# How to find leather CHEAP



## aussie commando

hi guys iv been looking for leather from hareware stores to fabric shops and it can be a mind bender to find simple leather
so i went to my local op shop "lifeline, vinnies, salvos"
they have many ranges of second hand belts, it felt like i found a gold mine

i thought i would share a thought

cheers fellow shooters


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## aussie

aussie commando said:


> hi guys iv been looking for leather from hareware stores to fabric shops and it can be a mind bender to find simple leather
> so i went to my local op shop "lifeline, vinnies, salvos"
> they have many ranges of second hand belts, it felt like i found a gold mine
> 
> i thought i would share a thought
> 
> cheers fellow shooters


Thanks Aussie Commando. I never thougth of trying there. Good idea.


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## Hrawk

I've found that belt leather can often be a bit too stiff and rather heavy, contributing to some rather nasty hand slaps.

Just ask NoSugarRob, I sent him a set of bands with belt leather. I still dont think his knuckles have recovered.

Instead of belts, take a look at leather handbags and possibly jackets.


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## bootneck

the leather on the cheap workmans/gardening gloves works great by me, or when the dog half eats the wife's handbag so she gives whats left to me.


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## slingshot_sniper

Boot leather,quality leather jackets come to mind









That said you can get real good deals on ebay on leather hide or if you have funds a one off payment to Tandy leather will get you exactly the leather weight/thickness you want


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## aussie commando

thanks for the extra ideas guys keep them rolling in


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

Furniture shops. Ask for the old sample booklets.


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## Hrawk

The leather I am currently using I got for free from an upholstery shop. I just asked and they gave me a big bag of offcuts.


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## CRO-josip14

http://www.chinawholesalegift.com/Sports-Outdoor-Leisure-Gifts/Glove/Working-gloves/Working-gloves-21292154/ this work's great for me..they are cheap but has soft,lightweight and strong leather....


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## slingshot_sniper

Welders apron


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## Imperial

slingshot_sniper said:


> Welders apron


thats what ive been using lately, an old one i forgot about that i had in my tool box. just condition and clean it a bit, then its good to go.


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## -SRS-45-

I got some welders apron too, don't you find it a bit thick though?


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## Imperial

-SRS-45- said:


> I got some welders apron too, don't you find it a bit thick though?


no, the one i use is about 1/16" thick. ive noticed that it also depends on the brand. Black stallion leather is usually thicker, so it lasts longer. the store brand leather for Airgas, for example, tends to be real thin, not true to size and generally wears out faster. the Airgas welding leather jackets, aprons are gold/yellow in color when its new and the black stallion is more true to sizing and is a dark brown, thick and with some weight to it.


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## CHANEKE_JOSH

well... I buy my leather on tannery shop directly. recently bought half piece of cow leather, nice quality stuf, natural, for ocassional fabrication of knives sheats and hunting bags. and I have recently found that the goat leather is particularly good for making leather pouches.

a full goat leather, here, costs about ... 10 dollars or less.

Obviously, I apply an oil and wax treatment to reconstitute the leather.

should try this option.


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## -SRS-45-

CRO-josip14 said:


> http://www.chinawhol...loves-21292154/ this work's great for me..they are cheap but has soft,lightweight and strong leather....


Hey these look great, I just bought a pair of the largest size I could get from lidle for £2.50, theres gotta be a good 30 pouches in there if you cut them up efficiently


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## Tex-Shooter

I would suggest that you stay aeay from splits like gloves and welders aprons and go with top grain leather as it is much stronger for the same thickness. One of the problems that I have in making pouches all the time is grtting good leather. I have ended up buying aproxmently 110 square feet at a time so I could get premium leather for pouches.-- Tex


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## derbyduck

Welding gloves work for me (guantlets) get diferent thiknesses in one glove ie. thumb is thicker on the inside and they come in all kind of colours too.

DD


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## Imperial

the key to using welding leather is to not use the heat damaged part. the rest of it will still be good. if its dry, cracked or burnt- then of course you can forget about it. sometimes all it needs is a lil conditioner if its not too bad.


