Reindeer Leather.

[TheGreenMan]

I posted this enquiry in the Resources forum a while ago, but had no takers. I’ve moved it here in case the Scandinavian/Canadian members have any useful information. The Resources forum may be easily overlooked, so I thought I’d give this one a try in one of the more ‘mainstream’ forums (Moderators permitting).

I won’t go into the background detail (For those who are interested in the minutiae, my original post can be found here: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=17070 ).

In short, I’m looking for a supply of very soft, un-dyed, tanned leather, suitable to repair a Fjällraven leather knapsack (I’m guessing that the leather is reindeer/caribou).

Here are some pics (Apologies for the low quality, I don’t have a digital camera, these were taken with a phone):

This one shows the bottom of the knapsack, and illustrates the damage to the leather that needs replacing:

Can anyone help?

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[big_swede]

I had a backpack just like that when I was in primary school. I always wondered where it had gone. So now I know...

And a supply of reindeer leather, pm sent

 

[TheGreenMan]

I had a backpack just like that when I was in primary school. I always wondered where it had gone. So now I know...

Thanks for the PM, big_swede. Lovely of you to make such a generous offer, I'll definitely be taking you up on it.

In the meantime, if anyone else has information about sources of un-dyed, tanned, reindeer hide (Without hair) these would be of interest.

Thanks again, BS.

Cheers!,
Paul.

 

[TheGreenMan]

What can I say, big_swede? Rarely have I encountered such kindness and generosity.

Everyone, this is what arrived by post today. - A brand new leather knapsack as replacement for my ancient, damaged, but much loved Fjällraven knapsack:

I couldn’t be more pleased big_swede. Thank you a million times! I will treasure this knapsack always. It’s beautiful.

All the very best to you and all in Sweden,
Paul.

 

[ESpy]

If you're still looking for reindeer leather, http://www.dick.biz/ sell it (Materials/Leather) - albeit by the whole hide and significantly darker than that.

Beginning to wish I hadn't looked now - they've also got ostrich in...

 

[TheGreenMan]

If you're still looking for reindeer leather, http://www.dick.biz/ sell it (Materials/Leather) - albeit by the whole hide and significantly darker than that.

Beginning to wish I hadn't looked now - they've also got ostrich in...

Hello ESpy,

I’m always interested in information, and I’ll check out the site. I know that they have a ‘monostrap’ hunting knapsack, as I was looking it at sometime ago, and considered it as a replacement for the Fjällraven.

Thanks for the URL, very welcome.

By the way, the photo is not the best quality, having been taken with a phone. The colour balance is way out of whack, and the leather of knapsack is a good bit deeper in colour than illustrated.

Thanks again for your interest.

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[leon-1]

big_swede you have rep.

ESpy, stop tempting me with more things to buy and play with. You know it is bad for my Bank account Pete.

 

[ESpy]

ESpy, stop tempting me with more things to buy and play with. You know it is bad for my Bank account Pete.

Ah, I'll bring you some goodies at the weekend...

 

[leon-1]

Shame I cannot make the meet, too many other commitments I am afraid mate. I'll do my best to get to the next meet

 

[TheGreenMan]

If you're still looking for reindeer leather, http://www.dick.biz/ sell it (Materials/Leather) - albeit by the whole hide and significantly darker than that.

Beginning to wish I hadn't looked now - they've also got ostrich in...

I’ve just looked at the site, and while the ostrich is nice, it was the fish leather that blew me away!

By the way, having seen the reindeer leather, I now understand what you meant regarding the colour (I mistakenly thought you were referring to the very pale colour of the leather as illustrated in the poor quality photo of the bag that big-sweded sent me). The leather at the Dick site will in fact be too dark to make a good colour match with the Fjällraven, but it would still be good to effect a repair.

I’m going to keep looking for undyed reindeer leather, and if anyone happens upon any during their travels on the Web, I’d be happy to hear for them.

