MORE LEATHERS

ELKSKIN LEATHER

Elk Leather is 5-6 ounce and the hides will run from 15-35 square feet with most hides falling into the 20-25 square foot range.  The Elk Leather we sell is wild and from North America.  We are currently offering Elk Leather in SMOKE and GOLD colors.  We have GOLD in Craft Grade, an exceptional value, and really pretty nice leather, not very holey, just some uneven grain.  This Craft Grade GOLD Elk is in Whole Elk.   You can see these colors on the Deerskin Leather page along with more information about Elk Leather.

#2 ELK LEATHER Smoke, Gold	$4.00 square foot
Craft Grade ELK LEATHER Gold	$3.00 square foot
ORDER ELK LEATHER

PIGSKIN LEATHER

Garment Pigskin is full grain leather made for the suede side.  It is very strong but still thin enough for tailoring work.  The grain side is useable; however, as the leather was made for the suede side, there may be flaws and imperfections on the grain side.  One reason we sell so much Garment Pigskin is the color range we keep in stock:  Black, Royal Blue, Turquoise, Fuchsia, Red , Purple, Burgundy, Forest Green, Teal, Tobacco, Buckskin, Sand, and Taupe.  We often get other colors as well.  Garment Pigskin is 1 1/2 ounce, extremely strong for its thinness, and soft.  Ours is European-the best you can get.  Full Skins run 8-12 square feet.
ORDER GARMENT PIG SUEDE $2.75 square foot

WHITE PIGSKIN

This is First Quality Double Face White Full Grain Pigskin.  “Double Face” means the Grain Side is First Quality and the Suede Side is First Quality.  These are giant skins, averaging 15 square feet.
This is a natural white type of tannage.  It is not Dyed or Bleached and is very white clear through.
This is great for wedding dresses or anywhere you need large pieces of white leather.
ORDER #1 WHITE PIGSKIN $4.00 square foot

TOOLING COWHIDE

HORSE BUTTS

These Horse Butts are great.  They are approximately 60” x 12”, relatively rectangular, weigh about 2# each, and are sold by the pound.  They are tooling leather, vegetable tanned, fairly dense, and are a great strap leather.  We have them in Natural-ready to be dyed and/or finished any way you'd like.  These are also a great sole leather for shoes or moccasins.  They are very inexpensive.
ORDER HORSE BUTTS  $8.00/pound

COWHIDE LEATHER

Cowhide is the leather most Americans think of when they think of leather.  We sell Cowhide of virtually limitless variety.
Latigo Leather is also tanned the full  thickness of the hide and is very strong and weather resistant.  We carry a 7-8 ounce Latigo in Black.  This is great for saddlebags.
We call Chap Leather any Cowhide Side Leather from 3 ounce to 6 ounce and soft to somewhat firm temper.  This doesn’t mean our so-called Chap Leather is just for chaps-we sell it for every use under the sun.  We usually have no problem supplying what you need in Earthtones (Chocolate, Tobacco, Sand, Rust, Burgundy, Etc.) and Black.  If you need a particular color, you can send us a swatch or call or write and we’ll send you swatches.
Oil Tan Cowhide is useful for heavy chaps, chinks, aprons, and a wide variety of utility and repair purposes.  It is not really “oil-tanned”, it is chrome cowhide that has been treated with tallow and waxes.
HH Black Cowside is side leather, 5/5½ ounce, firm, drum dyed and finished, and is used for Concho Belt strips, choker and breastplate spacers, saddlebags, work boots, cuffs, and a variety of other uses.
M Black Cowside is the same as the HH described above but in 3½-4 ounce weght.
HH Tobacco Cowside is the same leather as the HH Black listed above in a Tobacco color.  Tobacco Cowside is approved by the Surgeon General, Tobacco is not.
HH Chocolate Firm Cowside is side leather, 5/5½ ounce, extra firm, drum dyed and finished, useful for a variety of items.  This leather is fairly firm and is really going to hold its shape.
The 7/8 ounce Soft Tobacco Bullhide Sides are thick, soft (for this weight), drum dyed and finished.  We have been selling these primarily for moccasins, saddlebags, rifle scabbards, etc. and whatever else you're going to need this leather for.
Moccasin Weight Full Cowhide is 5/6 ounce, soft (Deer Tanned), stretchy but not too stretchy, and available in Fuchsia, Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Forest Green colors.  This leather is going to be useful for moccasins, saddle seating, chaps, large bags, heavy upholstery, etc.
Our Full Cowhides are most excellent.  They are soft, clean, and we offer them in Black in Medium (4-4½ ounce), Medium Light (3½-4 ounce), and Light (3-3½ ounce) weights, and in Chocolate, Tobacco, and Saddle in the Medium  weight.

CATTLE

Cattle is the common term for domesticated herbivorous mammals that are of great importance to humans because of the meat, milk, leather, glue, and other items they yield. 
Cattle were first domesticated in Europe about 8500 years ago.  They were used then for draft, milk, sacrifice,and sometimes meat and sport.  Bullfighting, religious sacrifice, and considering cows sacred are examples of these early uses that continue.  World Cattle population was estimated at 1.3 billion in the late 1980’s.  The leading country was India!
The meat of Cattle is known as Beef.  It is not known when the human species began to eat meat.  Other primates are vegetarian with only occasional opportunistic episodes of meat consumption.  Under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978, cattle are made insensible before they are killed.  Cattle do not eat other Cattle.
Branding is the  searing of flesh with a hot iron to produce an easily recognizable scar for identification or decorative purposes.
Branding of criminals, slaves, and army deserters was practiced by the Greeks, Romans, and later by Anglo-Saxons.  The practice of branding  humans declined about the middle of the 19th century.  It is currently enjoying a resurgence.  Colorado Leather Goods does not offer human branding.
Livestock were branded by the Egyptians as early as 2000 B.C.  In cattle country, altering a brand is a criminal offense.

TANNING and LEATHER

Tanning is chemically modifying any animal skin to produce a strong, flexible material called leather that is resistant to decay.  The variety of skins and methods used produce leather as soft as flannel or hard and thick enough for saddles.  Humans have used animal skins and made leather since the dawn of time.
Skins are usually cured by salting.  The cured skins are washed and soaked in water to rehydrate them.  Any remaining flesh is removed from the inner (“flesh”) side.  The hair is removed after soaking in a lime solution.
The two primary tanning methods are Mineral and Vegetable.  Minerals used include Chrome, Aluminum, and Zirconium salts.  The chemical used in vegetable tanning is tannin.  Tannin is extracted from the bark of Chestnut, Oak, Hemlock, Quebracho, and Mangrove trees.  These Tannin solutions are called liquors.
Tanned leather is split to the desired thickness and dyed if desired.
Fat-liquoring is a process of treating with oils and greases.  The leather is then dryed and finished if desired.