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MMD > Archives > December 2002 > 2002.12.25 > 03Prev  Next


Kangaroo Leather & Leather Sizes
By Glen R. Perye Jr.

As a new member of this forum I would like to wish everybody Happy
Holidays.

The message in August must have been a miss-type some place, as .002"
is two thousandths of an inch thick.  For comparison, 3-hole loose-leaf
notebook paper is from .004" to .006" thick, a glossy magazine page is
from .005" to .009" depending on the quality of paper.

Now as to how leather is sized in the trade, it is sold by the ounce in
weight/thickness.  A good rule of thumb is 1/64" in thickness, 0.016"
decimal inches or 0.41 millimeters.  Checking my current wholesale
harness catalog, the only sized hides for 'roos is 2/4 ounce 1/32" to
1/16".  All hides or skins will vary in the thickness when they are
split into the weights for different uses.

The description is as follows:  Vegetable tanned skins are extra strong
and durable, yet soft and supple.  Most is used for lacing, also strips
for braiding into whips and saddle trim.  It is gauged evenly throughout.
This translates that the thickness is uniform over the whole hide.  As
any natural product can be.  It comes in brown, natural, black and
chocolate; hide is about 5 to 7 square feet.

The grade of leather is 'TR', which means 'table run' when sorting out.
A is best, B is next and C is the lowest.  This means that A has the
least number of defects in prime areas and non-prime areas.  C has up
to 12" of damage or color variation on a whole hide.  Defects are scars,
thin spots and bullet holes.

Also, due to market demands, the price changes with out notice.  In the
last price list I have, it would be $75.00 plus shipping for a 5 square
foot hide up to $105.00 for a 7 square foot hide, plus shipping.

Now comes the fun part.  Since hides are split down the belly of
whatever animal is being processed, the backs are the best areas of any
leather.  The skin will have the outline of a flattened 'roo, with leg
outlines and a tail stub area.  You probably could get one to three
feet of scrap or pieces only good for small items like key tags. etc.

I do not know what size the pouches for the player action are or if
they are one piece or assembled out of a number of patterns.

I don't use kangaroo leather but, if you wanted a whole hide, I could
order it with my next order, due to the premium on small orders below
their set order amount.

Hope this clears up some things and doesn't confuse the issue more.

Glen R. Perye Jr.


(Message sent Wed 25 Dec 2002, 16:02:40 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Kangaroo, Leather, Sizes

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