Recycled leather?

[Rich.H]

Just wondering if anyone here has used any of the recycled leather products that are about on various sites, I got a sample of one company to see what it was like and it seems just like cheap thin leather.

Anyone that has used it can you say if it works well for crafting with and how does it hold up to the elements?

 

[John Fenna]

I get my "recycled" leather from charity shops!
I ask them to hold any leather garments that are too trashed to actually sell - stuff that would normally go to the ragman - and I give them a bit more than the ragman would
Everyone wins!
Also I am able to see what I am getting (if the leather is too far gone/panels to small for use etc then I politely decline the item but thank them for thinking of me) and sometimes I can recommend that they keep an item for sale as it is actually saleable as it stands.
I have also had leather sofas donated to me on the proviso that I pick them up and deal with any bits I do not want.
Buying "recycled" leather from a middleman must push the price up a bit....

 

[Monikieman]

I've seen stuff on the Bay made up of off cuts. More like reconstituted leather. Must be glued together and must be inferior to the real thing.

I 'recycle' by skinning old and abandoned couches. Got really excited about a green one and tried dying but that went belly up and looked like I smoked 40 a day

Just keep looking for brown ones (if that's what you want). The other thing to do is go into a posh couch shop and ask for an old leather sample book. Best quality stuff. FOC.

 

[Tengu]

Me too, I have a lot of old leather that way.