Club Obi Wan

louiefoxx wrote:Typically calf and kip will be better. They are younger animals, so less scars, etc and you can find them in very thin weights. Also it's easier to find calf and kip locally (for me) as a full skin, where cowhide I can usually only find as a side. By getting a full skin I can use the stronger areas more effectively

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

louiefoxx wrote:Riku1914,

What weight cowhide are you buying? I try not to think of cowhide's thickness by the ounce weight, I use it's thickness in mm. When I'm ordering through the mail I'm sure it drives people nuts because they have to take their caliper with them when they pull my orders.

However with cowhide for a bullwhip you are probably making something that'll be cheaper than roo (that's probably why you are using cowhide, not kangaroo) and you don't want to waste time splitting it. So I try to keep my cow/kip/calf at 3 ounces or under. Usually I buy 2-3 or 2.5-3 ounce and that keeps it at about 1.2mm or thinner.

Now for the pricing of a 23 foot calf hide, you might want to double check that. Most leather places have a specific size that calf has to be smaller than. I don't remember what that size is. I think kip is typcially under 18 or 20 feet and kip is bigger than calf. The calf skins I made those whips out of were 6-7 feet.

Also that link you posted is a bit expensive for what it is. That's a veg split which isn't very good for braiding. A good price for splits is about $1 per foot.

When buying leather over the phone I'd pay more per foot to have someone who knows what I need pull the leather for me. That's why I don't buy over internet, if you submit your order online you don't get a chance to actually talk to the person selling it. Simply mentioned you need it for whips in the comments part online won't necessarily get them to call you and say what you are getting isn't right for you. However when you are talking to them on the phone they may suggest something else...or straight up tell you they don't have anything that's right for what you are going to make. Of course if you can find a place where you can personally go in (and has a good price) that's usually the best way to go.

Louie