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Leather Weights - 1/15/2006 1:37:34 PM

Wolf1020

Posts: 447
Joined: 11/7/2005
From: Anderson, SC
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I'm looking for imformation about leather weights and how they relate to feel the feel. I know that in basic lighter is more stingy and heavier is more thuddy, but does anyone have a more detailed list of weights and their feel? That or thickness reccomendations would work also since thickness and weight generaly relate to each other.

Also the different tanning methods, such chrome vs. vegtable tanned?

Also different materials. Deer, elk, bison, cow, bull, etc. I know deer is pretty much the softist but can anyone give me some more information about these?

Anyone know personally or know of a site that has information on these?

I plan to try my hand at floggers and leather slappers if anyone is curious why I am asking but I am curious in general also.

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RE: Leather Weights - 1/15/2006 2:12:41 PM

NickInSLC

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Joined: 8/9/2005
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As somebody who builds floggers, I think it's wonderful for more people out there to know more about leather.

Deer is pretty soft, but lambskin is even softer. Goat skin is very soft too, especially kidskin. Elk is soft, but thicker and therefore thuddier than deer. Moose is a tad firmer than elk and quite a bit thicker. Plus, it has a very primal energy to it that most people can appreciate. Depending on the tannage, buffalo can be as soft as elk. It's usually pretty firm though, it's rather dense, and very thick and heavy. I have access to a tannery that latigo tans buffalo. With that tan, buffalo becomes extremely dense and has a huge thud with a nice sting mixed in.

Cow leather comes in most tannages and in different thicknesses. You can find cowhide to emulate the sensations of most of the different types of game hides. I personally avoid vegetable and latigo tanned cowhides for flogger tails as they are pretty stiff and tend to hold a nice edge where you've cut them. Suede leather is quite popular for flogger tails, although, in my opinion, it's garbage and I won't work with it. Something to do with 'lips and assholes'.

The only other species of leather that I use is veg tanned kangaroo. It has a brutal sting when used for flogger tails. And if you're doing any braiding or decorative knotwork you're wasting your time if you work in any other leather than kangaroo. Your best bet is to order directly from Austrailia. We use Packer Tannery.

While this is hardly an exaustive list of types of leather, I only feel qualified to tell you about things I have experience with. Here in Utah, I have very little access to exotic leathers. If you're interested in playing with exotics, look up Charles Hardtke leather in Texas. If memory serves me, they're in El Paso.

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RE: Leather Weights - 1/15/2006 2:24:45 PM

Wolf1020

Posts: 447
Joined: 11/7/2005
From: Anderson, SC
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Not really looking for exotics strait cow, deer, elk and the like is mainly what my thoughts were on. You say no latigo, veg, or suade what would be best then? Chrome tanned?

Also for cow whats generaly a good weight for the tails? Don't really need specifics I can tinker a bit but can you give a general range for cow as to whats stingy, a good mix, and thuddy?

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RE: Leather Weights - 1/15/2006 7:50:03 PM

NickInSLC

Posts: 121
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Several tanneries produce a deer tanned cowhide that's split down to 3 to 5 oz. or so and just as soft as deerskin. Leather Factory carries it.

Look for chap or uphulstery hides for something with a tad more thud. These will for the most part be chrome or alum tanned.

If you want more of a sting, check out some oil tanned cow. It's dense, heavy, and somewhat harsh. Will need a considerable amount of breaking in before it's ready for use on skin. Go to a place that sells marble, granite, and other stone. Ask for pieces that are broken. You want at least a 12" square by a couple inches thick. It'll be dirt cheap if they even want money for it. Beat your floggers that need broken in on that stone surface and they'll soften up pretty quick. Conditioner is also helpful, try Fiebings Aussie conditioner or Pecard's Leather Dressing.

If you want to make a flogger that's pure sting, try veg tanned calf skin. It's pretty thin and softens up quickly, but will still deliver a great sting. Also, calfskin tends to dye very well.

Latigo or veg tanned will be your best bet for slappers and such. Latigo won't accept tool marks well, so if you want to do any tooling, veg tanned is your best bet. Veg tanned also has the advantage of being able to be dyed. Latigo comes in black and burgundy and doesn't accept dye well at all.

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RE: Leather Weights - 1/15/2006 10:37:48 PM

Archer

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Joined: 3/11/2005
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Leather is generally sold in Sq ft and the weights ie thicknesses listed in general are the wieght per Sg ft.

That is the old way today more people are recognizing the fact that weight vs thickness is not always an exact measurement so more people are shifting to the metric mm thicknesses, at least when ordering from nations who use metric system.

Generally though as far as feeling of leather as it strikes the skin with a standard throw of a flogger or such, the physics are what matters and there are a few things that effect that feel.

1, thickness of the leather generally effects weight which is the thing that makes a thud.

2, Width here you are effecting the ammount of skin that recieves the force the more area you cover the more thud generally until you reach a certain point and then it starts to be a paddle rather than a lash

3,Speed of the throw F= MA Force + mass (weight) X Accelleration.

4, Length of lash that impacts the skin, again this is the area that absorbs the energy the smaller the area the more sting (agaiin a general trend). If you strike with the last 1 inch there is more sting than if you strike with the last 8 inches.

Hope that helps

In Leather

Archer

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