Turpin,

Thank you...thank you very much for sharing your expertise. That is rare and much appreciated. I am printing off your instructions and will use them as a guide when I begin.

I was wondering, however, about the characteristics of the hair-on goat and the hair -on cow. By "characteristics" I mean...is the hair fine or coarse, long or short. Is the leather supple or stiff, thick or thin.

I rented a sporran from Lochcarron and it was a grey hair and a short and relatively fine hair. I don't know what it was but I assume they were trying to emulate seal...at least from a distance. My guess was that it was hair-on calf.

My impression was that it was a pretty good look--not too wild or long like badger or coyote or fox or something like that. Maybe good for a conservative old coot like myself.

I have seen hair-on goat on EBay. The seller claims it is short and fine and is a "Peruvian" goat. And I have seen a hair-on calf on EBay that may have been dyed grey (that's OK) and may be actually heavy enough (4 ounce) to make into a sporran with no reinforcement layer.

If you (or anyone else) has had any experience with the hair-on goat (particularly this Peruvian goat) or hair-on calf, I appreciate hearing your thoughts.