to US users of this forum only...I stopped at a Tandy Leather store for a brass belt buckle last week to find a "January Special" of very nice, WHOLE hides for $99.99. They are called "designer" hides and appear to be top quality (top grain) and they are as nice as some half hides I got years ago from "Van Tan" (Canada), sold as air-tight bagpipe leather (no longer made?). These seem to be air-tight - or nearly so, and a small sample tested wet only showed minimal bubbling through, but my ears had to pop under the pressure it took to produce them - not bad.

The hide I bought had a tag glued to the back with a diamond-shaped logo, with B in the center. The name "Curtidos Badia, S.A., Fundada al 1889" is below the logo. Below this "ARTICLE: CELLARIUS A7ME, COLOUR: NERO 1000" followed by a LOT: number. Some of text is difficult to read and I didn't check every hide in the pile to see if they had the same tag.

I looked this up later to find this the name of a Spanish (Igualada) tannery and wonder, since the color is written in Italian, if these were not meant for the Italian garment industry - perhaps they're rejects? There were a few small holes in the hides I looked at but nothing one could not work around. They vary in thickness, but all were quite supple. I imagine they are large enough for at least 10-12 bags, perhaps more. One, I help up at the corners with my arms outstretched, I could not keep off of the floor, it was so large.

I should also say, I don't know that all of the Tandy stores have this leather or this price - check first if interested.
It's true that you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar - but a big, steaming pile works best of all.
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