Leather for a sporran?

[Andrew Breecher]

I'm thinking of making a sporran, but I don't know what kind of leather to use. I looked up Tandy Leather's web page, but can't tell from the descriptions the thickness/suppleness of the leather. Top grain? Upholstery? Latigo? I know different types would be required for different parts of the sporran.

Andrew.

[Freelander Sporrano]

Ah! now Andrew,

I feel I can help you here. You don't say what type of Sporran you want to make .

For our MkIII Sten Rune and I use the same quailty of leather which is used in good qaulity furniture. We use a more shoe/boot/saddle quality for the stiffener inside the lid and the front(About 3mm-4 mm thick) We are lucky in that we have a supplier within an hours drive of here.

I know this won't help you that much Maybe you can get them to send a sample first before you take the plunge.

Also a piece of advice Sten Rune and I used a fair amount of time with plastic bags and cornflakes packets before we cut into our first leather piece. so slowly does it. We used a pattern from the book "So you're going to wear the kilt" We improved it a bit too in our opinion.

Lets hear how you get on ---

[An t-Ileach]

Andrew,

David's advice is good.

If you have time for mail order, you could get the leather supply catalogue from Weaver Leather in Mount Hope, Ohio. They can send you practically any sort of leather you want, in whatever thicknesses.

Essentially leather comes in two finishes - chrome tanned and vegetable tanned. Most furniture, clothing, bag, etc leather is chrome tanned; most saddlery leather is veggie (chrome tanned has a shinier chemical look about it). The two types handle and feel differently - play around with both - and each has its own particular qualities to recommend it according to the job.

Best of luck

[Andrew Breecher]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going away for the week starting tomorrow, but I'll look into it more when I get back.

Andrew.