What's the toughest leather?

S

SteelDriver

Joined
Jan 28, 2002
Messages
790
I've heard good things about stingray and buffalo hide, but haven't had any personal experience with them. Has anyone used alligator, kangaroo, or ostrich?

And I mean commercially-available leather (no dinosaur skin, dragonhide, etc. ;) ).
 
Shark gets my vote. Browning Featherweight hunting boots in cowhide or Kangaroo have a little kick plate on the toe made of sharkskin. When the boots have fallen apart that kick plate will still be there.

I used to walk the soles off a pair of Featherweights in a year. Took me six years to wear out a pair of GI combat boots. I can get about four years out of a pair of Rockies 911.

Elephant and Buffalo are my next choices.

Kangaroo is much lighter than cowhide and maybe just a little tougher.

Ostrich is in the top 4 or 5 and they are really soft and comfortable.

The reptile hides are rather delicate for work but are good for dress up.
 
I love it in my A-2 leather Jacket, and I love it for holsters.

I wanna find a nice wallet and belt combo for in the near future.
 
Good Afternoon All-

What is the application for the leather? Which are you talking about....holsters, shoes, belts, jackets, etc? You may want to balance toughness with suppleness with water-resistance, etc., etc., etc.

Let us know and we should be better able to offer suggestions.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Goat makes for a hell of a jacket. I've got a US Wings Indy, and it's soft as butter and tough as nails. It's lighter in weight than cowhide, but more abrasion resistant.

Good stuff!
 
for abrasion resistance, the motorcyle mags tested everything and deerskin won. something about the hide structure being like a bunch of interlocking corkscrews.

for wearing and passing down to your greatgrandkids, horsehide. i've seen motorcycle cop jackets 50-60 years old that were very servicable and took on the best looking 'wear'.

also, if anyone knows where i can get a horsehide 4 button car coat, let me know.

Metis
 
I bought probably the last pair of elephant hide cowboy boots in my size in the midwest back in the mid to late '80s. They still look brand spankin' new. I wore through a pair of cowhides in the same time frame. I don't know if the embargo has been lifted on elephant or not. Really tough stuff.
 
When I posed the question I had in mind leather jackets, gloves, boots, belts, and wallets. I know that each has slightly different ideal characteristics for the leather used, but I appreciate what people have been posting so far.

Horsehide and deerskin jackets? I'd sure like to know where to get those. Rayskin is my top choice for wallets right now. Thanks for all the replies so far!
 
the ******* is always the toughest, it ghets strong from constantly unleasing hot pooo, or fending off other homosexual bulls
 
back in my younger days, i had 3 horses, rode 6-7 days a week, and its HARD on boots where the stirrup rubs the sides of your boot. the toughest boots i ever had myself as far as wear were water buff hide, they were hard to break in, but once broken in wore VERY well, were tony lamas i think.........

greg
 
Good Morning All-

Tortoise is "right on the money" with regard to goatskin for leather jackets. It has somewhat of a pebbled grain and also enjoys a bit more natural water-resistance when compared with cowhide. The advantages of suppleness and abrasion-resistance have been covered.

Horsehide, while hard-wearing, has a very "utilitarian" look to it. Deerhide is primarily used for gloves.

Other applications require a certain amount of stiffness (e.g. belts, holsters, magazine pouches) and get the best performance from horsehide or cowhide. Occasionally, the leatherworker will "overlay" these holsters with a thin veneer of rayskin or ostrich skin if a fancy appearance is preferred.

It's slightly off-topic, but great information about leather as it applies to a custom leather jacket can be seen at Langlitz Leathers of Portland, Oregon. What an interesting company! My Padded-Pocket Columbia is the "cat's meow" for anyone interested in the ultimate protective garment.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
I used kangaroo baseball shoes (spikes) in pony league in the 60´s, I remember they were tough yet soft and thin leather. I´ve also used shark (shoes, belt, wallet and watch band) It sure lasts longer than others, doesn´t cost that much and is pretty too.
 
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