Tandy Leather Sale

I don't know where you guys are getting the leather for your sheaths but Tandy in Ft. Worth is having a sale this weekend. I stopped by there last week and the half shoulders I was getting for $25.00 are now $54.00. I think the half shoulders are going to be on sale for $25.00. I'm sure going to stock up enough to last me till the next sale. That's the only way I can keep my prices down where most hunters can afford my knives. Their prices are sure going through the roof; I guess they have to pay for that high dollar new building they have now.

If you have a better outlet for leather please post it; I'd sure appreciate it.

I was thinking of getting a half shoulder to piddle with....

Tandy half shoulders are a good place to start, especially if you can get them for $25. I went through maybe 8 or 10 before our store here in Abilene closed. Since then, I've been ordering from Wickett and Craig, 1/2 a cow hide at a time. Each full side lasts me about a year at my current production rate, 50-60 sheaths or so. Down side is that it runs around 180-200 per hide. Buy once, cry once, IMO. The Wickett stuff certainly tools better than the Tandy in my experience.

I agree with you Jason on the quality of Tandy; I look at them very carefully before I buy one. Twenty years ago the quality was so much better but what are you going to do, I make over 250 sheaths a year it's that or go to Kydex as much as I don't like it unless it's for a bush or camp knife.

We have two Tandy Leathers in Tucson.

Tandy quality has gone down over the years, but even more so in the last year or two. The tools have been lower quality for a while, but the quality of leather has diminished greatly at my two local stores. When I first started shopping at Tucson Tandy stores, I could get sort through double shoulders and get good quality for 45$ a piece. Then the prices went up, and then they went up again, and then quality fell off the turnip truck. I can't even buy leather at the local Tandy stores now. Even if the prices were cheaper, the quality of the hides doesn't meet any kind of standards for good leather work.

Very tough for small quantity or hobby folks to get good stuff. Pro tools are super expensive, and to get good deals on quality leather you have to buy in bulk direct from tanneries.