first sporran attempt

**dowofbuchanan** · 16th April 08, 10:10 PM

hey everyone im thinking of making a sporran i havent done leather in a while but its the only way i can say 100 that i get what i want and its a great discussion piece so heres my question im planning on it looking abit like a leather bag as opposed to your average commercial sporran which looks abit like an exaggerated eyeglass case im not sure which weight of leather and what animal i want to use ... any suggestions on weight ... im loving the look and feel of black lambskin but if i want to do tool work i may go with a 7 oz vegtan youre the experts enlighten a young man

**Bugbear** · 16th April 08, 10:16 PM

It sounds like you could use the thinner hide for what you're describing... Kind of like a swade. Although, I might not be following your description so well.

You can always put different kinds of leather on the sporran to acomidate the tool work or stamping and so on...

**dowofbuchanan** · 16th April 08, 10:32 PM

i was wondering if that weight might be too heavy although i do want a smooth leather feel as opposed to a suede im ordering a full hide so if i get it right i may go nuts and make multiples

**Bugbear** · 16th April 08, 10:41 PM

Hope it works out. You might go into the sporran business if you do well.

**berserkbishop** · 16th April 08, 11:28 PM

I dont really understand what you are after. I wouldnt say that I am an expert, but I do make some sporrans myself. Are you looking to make a drawstring "rob roy"-ish sporran, or something out of stiffer leather? In either case a whole hide is going to be enough to turn out A LOT of sporrans. Its kind of overkill unless you plan on selling off a bunch. I figure when I make a rob roy I put about 3 sq ft into each one, and that is of a garment weight leather. If you want to do tooling, (which I have yet to do on a sporran), veg tan is the only way to go. Wet it down a little and stamp/carve away. I would use a leather between 6-8 oz for that.

BB

**James MacMillan** · 16th April 08, 11:34 PM

I think he may be after a rob-roy type, but that doesn't jive with his desire to tool the leather.......?

**dowofbuchanan** · 17th April 08, 12:02 AM

well rob roy is one option im looking at but the tooling ability was there incase i wanted to be able to stamp anything on it such as a clan badge on the flap or the like ... i want to have abilities to play around ... a side hide of lambskin which is the garment leather i was looking at is around 6-7 sq ft ... so im looking at 2 the reason i was looking at such heavy leather is im used to seeing old harleys with worn saddle bags looking ready to pop ... i wanna make this durable enough to outlast me

**Bugbear** · 17th April 08, 12:19 AM

Ya, you can use two different leathers on a single sporran... Veg tan sewn onto the lamb in some way or another. If you aren't turning it so the stiching is on the inside, you could use the thicker lamb hide... I don't do much stamping and so on. Good luck.

**berserkbishop** · 17th April 08, 12:39 AM

Durability in leather really doesnt have a whole lot to do with weight. With proper care any well-constructed article out of ANY weight of leather can last a lifetime and more. On my saddle bags I use up to a 13 oz leather. As far as tooling goes, make a rob roy and tool the flap. You could also put the front stiffener on the outside and do some tooling on that. I have considered doing that myself but time usually doesn't allow me to do the tooling.

BB

**dowofbuchanan** · 17th April 08, 12:46 AM

rob roy it is ... im still looking for plans online ... not sure i wanna freehand this ... god i wish i didnt live in the us ... friggin seal embargo ..any of you cannucks wanna find me a hide and stash it away why do newfies get all the good leather ... well i guess lamb it is