Siegels of Ca

[John T Wylie Jr]

Anyone else order their leather from there ? I have been ordering the single shoulder as the price is right , but no matter what I do I can't get this stuff to take a dye evenly unless I use black !

I ordered 3 single shoulders in 8-9oz , arrived today and they were all at best a 5-6 No problem sending them back , I actually went to tandy and bought a double shoulder and got a better price and it looks/feels like much better leather.

Next order will be from Wickett & Craig for sure.

[sheathmaker]

John; I've been with Wickett & Craig exclusively for one year now and I have zero complaints on their leather. I'm not sure they sell shoulders as they are not listed, but it would be worth asking about. They do sell Backs at an additional premium of $0.95 per foot.

The Siegal leather you mentioned above, was it USA or import leather? Sometimes the import is very hard to dye and will not take oil to color at all. I have noticed this most with Brazilian tannage, although I've never used any of it myself I've had exposure through friends. It is my opinion that the most expensive leather you can buy is the cheap import stuff.

Wickett & Craig sells drum dyed leather in Brown, Chestnut, and Black at a premium of $0.15 per foot. I use all three colors plus the natural Russet. You can still carve and stamp the colors just like the Russet. Since most of my dye work was in one of those colors I have zero dye issues any more.

Paul

[RICK LOWE]

I buy from about all my leather from them. So far I haven't had to send any back, but it is no problem if you need to. During their last sale, I got several double shoulders in 5/6, 7/8 ounce and they seem pretty good. Both take dye well, but with neatsfoot oil, the color isn't quite as rich as with the better quality Oak shoulders. One thing with the "economy" shoulders, they appear to need more agressive de-glazing before oil or dye. Acetone is my choice for this and it takes a good bit of rubbing to clear the surface. Sandy buys most of his leather from Seigels and he may comment on this further.
Rick

[John T Wylie Jr]

Glad to hear you mention the acetone Rick as that is what I was using , perhaps just not heavy enuff , I have a small section of one left so I will try it with more acetone.

The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremly helpful and said they will send a call tag right out , which speaks volumes for their service.

thanks , you folks always have the answer. Happy New Year , may awl of you have a safe and happy one .

[Sandy Morrissey]

I agree with Paul and Rick on Wickett and Craig's leathers. I find them to be very consistent in the tannage, only rarely getting one that was difficult to cut. I prefer W&C on products that are left plain (no embellishment such as stamping or carving) as it dyes better than most leathers. If I stamp or carve, and dyeing is minimal, I like the double shoulders sold by Siegel. I try to stay away from the single shoulders as I find that the quality is rarely comparable to the doubles. They also seem to harden to a much greater degree when wet with water or dye. There is a greater degree of variable quality with Siegel's leathers but their customer relations department is absolutely tops when it comes to customer satisfaction, even to the point of paying for the returns of the customer rejects. You might bear in mind that when a major company offers a REAL deal in leather that is less than half of their standard pricing---it is generally because the lot is inferior in some respect. These are the hides, sides, backs, or shoulders that were worn by cattle with a love affair with barbed wire fences or hosted ticks by the hundreds. Others were tanned poorly by some obscure South American tanneries and will cause you to create more elaborate, more colorful, vocabularies. Some of the craft stores such as the Leather Factory and Tandy carry a "iffy" product---IF you are lucky you get a good buy, good! IF not, well we learn from our mistakes. The craft stores are usually OUTRAGEOUS in their price structures and I avoid them where possible. "Where possible" is a key phrase here. At times they are the only available resource. Do not make the mistake of shunning Mexican leathers as all bad. I find that some are of superior quality when tanned on good USA hides and USA specifications. Siegels shoulders will generally fall into this category which makes it an acceptable product as their return policy is so liberal. To sum it all up in a nutshell----Wickett & Craig is a SUPERIOR product, rather pricey--- to the point that I would advise beginners to make their mistakes (and they will happen!) on a less expensive material. ---Sandy---

[John T Wylie Jr]

thanks for the info Sandy.

I will still buy the economy single shoulders for practice or experimental stuff , at the price its a good deal. I would have kept 1 of the 5 oz singles if the backs of them werent so nasty. The 3 times I have ordered from them before this the economy singles were pretty darn clean and mark free.