Teach me about leather working

Since some one on here always knows the answer to something, I figured I would ask.

I have been playing with making leather watch straps. So far all my supplies have been bought from Micheal's or Harbor Freight. All my supplies meaning a cutting mat, exacto knife, waxed thread, needles and punch. I am planning on picking up a few more tools next month (stitching punch, awl, rotary cutter, beveler, burnishing tool and adjustable groover). The leather I got from Micheal's is pretty crappy but it was 1lb of leather scrap for $7 so it is lots of leather that I can practice on. It feels very plasticy so I am guessing it is bonded leather.

Does anyone have any suggestions on places to buy good leather? And if I buy online, how can you tell if it is full grain or top grain? Any other tips or hints would be great too.

I've known some hot ladies that could do amazing work in leather, but that's all I've got.

https://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/tooling-sides.aspx

Was looking into trying my hand at tooling leather and found this site. No experience with it.

I had a leather business for awhile where I was selling leashes for $100 a pop. I made a few other things and have even done a leather tricorner pirate hat with a molded crown. I have done braided kangaroo leather and of course made things like belts and bags.

Here is a pic my customer sent me of the tri corn Then he ordered a red one for his wife.

Here is one of my suppliers. http://www.oregonleatherco.com

We have a local fabric shop that sells 2nd quality hides and also has a scrap bin where you can buy smaller pieces by the pound for cheap. I actually bought a second quality hide for my seat, but had an upholstery shop do the work. See what stores are in your area.

Try Mid Continent Leather Sales in Tulsa, (800) 331-9134 918 747-2061. They have lots of heavy stuff like for belts. They show up at gun shows around here occasionally. Dunno about a web page.

Also, if you want a whole hide or a side, these people: http://www.weleather.com/shop/ are who I use. A side is like $130 delivered or about $230 for a whole hide.

nicksta43 wrote: https://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/tooling-sides.aspx Was looking into trying my hand at tooling leather and found this site. No experience with it.

Tandy has been in the leather and leatherworking tool business since I was a kid in the 50's. I used to do a lot of leatherwork as a hobby, belts, wallets, etc.. I got all my supplies and tools from Tandy (still have ~75 different stamps and other tools). It was easy since there was a Tandy store 20 miles away.

Unfortunately for 93EXcivic the closest store to him is ~100 miles away.

1845 Montgomery Hwy S. #215
Hoover, AL 35244

This is all I can think to add

https://screen.yahoo.com/leatherman-000000262.html

Thanks for all the suggestion.

I think I will try the local fabric stores first and hope the have scraps because watch straps are so small it would take me years and years to get thru a side.

You might also try local upholstery shops. They may have scraps they can sell you in a bundle rather than throwing them out because of no market. They might save them for you for the low price of making them a watchband.

One thing to note. People, myself included, can be allergic to some of the heavy metals commonly used to tan leather. Chrome in particular. If you can make items that come in contact with skin out of "Veggie" or "Eco" tanned leather you can get yourself a bit of niche market.

Mid Continent will sell you smaller quantities. Give them a call.