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## dustyjoe

I find baseballs all the time.i made a few pouches out of there leather worked fairly well the better quality baseball the better. I found that the diamond brand are very durable.i found one that is not real leather.and havent used it yet the material dosent look promising...man an old football (pigskin)would be great now that I think about it im gonna track one down and try I use a leather conditioner to soften the baseball leather feels like lamb skin when done very soft. 'ol holster trick


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## crapshot

try a cobbler shop or shop that makes chaps motorcycle saddle bags boots some times get good price on scrap leather


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## bj000

i found a place that said they literally have a decade or more worth of scrap leather.. 5$ CN for a 5LBS bag.


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## Imperial

@ bj000 - i dont mean to stereotype, but with you being in canada and all, ever try moose leather?


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## bj000

im not sure i have even seen moose leather. ill let u know if it comes around


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## Northerner

bj000 said:


> im not sure i have even seen moose leather. ill let u know if it comes around


Hey BJ... Tell him the truth. We have moose walking around our backyards up here. Seriously now, I should check into getting some moose leather next hunting season. Possibly some guys around here tan the stuff and sell it. We have lots of deer around here too. Our city council is now talking about culling the deer numbers because of vehicle accidents.

Cheers,
Northerner


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## bj000

im in winnipeg.. im sure there are moose outside of town and leather available somewhere, but i wouldn't know.


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## wombat

http://birdsall-leather.com.au/home.php?cat=1 Birdsall's leather in sydney. for 60 bucks I got a full kangaroo hide they have a web site you can order off of.


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## Bert

I took advice from here, bought a pair of high quality gardening gloves for £4.50. Enough very tough leather for at least 20 pouches. Made one in minutes and attached it. Perfect! Thanks


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## Ridhwaan

Try looking for an old boot. You can cut out the toe tip and make a good pouch from it.
Though finding a book your willing to cut up isn't that easy.


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## Always_Running

I get my leather from leather jackets from discount shops and also hobby lobby carries a wide selection of leather hope this helps


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## Imperial

forks, pouches and food all included


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## bj000

so i found a place to get moose leather.. going to check it out in a day or so. will let u know.. they have all kinds of leather.


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## bj000

http://www.billworbfurs.com/Leather_BuckskinMoose.htm
http://www.billworbfurs.com/CraftSupplies_HeadRugs.htm and head rugs,... hole crap. kinda morbid but i would love one just the same.. I would call it my cat babysitter.


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## NaturalFork

Duct tape!!! .... I have found leather to be tricky to get.


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## slingshoot

Is the tongue of an old elegant leather shoe good for this? Here, in Europe, it is more dificult to find these skins at good price


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## NaturalFork

I also like the Tandy leather. I had a post on here about some good stuff from them but the search feature is not working.


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## ezshot

For used inexpensive leather go to the Salvation Army Store or a second hand clothing store. There are leather jackets,gloves,shoes and boots for a fraction of the cost. Most of the time for a couple of dollars you can get a good supply of leather.


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## bj000

slingshoot said:


> For used inexpensive leather go to the Salvation Army Store or a second hand clothing store. There are leather jackets,gloves,shoes and boots for a fraction of the cost. Most of the time for a couple of dollars you can get a good supply of leather.


there are cheap leather jackets at salvation army and some of the leathers in those jackets are so perfect.


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## Papa G

I got a load of nice leather from a sofa, that someone put out, 5 min and I had it skined


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## Dayhiker

I took somebody's advise about goat leather and just put in a bid on ebay for some.


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## archerben15

I don't know if you have any amish people in australia but in america you can get leather for free in the scrap bin of amish shops.


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## Charles

I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a wonderful place there that tanned hides and had all sorts of leather for sale. The place was then called Halford Hide and Fur. I see they are still in business, and they are on the web. They apparently have cow, deer, elk, MOOSE, and pig:

https://www.halfords...THER.aspx?store=

I still have two full cowhides, complete with hair, that I bought there many years ago.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## wombat

Charles said:


> I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a wonderful place there that tanned hides and had all sorts of leather for sale. The place was then called Halford Hide and Fur. I see they are still in business, and they are on the web. They apparently have cow, deer, elk, MOOSE, and pig:
> 
> https://www.halfords...THER.aspx?store=
> 
> I still have two full cowhides, complete with hair, that I bought there many years ago.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


haha! edmonton! that's how we ended up here. went from 40 degrees below to 40 above!!


