Found some horse butt leather

KarlMaldensNose

KarlMaldensNose

Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
1,342
I know at least a few of you are having trouble finding any now that HA is out of commish for a while longer. And while I'm sure a lot of you know about this place, some might not. It is pre-cut (3"x15") and a bit pricey ($22.95 -- even the vendor acknowledges it) but apparently worth it according to all accounts. And their shipping costs are very good, especially for international shipping to Canada. This particular batch is supposed to be very dense, without much give, which is exactly what I'm looking for. Stitchawl and others have recommended going at it bare for the last step, and I usually don't like it that way in part because without compound to fill the pores the leather gives too much and I tend to round my edge. So this stuff will hopefully address that problem of mine.

You'd think that being a member here for over a year now that I'd know about forum rules and such, but I don't:(. So because I'm unsure of whether it's okay to post the dealer's website address, you're just gonna have to PM me if you want that info., at least until someone tells me it's fine to post it Please no emails. Thanks.:)
 
I think I've seen it, and I'm also pretty sure it's Strip not cordovan.
Cordovan= The cheeks ;)
Strip= The part above the tail, but below the spine.
Cordovan is also called "shell"
heres a link to a real cordovan strop, sadly it's old and sold!
http://www.goantiques.com/scripts/images,id,2111032.html#image4
EDIT: And keith left me a visitor message to e-mail him saying that he might have some horse butt on hand to sell.
 
Last edited:
I'm assuming Corovan is better than strip. Yes? Neither of those terms were used in the ad copy; it was only called "genuine horse butt" as per the stamp in on the leather.

Anyway, I forgot to mention that I also found a different dealer that carries many different kinds of leather for strops. Stuff like Black Latigo, Red Latigo, Buffalo, English Bridal, Long English Bridal, Premium I, Premium II... whatever those last two mean:confused:. This place also carries proprietary diamond sprays ranging from 0.5mic to 2mic. I guess for most of us all these leathers are a bit overkill, but for the seasoned vet who's been stropping for awhile now, it might be just the ticket to bump their results up to the next level.

You know what? I don't want to be answering PM's all day, so I'll link to the two sites and if it's not kosher then admin can take them down. Horse butt leather and various leathers.
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
I'm assuming Corovan is better than strip. Yes? Neither of those terms were used in the ad copy; it was only called "genuine horse butt" as per the stamp in on the leather.

Anyway, I forgot to mention that I also found a different dealer that carries many different kinds of leather for strops. Stuff like Black Latigo, Red Latigo, Buffalo, English Bridal, Long English Bridal, Premium I, Premium II... whatever those last two mean:confused:. This place also carries proprietary diamond sprays ranging from 0.5mic to 2mic. I guess for most of us all these leathers are a bit overkill, but for the seasoned vet who's been stropping for awhile now, it might be just the ticket to bump their results up to the next level.

You know what? I don't want to be answering PM's all day, so I'll link to the two sites and if it's not kosher then admin can take them down. Horse butt leather and various leathers.
Click to expand...

Yup, Seen them both. The first one is strip I'm sure of that.
Cordovan is the cream of the crop as far as strops go. Never seen straight razor's strop pack though.
EDit: Oh yah heres a good source for STRIP leather this is before it's cut for the strop so you get BIG pieces. http://springfieldleather.com/store/product/22538/Strip,Horse-Butt,Each/
We're not deal spotting, well I'm pretty sure we aren't deal spotting xD
Direct link http://springfieldleather.com/store/product/22538/Strip,Horse-Butt,Each/
 
Last edited:
Stropping bare leather is a bit different, the natural silicates are so fine and polish so highly that rounding the edge does not take much. You also may find the finish too smooth to be useful, great for shaving though :)
 
knifenut1013 said:
Stropping bare leather is a bit different, the natural silicates are so fine and polish so highly that rounding the edge does not take much. You also may find the finish too smooth to be useful, great for shaving though :)
Click to expand...

I found that out on my first convex edge :) Raw Horse Butt=EXTREMELY smooth finish.
 
I'd love to try some of these famous leathers one day, because I'm already getting amazing results with regular leather from the leather shop and from an old leather belt which I sanded down to get the lacquer away or whatever it's called.
 
Cordovan shell leather is vegetable tanned horsehide leather that has been worked over with a roller press making it very, very firm. (That 'worked over' part is the 'boning' process that really brings up the silicates to the surface as well as compacts the leather.) Apparently you can get 'cordovan cowhide' but it's not the same as cordovan shell leather.

The 'shells' are oval-shaped pieces that would fit into the curves of these http://springfieldleather.com/store/product/22538/Strip,Horse-Butt,Each/ strips, so you get a good idea of where the leather is coming from. Mighty close to the shells... I would think the leather is pretty damn close (probably closer than any of us would be able to recognize if we had a piece of each in our hands) with the shell being just a touch thicker. The strips are just 'forward' of the shells, rather than towards the tail, if we are to believe the Horween Leather diagrams at
http://horween.com/index.php/leathers/ clicking on 'Equine Hide Shapes' on that page.

The prices on those strips is exceedingly good, but you'd probably want to bone the leather yourself to make it an even better performing strop. It was the boning process that really made the "Russian Red Leather" strops such high quality. If you watch the Horween Leather video, at one point you can see the workman using a power roller to bone the shells. I'll be damned if I can figure out how come he still has all his fingers! I counted them twice just to be sure! :eek:

Stitchawl
 
knifenut1013 said:
Stropping bare leather is a bit different, the natural silicates are so fine and polish so highly that rounding the edge does not take much. You also may find the finish too smooth to be useful, great for shaving though :)
Click to expand...
Hey aren't you fond of saying "sharper is sharper"!!?
Razors are great for shaving, and some people say their knives are sharp as a razor...so wouldn't this be a more polished edge? I'm not trying to needle you btw. I have been as a final step stropping on bare level, and haven't and detrimental effects so far.

