plaited kangaroo hide

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

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puzzledgrunt
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Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:59 am

Dear Gentlemen,

Congratulations on the excellent forum, and on wearing your obviously considerable erudition so lightly; it reflects well on you.

In 2007 I intend to resume self-employment in plaiting (and possibly sewing) kangaroo hide, making items such as belts, wallets and so forth. My operation will be as a low quantity, high quality, home based, sole trader, aiming at the top end of the market. :twisted:

If anyone has any helpful ideas, please let me know. :wink:
JamesT1
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Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:12 am

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sure I am not alone when saying that I know very little about kangaroo hide. If you were to post some information or images regarding what it is you would like to produce and the benefits of the hide it would be appreciated.

Thank you,
~James
puzzledgrunt
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Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:36 am

Dear JamesT1,

Thanks for the welcome; it's gratifying to get a reply, especially so quickly.

Posting images of my work might be a bit difficult, as I (deep breath) don't...have...a...mobile (OOOH!) or...a...digital...camera (AAAH!) and my only camera is a Minolta 35mm. However, I can easily provide details of roohide's qualities and how it is worked.
This is a very involved subject, so I'll stick to the basics to start with, and if anyone wants more information, just contact me and I'll do what I can to help.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ROOHIDE

It is the strongest leather in the world for its thickness, which is generally about 1-2 mm.This is because of the consistency of the grain, which looks like a series of closely spaced diagonal lines when examined through a magnifying glass.

A strand of lace of 200 + metres in length can be cut from one hide-plus the scraps.

Because of its thinness, it is more susceptible to drying out than most leathers. I have seen scraps of roo become as brittle as matchsticks through neglect. Once it reaches that state it is ruined.

It is particularly well suited for gloves and MTM R.M.Williams dress boots, like the ones I'm wearing now.

When soaked in water and worked into the desired shape, it will retain that shape forever, once it has dried.

Making roohide stockwhips is an art form in its own right. I have seen an image of an exquisite 48 strand whip which placed Third at the Sydney Show. If I remember correctly, that whip was made by one of the Barr family here in Queensland and each strand was 1.25 mm wide. Normally a 3 mm wide strand is the narrowest used, so what the hell came First and Second? :shock:

I'll pause here for a while-more to follow
Cheers
Mark Trist
pchong
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Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:24 pm

Hi Mark...have you come across roohide used for jackets? Who makes them?

cheers mate.
puzzledgrunt
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Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:21 pm

Dear pchong,

Roohide jackets, eh? I don't recall having encountered any, but this may be because the usable area of a hide is fairly small, especially when compared to cowhide, for example. This is probably why the Australian method of cutting lace came into being, to get the most use out of the leather.

However, I do recall having seen some beautiful Hermes 'blouson' type jackets that were made from lambskin. I don't know how big the average lambskin would be, but I doubt that it would be much larger than the average roohide.

Roo would make an excellent jacket, but I suspect that you would need to find a specialist leather tailor first, which could be quite a feat in itself. In addition, you would need to have fairly deep pockets, because the job would use up quite a few hides.

A roo hide is roughly triangular- not the most convenient of shapes- and for plaiting, the usable leather is cut from the largest possible circle in the centre of the hide. The leather from the edges of the hide is usually quite soft and elastic, and therefore useless for plaiting, although it has several other uses. I don't know what techniques leather tailors use.

Nevertheless, such a garment is perfectly feasible...indeed, it might make a very interesting project for any Loungers who are interested. I think you're on to a good idea, as the jacket would be beautifully supple, especially after a little wear, while still being very strong and light. 8)

I can supply the contact details for Packer Leather, a tannery which can supply virtually any hide to order. In addition, J.H. Cutler is a bespoke tailoring firm in Sydney and has an excellent reputation- I'm sure they'd be up for the challenge. :wink:

All together now...
"Style good, fashion bad! Style good, fashion bad!"

Until next time

Mark Trist
Cantabrigian
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Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:22 pm

Mark,

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like an interesting project you are undertaking. Will you be using roo exclusively or will you be working with other leathers as well. In my limited experience with it, roo seems incredibly soft but if it requires quite a bit of care to keep it from being ruined by dryness, it may not be ideal for some everyday items.
JamesT1
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Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:53 pm

What about roo buttons for a tweed jacket? or roo cufflinks?
puzzledgrunt
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:54 pm

Dear Cantabragian,

I will only start learning to sew leather by hand next week, so it will be roohide only for the next little while.

You are quite right about roo being slightly more susceptible to drying out than some leathers, but even so, it is fairly common for dress bridles to be made entirely out of roo, and I have seen some beautifully accomplished examples of this sort of work.

It is a long-established tradition that any item of saddlery be made as strongly as possible, since the rider's life may depend on it. Needless to say, roo would never be used for this if it were not strong enough.

Even basic care is better than none-a wipe with a clean damp rag followed by a quick working with clean fat (or cooking oil) will help!

Cheers,

Mark T
puzzledgrunt
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:59 pm

Dear James T1

Yes, this would be quite feasible- Several techniques exist for covering an existing button or making one from scratch. It would look great on a tweed jacket, especially in two-tone leather! Cufflinks would also be quite smple to make, using the many types of Turk's head knots that exist.

Must dash-hope this helps.

Cheers

Mark T
puzzledgrunt
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:27 pm

Dear Cantabragian,

I forgot to mention possum hide. Apparently some idiot :roll: released a few Australian possums in New Zealand a few years ago, and now, as is the wont of introduced beasties, they are overbreeding maniacally and causing a real ecological problem for our Kiwi friends.

The Kiwis, naturally, are racking their brains for a solution and a partial one is the use of possum hide for making gloves. I'm not sure if this is a new or old usage, but apparently the leather is very supple whilst being very strong. I recall reading somewhere that it is very popular amongst sailors for this reason.

So, depending on what you have in mind, it might be worth Googling some NZ websites for hides.

Die, possum, die!

Until next time,

Mark T
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