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## Gregor-Y

ask the memeber 'e-shot'


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## Gregor-Y

http://slingshotforum.com/gallery/member/411-eshot/


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## Charles

wombat said:


> I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a wonderful place there that tanned hides and had all sorts of leather for sale. The place was then called Halford Hide and Fur. I see they are still in business, and they are on the web. They apparently have cow, deer, elk, MOOSE, and pig:
> 
> https://www.halfords...THER.aspx?store=
> 
> I still have two full cowhides, complete with hair, that I bought there many years ago.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


haha! edmonton! that's how we ended up here. went from 40 degrees below to 40 above!!
[/quote]

And that's how I ended up in Victoria ... no temperature extremes!

Cheers ...... Charles


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## smooth62

http://www.brettunsv...crap/scraps.htm found this last night ebay has alot of scrap leather too


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## Daniel J

i gotta try the salvation army place. see if they got any leather.


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## Stalker

Try this place Guys http://www.craft-time-ideas.com/80511/info.php?p=7 ... They sell leather straps in various lengths and thicknesses and for virtually next to nothing... When I used them, my order arrived the next day (in UK) so cant complain there


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## BOWDIDDLEY

Stumbled on to an old well made suede leather jacket in the back closet, out of style for wearing, just right for pouches for quite a while. There are leather coats out of style at Goodwill, Salvation army and near me a Quarter store all things .25. P.S. they don't have any sling shots, sorry. My welder gloves always have good leather in the cuff area after the hand parts are unusable. The search is on


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## HungaJungaESQ

Charles said:


> I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a wonderful place there that tanned hides and had all sorts of leather for sale. The place was then called Halford Hide and Fur. I see they are still in business, and they are on the web. They apparently have cow, deer, elk, MOOSE, and pig:
> 
> https://www.halfords...THER.aspx?store=
> 
> I still have two full cowhides, complete with hair, that I bought there many years ago.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


haha! edmonton! that's how we ended up here. went from 40 degrees below to 40 above!!
[/quote]

And that's how I ended up in Victoria ... no temperature extremes!

Cheers ...... Charles
[/quote]

HA! I followed my heart to California from Ft McMurray via Edmonton. xD

Charles, you're near my mother! Hehe.

-Bob


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## Charles

HungaJungaESQ said:


> I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a wonderful place there that tanned hides and had all sorts of leather for sale. The place was then called Halford Hide and Fur. I see they are still in business, and they are on the web. They apparently have cow, deer, elk, MOOSE, and pig:
> 
> https://www.halfords...THER.aspx?store=
> 
> I still have two full cowhides, complete with hair, that I bought there many years ago.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


haha! edmonton! that's how we ended up here. went from 40 degrees below to 40 above!!
[/quote]

And that's how I ended up in Victoria ... no temperature extremes!

Cheers ...... Charles
[/quote]

HA! I followed my heart to California from Ft McMurray via Edmonton. xD

Charles, you're near my mother! Hehe.

-Bob
[/quote]

Sooo, when you visit your mother, get in touch!!!

Cheers ... Charles


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## HungaJungaESQ

We were just there in mid October. Too bad I didn't get the SS bug a little sooner. Hehe.

-Bob


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## Charles

HungaJungaESQ said:


> We were just there in mid October. Too bad I didn't get the SS bug a little sooner. Hehe.
> 
> -Bob


Indeed that is too bad. Perhaps next time.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Iryman

Well if you're on a budget, charity shops are awesome. Belts, shoes, handbags, wallets...all for pennies! Places like Oxfam, RSPCA, AGEconcern. These are all good charity shops in the UK, and of course you're doing something good too


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## mr.joel

Chrome tanned leather would be optimal, I would think, it's less inclined to stretch and consequently rip than vegetable or other types of tanning. It usually has a grey color on the flesh side. I don't think any of the deer family would make good pouches: the leather is too stretchy and will bust out.


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## newconvert

Hrawk said:


> I've found that belt leather can often be a bit too stiff and rather heavy, contributing to some rather nasty hand slaps.
> 
> Just ask NoSugarRob, I sent him a set of bands with belt leather. I still dont think his knuckles have recovered.
> 
> Instead of belts, take a look at leather handbags and possibly jackets.


Hrawk is dead on, belt leather makes for stiff finger killer pouchs, it jus happens i was curious about cheap pouch material so i also went to the thrift store, purses, leather jackets, old wallets. more than i would want or need, but i prefer the pouchs the vendors on this site make and sell................ just say no to belts!


