Thread: Latigo, the mystery leather?

Perhaps I can share a little knowledge about the mysterious leather called "Latigo". All leather comes from the hides of animals, from Anaconda to Zebra. If it is not of animal origin, it is not leather, even though it may look and feel somewhat like the genuine article. When the hide is removed from the animal and dried without further treatment, it is know as "Rawhide". If it is not dried, it will rot and be useless. Dried, it shrinks and becomes flint hard and will not rot as long as it is kept dry.It was used in place of bolts and nails by simply wrapping the joints and letting them dry. The type of leather that is used to shape and hold its form (holsters, leather cases, etc) and for the beautiful tooling and stamping is called "Vegetable Tanned", or shortened to "Veg Tanned". It is treated with the naturally occurring tannins in trees and plants, most notably Oak. Leather that needs to be more pliable and resistant to deterioration when exposed to moisture is tanned either completely with chemicals (chromium salts) or with a combination of vegetable and chemical treatments. Finally, we come to the particular type of leather known as Latigo. Different tanneries vary in the tanning process (each tannery has their own proprietary process for each type of leather), but it is predominately a chemical tanning process. After the tanning process, the hides are tumbled in huge drums with various fat "liquors" and oils. Latigo has a large amount of this "stuffed" back into the leather, hence its superior resistance to moisture and sweat. It is also dyed in the process, typically the Bergundy color which is what you see in the strops. It can also be yellow or black. It could be made from the hide of most any warm blooded animal, but I have never seen it made from anything but cattle. Any type of soap will tend to make the dye bleed, the more harsh the soap, the more bleeding. Since Latigo has been infused with lots of natural fats and oils in the manufacturing process, it very rarely should need more dressing, unless exposed to harsh chemicals, soap, and an extraordinary amount of hot, dry conditions. I apologize for the length of this message, but I thought the background information might go a long way toward dispelling some of the questions I have seen here. If you have more questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Nice post and a good explanation of latigo.

There are quite a few different Latigo types, all tanned a bit differently. While much is completely chemical tanned such as Alum Tanned Latigo, there is also a completely Chrome tanned type, a veg/chrome retanned (2 processes, veg tanned first, then chrome tanned afterwards) and a 100% veg tanned Latigo. Each has different traits, stiffness, etc......

Bridle and Harness leather may have a similar feel as there are stuffed with waxes, oils or greases but may be a bit stiffer and in my experience may tend to cup more easily.


Tony

We used to brain-tan all kinds of skins when I was younger, rabbit size and up. We would then "smoke" the hides for better resistance and recovery if they ever got wet.

I've been using a piece of brain-tanned and smoked cowhide for months now. It seems to have more draw and better sharpening results than my (now retired) Latigo strop.

Thank you Tony for the kind words and the succintly stated addendum. I was worried that I had already rambled on too long. Your additional information sort of "put the icing on the cake". Thanks a million for the expertise and information you share so freely on this forum. I have dealt with leather most of my life, but only have been using the straight for about 8 months. All the information you display and share here is invaluable.

Originally Posted by Sticky

We used to brain-tan all kinds of skins when I was younger, rabbit size and up. We would then "smoke" the hides for better resistance and recovery if they ever got wet.

I've been using a piece of brain-tanned and smoked cowhide for months now. It seems to have more draw and better sharpening results than my (now retired) Latigo strop.

The guy who taught me to tan said, " All animals have enough brains to tan their own hides. Except chickens and teenagers."

Thanks for the post. Very informative and to the point.

Take Care,
Richard