Leather suppliers

J

Josh Wilson

Joined
Aug 3, 2000
Messages
232
Several of you have mentioned making your own sheaths and strops. Is there a good mail order or on-line supplier of leather? Finding a place to buy leather in Boston has proven difficult.
 
Josh, I used to buy my supplies exclusively from Tandy Leather retail stores. I believe most if not all of them are now closed. My last couple of purchases were from the Tandy Leather Direct catalog but I found their order fulfillment time & customer service to be less than stellar. Nevertheless, you still might want to take a look at their Web site http://www.tandyleather.com/ and request their paper-based catalog. (It's much more complete than their Web offerings.) For alternative sources of leather, search the Shop Talk Forum & the Shop Talk archive. I know I've seen several other suppliers recommended there but haven't had the need to order & so can't recommend one supplier over another. Please let us know if you do find a good one.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
:
There's at least one leather supplier in Blade© magazine.

When buying leather for sheaths you want to make sure and get vegetable tanned leather.
Any other will cause more rapid etching of your knife blades.
I believe that most manufacturers recommend that you do not store your knife in its sheath.
I know Marbles® does and I have a very old one that's etched pretty bad, but I like it that way so haven't sent it in for regrinding.

I will check our local supplier and see if they have a website. I know they ship all over.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
Josh:
I got a bunch of leather...a lifetime supply, really, from the Irving Tanning Company in Hartland, Maine. (Not far from where I live.)
Since you are in Boston, it wouldn't cost much to contact them and inquire if they can supply your needs. I don't really know if they are set up to do mail order, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. They make mostly high quality garment leather, but a few years ago I got some big sample sheets from them that are ok for light duty sheaths and holsters.
The phone number of the Outlet Store is (207) 938-4433. It would help if you know something about leather, weights, grades and finishes, before you talk to them...a couple of hours with a leather craft book from your library would help you to 'talk the talk'. Prepare for a degree of sticker shock!
smile.gif


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The sword cannot cut itself, the eye cannot see itself.
 
Try an internet search for tannery and leather. They sell more than you need for a few sheaths but prices are usually better. Also, make sure you get vegtable tanned.

Check out local sources as well. I have found the best prices this way. I can also inspect the leather too. A place to start might be fabric stores or furniture manufactuers.

Will
 
Durn ... there's a place a few miles north of Boston I've been to and liked but I can't remember the name of the place, or even what town it's in.... I ran a quick search at www.realwhitepages.com ... didn't find it, apparently they don't advertise in the Boston yellow pages -- but I did find four places in Boston itself. I haven't been to any of them, though.

Cowhide is usually sold by the side -- half a cow -- which is a lot if you only want to make a couple of sheaths. Most places are willing to sell you half a side, but even that's a pretty big piece of leather -- it's worth asking if they have any scraps. Most places that sell leather do some leatherworking themselves and they often have a box full of scraps that are plenty big enough to make a sheath out of and they sell them cheap.

-Cougar :{)
 
That might not have been me; a lot of people wander around muttering about khukuris. What shape was his head?

-Cougar :{)

The great thing about the internet is nobody can see what shape your head is.
 
Does an aftermarket scabbard made not from water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), but from the usual leather in the US market, cattle (Bos taurus), turn a khukuri into something of an anomoly for the Hindu smith who made it?

Or is there any other practical choice for leather in the US market, without paying an arm and a leg?

BTW, here's a cool web page on hoofed critters: www.ultimateungulate.com


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001


[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 08-21-2000).]
 
Besides ... how can you be sure I^H that unidentified person was muttering about khukuris? I^H Most people don't usually mutter very distinctly, after all. I^H That unidentified person might really have been muttering, "gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!" and it sounded like, "I need a new khukuri, a khukuri, a Sanu Special khukuri -- HA!" No, it probably wasn't me ... at least you can't prove it was ... no court would accept evidence like that.

-Cougar :{)
 
Uh oh ... I'd better get in touch with Jim Clifton ... find out what kind of bribe he had to offer to get Bill to keep quiet about all those khukuris Jim has been buying in secret ... how can you bribe a man who has so many khukuris under his bed? ... offer him kama sutra oil, maybe?

Of course my interest is purely academic ... I have nothing to hide ... but it's worth finding out how to bribe Bill to keep a secret ... just in case ... you never know when someone might mistake some unidentified person for me ... there are Elvis sightings every week ... according to the tabloids, anyway....

-Some Unidentified Person
 
COUGAR,
Brib," DOESN'T WORK"! I tried, Lord knows, I tried!Koz won't believe this but i was unable to get any K's on the sly,Bill said he just sold out of the"one " i wanted!
I'm not even suffering!I'll just "wait" until after the Konvent. to see if i need any more.
JIM
 
I may be sold out after the convention. I am trying to save a few for the conentioneers but that is not easy. BirGorkha could not deliver my convention specials in time -- too backed up with special orders that were ahead and regular product line. Oh, well...

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 08-23-2000).]
 
Oh, no! If Bill sells out of khukuris we'll all be wandering around in a daze muttering incomprehensibly!

The only bright side is no one is likely to notice me^H^H any random unidentified person in the crowd of itinerant loonies searching the Earth for khukuris....

-A Random Unidentified Person
 
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