hair on goat

[DWFII]

Any of the sporran makers out there ever used any hair on goat for making a semi-dress or dress sporran?

How about hair on calf?

Any reviews, comments, tips, warnings, etc.?

[turpin]

Depending on what type of sporran you make, hair can be tricky. If it's longer than about 1/2 inch a Rob Roy style is tough because of how the hair may look when the strings are drawn, but if it's short enough it can work very well, as below. Remember to cut from the leather side and use a sharp blade, not scissors, or you'll cut hair you don't want to.



Plan on using some thin leather as edge binding for a finished look, rather than leaving raw edges. Cut the strip to double the widthe you want to show and, using leather glue, glue it to the edge. Then punch and sew (The glue is only to hold the binding in place for sewing. When I work with longer hair I usually clip the hair off about 3/8 inch in from the edge to be sewn (seam allowance) to minimize pulling hair through the holes when I sew.

Also, you need to really look at the hair grain before you cut it to minimize weird cowlicks that don't show up on a full hide but show a lot on a smaller piece, as is evident on the flap here (deer pelt with hair greater than 1 inch)



Also - for a gusset, cut out a thin piece of leather the full length and width needed. Then cut two pieces of your hide half that length so that the hair can run from top side to bottom center. Width should be about 1 inch less than the leather gusset. glue the hair pieces with the front edges (adjacent to the front panel) flush with the sub-piece and overlapping about 3/8" at the center. Punch and sew through the overlap across the width. Punch and sew along the length on the rearward side (sew the hide to the leather). This leaves a gusset ready to be punched along the outside edges and sewn to the front and rear panels.

hope this helps.

[DWFII]

Turpin,

Thank you...thank you very much for sharing your expertise. That is rare and much appreciated. I am printing off your instructions and will use them as a guide when I begin.

I was wondering, however, about the characteristics of the hair-on goat and the hair -on cow. By "characteristics" I mean...is the hair fine or coarse, long or short. Is the leather supple or stiff, thick or thin.

I rented a sporran from Lochcarron and it was a grey hair and a short and relatively fine hair. I don't know what it was but I assume they were trying to emulate seal...at least from a distance. My guess was that it was hair-on calf.

My impression was that it was a pretty good look--not too wild or long like badger or coyote or fox or something like that. Maybe good for a conservative old coot like myself.

I have seen hair-on goat on EBay. The seller claims it is short and fine and is a "Peruvian" goat. And I have seen a hair-on calf on EBay that may have been dyed grey (that's OK) and may be actually heavy enough (4 ounce) to make into a sporran with no reinforcement layer.

If you (or anyone else) has had any experience with the hair-on goat (particularly this Peruvian goat) or hair-on calf, I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

[MACKAY]

My wife was looking for a cow hide to put in our family room (she is a Texan and I think we have the only "western" themed house in PA ... anyway, she was dealing with a guy who had cow and goat hides for sale, but he mentioned that the goat hides usually had a wierd smell, and he did not recommend then for indoor decorating. Not sure if this applies to all goat hide, or just his. Thought I would mention it.

[Kilted in Maine]

http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/haironhides.html

http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/

[TheSp8]

I've not made a sporran using goat but I have made knife sheaths from hair on goat that I tanned. I never noticed any smell to them and I picked the most pleasing color pattern to use. The hair was about 1.5 inches long and fairly coarse. Then again, it was from a meat goat. If I get the chance to process another goat I'll think about a goat sporran. Best I remember, it was comparable to deer hide as far as weight and toughness.

YMOS,
Tony

[Tartan Hiker]

Here's the one I made with a dandy goat pelt.

[DWFII]

Here's the one I made with a dandy goat pelt.

That's very well done.

May I ask where you got the goat and how you would characterize the hair--fine, coarse, in-between? Any smell?

[Tartan Hiker]

Here's the DIY thread that covers this project.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/l...899/index.html

No smell at all. The hair is medium stiffness (certainly between rabbit and boar ).