Thanks again

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[ESpy]

I’ve just looked at the site, and while the ostrich is nice, it was the fish leather that blew me away!

The salmon leather is incredible - I just need to come up with an excuse, um, application for it. Ostrich I'd want for inlays.

 

[Diederik Pomstra]

Hi there,
Just new on the forum, but maybe I can help you out. I tan in my backyard so I have braintanned deerskins and roedeer for you. No reindeer though. I also tanned salmonskins and it is really easy. I used sprucenark, willowbark, brains, fat and urine and they all work. I tanned also pike and perch but they do not come out so pretty. Surprisingly strong though. I'll make a hat out of it. Keep an eye out for Lotta Rahme (Swedish professional traditional tanner, she wrote some books, one is called 'leather') or follow the fishhidetanning-course at Bäckedals Folkhögskola in Sveg (Sweden).
All the best,
Diederik

 

[ESpy]

I'd be very interested in hearing more about tanning salmon skin in particular. Could I interest you in starting a thread in the DIY & Traditional Crafts about it?

 

[TheGreenMan]

The salmon leather is incredible - I just need to come up with an excuse, um, application for it. Ostrich I'd want for inlays.

The fish might be good to make or decorate a container for bushcrafty fishing related items, such as the fishing net repair gear, fashioned from animal bone, I was looking at here: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=17060

Many years ago I worked as a specialist decorative painter (Marbling and woodgraining and so forth). I started to play around with the idea of developing painted finishes based on animal skin. I wanted to create some decorative finishes based on fish skins. I thought that mackerel skin would look particularly nice, and imagined that it would look good on the panels of a wood panelled room (Not antique oak panelling, but new panelling made of inexpensive softwood!) . I never did get round to producing any prototype samples of the fish skin finishes. I might get back to it one day.

This was a first attempt at a tiger skin painted finish – the photo shows a section of an old sample board I still have kicking around. The original sample board was four times the area of that illustrated and probably took no more that five minutes to execute. It’s not an example of a fully developed technique, or particulary well observed tiger skin, but not bad for a totally experimental first effort:
:

This is a close up of the sample board, lousy photo, but it gives some impression of the surprisingly hairy ‘texture’ of the finish. It is in fact perfectly smooth and flat, and the ‘hairs’ are not painted individually, one by one, but with a very quick technique using large decorator’s paint brushes.

By the way, if you’re at a loss for a project with the ostrich, a pair of ostrich skin cowboy boots would be welcome at this end

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[Diederik Pomstra]

I'd be very interested in hearing more about tanning salmon skin in particular. Could I interest you in starting a thread in the DIY & Traditional Crafts about it?

Right, on it's way.
Diederik

 

[TheGreenMan]

Hi there,
Just new on the forum, but maybe I can help you out. I tan in my backyard so I have braintanned deerskin and roedeer for you. No reindeer though. I also tanned salmonskins and it is really easy. I used sprucenark, willowbark, brains, fat and urine and they all work. I tanned also pike and perch but they do not come out so pretty. Surprisingly strong though. I'll make a hat out of it. Keep an eye out for Lotta Rahme (Swedish professional traditional tanner, she wrote some books, one is called 'leather') or follow the fishhidetanning-course at Bäckedals Folkhögskola in Sveg (Sweden).
All the best,
Diederik

Hello Diederik,

Nice post!

Thank you for the very kind offer of the brain-tanned deer skin and roedeer skin. I’m not sure what these would look like. The knapsack that big_swede sent me has a matt finish, and looks very absorbent, it also has highly visible ‘open’ pores on the skin. Does this sound like deer skin to you?

The Fjällraven is very smooth leather, and extremely flexible (It was even when new), with no visible skin pores. I’m only guessing that it’s made of reindeer skin, but the softness of the leather seems identify it as reindeer.