Dave
 
stoffi said:
How do you bone leather yourself and what do you need to do it?
Click to expand...

The original 'boning' was done with the rounded end of a cow femur leg bone, rubbing the leather over a rounded end of a tree stump for hours on end. Days and days of rubbing by hand, pressing the leather, compressing the fibers, making the leather more and more firm while driving more of the natural silicates to the surface. All this labor-intensive handwork became just to expensive to make it worthwhile in today's economy. Horween Leather uses a steel roller on a machine. Look at their video and you'll see it. They also 'glaze' the leather with a glass rod which adds to the process.

You can mimic the action to some degree by using a heavy marble rolling pin, the sort used for pastry. Heavier is better. With cowhide I would case the leather first making it more malleable, but with horsehide I honestly don't know if that's a good idea or not. (I was lucky in that the horsehide I received was already well worked.) In any event, with a good heavy rolling pin and several HOURS of rolling, you should get a pretty decent result! Of course, roll it on a hard flat surface, and really put your back into it! Should you wish to do it the old fashioned way, first find a cow... ;)

Stitchawl
 
Superdave1 said:
Hey aren't you fond of saying "sharper is sharper"!!?
Razors are great for shaving, and some people say their knives are sharp as a razor...so wouldn't this be a more polished edge? I'm not trying to needle you btw. I have been as a final step stropping on bare level, and haven't and detrimental effects so far.

Dave
Click to expand...

Yes, sharper is sharper but sometimes you CAN actually be too sharp. The horse leather will leave a very smooth edge that will shave and cut meat well but can do very poor at other things.
 
stitchawl said:
The original 'boning' was done with the rounded end of a cow femur leg bone, rubbing the leather over a rounded end of a tree stump for hours on end. Days and days of rubbing by hand, pressing the leather, compressing the fibers, making the leather more and more firm while driving more of the natural silicates to the surface. All this labor-intensive handwork became just to expensive to make it worthwhile in today's economy. Horween Leather uses a steel roller on a machine. Look at their video and you'll see it. They also 'glaze' the leather with a glass rod which adds to the process.

You can mimic the action to some degree by using a heavy marble rolling pin, the sort used for pastry. Heavier is better. With cowhide I would case the leather first making it more malleable, but with horsehide I honestly don't know if that's a good idea or not. (I was lucky in that the horsehide I received was already well worked.) In any event, with a good heavy rolling pin and several HOURS of rolling, you should get a pretty decent result! Of course, roll it on a hard flat surface, and really put your back into it! Should you wish to do it the old fashioned way, first find a cow... ;)

Stitchawl
Click to expand...
I was watching this episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike went to a leather factory. They had a "boning" machine It would grab and pull the leather. The funny thing was the guy also had the femur bone to do it to!
 
Hey, remember that pillow that was being offered as "Horse Butt?" I forget who it was who found it on the net, but we didn't know for sure if it was 'made' from horsehide or just a 'picture' of a horse's butt...

I wrote to the woman who was selling that and asked about it. I never heard back from her, so I wrote a second time. That was quite a while ago and I've still never heard from her. Just thought I'd update the situation.

Stitchawl
 
LOL!! I was just looking back at that site that Choco gave for horsebutt, offering three pieces at a good price. This time I just too a closer look...
Prices as stated;
Three pieces for $27 but in the text, three pieces for $20, :confused:
or... $9 dollars apiece but 'your price' is $10. :confused:

Do you think we get to choose which price we want to pay? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Do I need to improve my reading skills? :eek:

Stitchawl
 
For the record, I bought one piece last night and it ran me $10 plus shipping. Shipping to Canada was as much as the leather itself, but it's a big piece (something like 4-5 feet long by 7-8 inches at its widest) so in my opinion it's worth it to me. I guess I should've ordered another piece or two as long as I was already paying the shipping and then not have to worry about leather any more, but I have another piece of strip horse butt coming in from somewhere else and thought I should cool it for now.

But, no, I didn't get to choose which price I wanted to pay.;)
 
stitchawl said:
Hey, remember that pillow that was being offered as "Horse Butt?" I forget who it was who found it on the net, but we didn't know for sure if it was 'made' from horsehide or just a 'picture' of a horse's butt...

I wrote to the woman who was selling that and asked about it. I never heard back from her, so I wrote a second time. That was quite a while ago and I've still never heard from her. Just thought I'd update the situation.

Stitchawl
Click to expand...

That was me Stitch! Hmm still no update?!?
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
For the record, I bought one piece last night and it ran me $10 plus shipping. Shipping to Canada was as much as the leather itself, but it's a big piece (something like 4-5 feet long by 7-8 inches at its widest) so in my opinion it's worth it to me. I guess I should've ordered another piece or two as long as I was already paying the shipping and then not have to worry about leather any more, but I have another piece of strip horse butt coming in from somewhere else and thought I should cool it for now.

But, no, I didn't get to choose which price I wanted to pay.;)
Click to expand...

What does the leather feel like? Dense? Creamy? Solid but almost mold-able? Or does it feel more like a piece of veggie tanned cowhide? How about the surfaces?

(If you put compound on that leather, I'm gonna send down a platoon of Ontario mosquitoes from the Ojibwa reservation to swarm you until you clean it off!)

Stitchawl
 
chococrazy said:
That was me Stitch! Hmm still no update?!?
Click to expand...

Not a peep! I sent her another e-mail when I made that post, but I think there won't be any response. I still think it was a cowhide pillow with a painted picture of a horse's butt and a horsehair tail stuck on.

Stitchawl
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top