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## Tex-Shooter

I must say that I agree with old boot leather. In fact I am buying boot leather for all of my standard pouches now. An old Wellington boot will make qiite a dew pouches. -- Tex


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## mr.joel

Doubling split or pig leather seems to work well, with double sided grain on thinner leather would make it much stronger while retaining most of it's suppleness. This method is used by vendors here, Rayshot makes super light pouches doing it this way.


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## saurian

for free leather go to a furniture shop that sell leather sofas and ask if they have any old swatch books, colours and styles come and go all the time so swatches are replaced on a regular basis. Ive never had a shop say no they dont have any


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## saurian

not free but lots of leather - try a breakers yard and have the back bench out of a leather trimmed car, car seat leather is usually tough full grain leather.


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## the gafer

aussie commando said:


> hi guys iv been looking for leather from hareware stores to fabric shops and it can be a mind bender to find simple leather
> so i went to my local op shop "lifeline, vinnies, salvos"
> they have many ranges of second hand belts, it felt like i found a gold mine
> 
> i thought i would share a thought
> 
> cheers fellow shooters


try le prevo in the uk its where i get all my leather from to make dog collars and they have a wide salection of leather from heavy leather to thin leather they are cheep too


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## Viper010

cheap leather?

watch the curb on trash day! ive cut many a sqare yard of the nicest leathers off discarded couches!

you wouldnt believe what some ppl throw away!
i think i have abt 3 sq yards of black, abt a sqaure yard of three shades of brown and a yard n a half of forest green, all gathered from trash in the past year.

good luck!


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## snowmann

I agree 100% with everyone who Pointed out 2nd hand stores + thrift stores & ( habitat & Salvation Army stores for US in the states ) - Any store that sells old shoes - purses - even clothing, if you look hard enough, you can find something with leather on it, even some old sporting equipt - football's, softballs, etc !! but by far the best (for me) has been the $2-to-$3 old work boots- with almost no soles left in them, no one seems to want them, and the leather is nicely all worn in - prime scavidging material, Now if I were a braver MAN I guess I'd scavange through the purses (more leather) but I have yet to go their.... Some Psychology involved their I think ?? I do also Dumpster Dive from time -2- time in certain areas of town, some ppl throw away Amazing things, but I'll leave it their...


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## denster

Found a source of the perfect leather for pouches. Well it is great for a number of things but perfect for pouches and it is cheap. It's called military boot scuff. You'll find it on the toes and heels of military boots. It is exactly 4OZ or 1/16" highly compressed and waterproof. Strong as all get out with little stretch. The grain side has a light embossed texture which really aids in gripping it. The flesh side is a very fine sueded nap. The only downside is you have to like medium OD green. With so many of our troops being recalled th need for boots dropped way of and a bunch of this leather hit the market, (Hate to think what the government paid for it.) Anyway Kevin at Springfield Leather bought several thousand square feet of it and is selling it at .69c per square foot. Thats right sixty nine cents a foot. It's not on their web page so you have to call and ask for military boot scuff but you will be glad you did. I bought a couple hundred sqft to line belts and holsters with and on a whim decided to try it for pouches when I was banding up a slingshot I made for my brother's birthday. I am impressed with the results.


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## kingmurphy

i've got most of my leather pouches from saxon a leather copany type it in in google and they'll send you some free swatches

Alexander .s. Howson


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## RedRubber

Cheap Leather? Well, tan my hide!









I gave up on scrounging for leather.

I use the ones that Rayshot makes because they are small, soft and they don't wear out.


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## flipgun

Iyfyou beat belt leather with a hammer before making your pouch, It will work a lot better..


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## Ole Man Dan

Late entry...

I've gone the Thrift Store route for leather.

I buy leather ladies purses and make Cell Phone cases, and now extra slingshot pouches.

I can buy a couple of purses for less than $5.


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## IanW

I found a leather sofa that had been dumped near my workplace. I just cut out a couple of panels and now have lots of leather. It is also much tougher than the glove leather I was using before.


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## Old Goat

Thanks for the ideas. We do have a refabric shop here in town. He does upholstery on couches, chairs and things. Maybe I can get some there. Also the thrift shops we got a few arround here.


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## romanljc

Its easy enough to get leather online but in my experience its hard to get the same exact thickness you want even when they advertise it as a certain thickness it varies from piece to piece


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