Thanks again for your interest

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[Diederik Pomstra]

Dear Paul,
The looks of the leather depends very much on how you tan it. Nubuck, buckskin and other leathers from which the epidermis has been removed have the open, porous look that you describe. That's what I tan. You can look for yourself on my site if you like (www.het-stenen-tijdperk.nl). There are many pictures of my leather on it. I can send you some small piece for repairs on your beloved pack if it seems good to you, but if you want to have whole skins we'll have to think of some trade (it's a lot of work, buckskin).
Diederik

 

[TheGreenMan]

Dear Paul,
The looks of the leather depends very much on how you tan it. Nubuck, buckskin and other leathers from which the epidermis has been removed have the open, porous look that you describe. That's what I tan. You can look for yourself on my site if you like (www.het-stenen-tijdperk.nl). There are many pictures of my leather on it. I can send you some small piece for repairs on your beloved pack if it seems good to you, but if you want to have whole skins we'll have to think of some trade (it's a lot of work, buckskin).
Diederik

I've had a quick look at your site, very nice work, but I wish I could read Dutch!

I'll look again later when I'm less pressed for time, must log-off now, things to do.

Thanks again, Diederik.

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[ESpy]

By the way, if you’re at a loss for a project with the ostrich, a pair of ostrich skin cowboy boots would be welcome at this end

Only just noticed that bit... I have a lot of info on Western bootmaking (including a fairly full treatise on the subject), the only thing that has scuppered me to date is availability of lasts. Short of reproducing a foot (with the correct heel lift) in e.g. pine, I really don't know enough abput the subject.

Nice example panel too - I quite like the use of mesh & an airbrush for fishscale patterns.

 

[TheGreenMan]

Only just noticed that bit... I have a lot of info on Western bootmaking (including a fairly full treatise on the subject), the only thing that has scuppered me to date is availability of lasts. Short of reproducing a foot (with the correct heel lift) in e.g. pine, I really don't know enough abput the subject.

Nice example panel too - I quite like the use of mesh & an airbrush for fishscale patterns.

I was just kidding around with cowboy boot thing

But on a more serious note, I’ve always preferred the type of boot with a flat heal, rather than the elevated heal design, which I believe was developed to prevent the heal of the boot slipping forward through the more generously sized western stirrup.

I have to say, that on one occasion I was working on a shop fitting project (my first wood graining job, by the way), and one night I had forgotten to take my work shoes with me. I borrowed an old pair of my boss’s cowboy boots for the ‘ghoster’ we were about to start, and it was one of the most painful footwear experiences I’ve ever had <chuckle> These were of the type that had the built-up heal. Clearly best worn when in the saddle, and to be avoided by painters working 16 hour shifts

Incidentally, thanks for the airbrush/stencil suggestion. My boss at the time, was very keen on the use of stencils with spay guns of various types of paint effect, I think because of considerations of speed/cost over quality (Haven’t used an airbrush for about 30 years, since my early days as a graphic artist). As a painter, I used DeVilbiss a great deal. But I was always a brush man. More traditional.

I think it was the anticipated difficulty of developing a quick technique using brushes for reproducing fish skin that probably caused me to put the whole thing on the ‘back burner’. I developed a serious commitment to the brush after a chance encounter with three sample panels of painted marbling by Thomas Kershaw on a staircase at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Here are two examples of his work (Not the ones in the V&A if I remember correctly):

Stonking stuff!

By the way, I meant to ask you about the ‘inlay’ you mentioned in relation to the ostrich leather. What would you be inlaying with ostrich?

Shoe lasts seem to be big in Australia for some reason:
http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/shoo.html
http://www.shoelastsandcomponents.com.au/lasts.html

This might be of interest to you:
http://www.brueder-winkle.de/e/frameset2.htm?schuhleisten.htm

And one from the UK:
http://www.springline.net/

And thanks for your kind comment about the sample board.

Best regards,
Paul.

PS: At this point I feel obliged to say 'reindeer skin' just to keep this on topic