Here’s a bag I just made from three great Horween leathers. The body is Chromexcel cow; the straps are horse butt, and the lining is front quarter horse. Horween produces some of the most unique and high quality leathers in the world. It really is a remarkable company.
These leathers really aren’t that exotic, but they are rare, at least in the objects I make from them.
The first is phone case for a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This is a pretty hefty phone which measures almost 136 mm high X 68 mm wide. I personally use a Galaxy S which is only 122 X 64 (wish I had the Nexus). The exterior leather is veg-tanned goat that is normally used for bookbinding. It is lined with 2 oz. Herman Oak cowhide veg-tanned strap leather. The pull strap is made from Horween cxl front quarter horse.
Cxl front quarter horse is kind of hard to get your hands on as all the big jacket manufacturers snap it up before it becomes available to small timers like me. I got my hands on a hide several years ago, and and I’ve been slowly chipping away at it on projects like this.
Horween is an amazing company, and if they ever shut down, it will be a national disaster as far as I’m concerned. Nobody produces leather in the color selection, quality, and quantity that they do.
For example, I just got a small hide from the Clayton Leather of Chesterfield Tannery in the U.K. that is Bridle tanned front quarter horse. (I believe this is a full veg-tan) It’s exquisite leather, probably better than Horween in some ways, but they only run it one color ( dark brown) and it’s almost impossible to get. Someday soon, I’ll produce a line of wallets from the stuff that I have. It’ll be very interesting to see if they sell, and if anyone realizes what a treat it is to own this stuff.
There is a tannery in Paraguay that also produces veg-tanned front quarter horse. They sold it for a very shot time on ebay. I bought a hide and found about 60% of it usable. I guess it’s hard to properly tan horses. Even so, I would love to get some more as it was a very raw veg-tan (my favorite!). Unfortunately, they have a 10 hide minimum now, and I don’t have a couple of grand to drop on leather that is hard to sell.
Next, is a basic billfold I made from dark brown Horween CXL horsebutt and Wicket and Craig veg-tanned carving leather. CXL horsebutt is similar to their CXL front quarter but thicker and obviously from a different part of the animal. CXL (to the best of my knowledge) has been chrome tanned and then re-tanned in vegetable tannins. This leather is quite refined, has a waxy hand, and is dyed at the tannery. Thus far I’ve been able to source it in a reddish brown, brown, and black. It has a medium temper which makes for excellent wallets. However, it lacks the graining and marbling textures of full veg-tan horse. I’m almost certain this is the leather that is used on the Thorogood for Epaulet Horsehide No. 685 boot. They advertise it as brown, but it looks much more like the reddish/brown to me. Compare their boot with this wallet, and you be the judge. 
Here’s the difference between a cheap buckle and some very nice ones. The buckle in the top left of this picture is an economy roller buckle. It’s made from base metal with a lousy chrome plating. The other silver colored ones are stainless steel, and the one on the bottom right is solid brass with a stainless steel tongue.
Not only is the cheap buckle ugly (in my opinion), it doesn’t function nearly as well as the other three. The roller is fitted very loosely. The tabs that keep the tongue in place are too far apart. The tongue is crudely bent and ground.
Eventually the chrome plating will pit and wear off this buckle, exposing the base metal. This can’t happen to stainless steel or brass. Stainless and brass can easily be given a hand brushed finish or polished to a mirror finish. They won’t ever pit or corrode. 
Here’s a bag I made from Wicket and Craig Carving leather. Carving leather is a natural full veg tan. It’s great stuff and ages beautifully. My hat goes off the to the gentleman who designed this one (I just made it). There are two big pockets on the front of the bag, hidden behind the flap. The strap is horsehide with a suede pigskin lining on the underside of the shoulder pad that should keep it from sliding around.
Here are a few belts I made over Thanksgiving. The 3rd one is 17 oz. Triple C Harness. The other 3 are Wicket and Craig 14 oz. saddle skirting. One is natural and the other 2 are hand dyed with Fiebing oil dyes. Wicket and Craig is the best skirting I’ve ever worked with, but if you’re looking for a super thick belt that is tough and still supple, Triple C harness is the way to go. Harness leather starts out as skirting and is then stuffed at the tannery with oils, waxes, and tallow. Anyone who has applied oil to veg-tanned leather knows that it darkens the leather a few shades, but Triple C has figured out a way to do this and still keep the leather a nice smokey/natural color.
Here’s an interesting leather. It’s Horween Chromexcel horsehide that has been embossed with a nice floral pattern at the tannery. I’ve got a few of these strips and can make any size wallet from them. If anyone is interested email me at dontmourn@gmail.com This one is a standard billfold with a large cash pocket, 6 card slots, and hidden pockets behind the card slots. It’s $65.00.
I just got a very nice hide of veg-tanned American steer. This is harness leather, which means it has been stuffed with tallow, oils, and waxes. This makes the leather weather resistant and keeps it from it drying and cracking. The color is kind of a smoky natural. The leather measures 16 oz, which is around 1/4″ or 6 mm. It has a waxy hand and tight grain. The back is quite smooth. I’m making belts from this hide. They are $60.00, shipped in the U.S – $65.00, outside. I make them one at a time, so I can make one whatever size one desires. I can also make the end cut to order. I can stitch a buckle in or attach it with Chicago screws or copper rivets. The turn around time will be less than a week. Email me at dontmourn@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Check out Buzz Campbell jamming with Legendary Stray Cat Lee Rocker and using a horsehide guitar strap my buddy Matt Codina and I made him.
http://www.vegasmorningblend.com/videos/131341103.html
Veg-tanned kangaroo is another under-estimated leather. It is incredibly strong, has a nice waxy hand, and beautiful grain. Here are a couple of card cases I just made:
I’ve been making wallets from Horween Chromexcel horse butt for years. It’s really a remarkable leather, so it surprises me how unpopular it is. Maybe it’s the color, who knows, but if you ever get the chance to handle this stuff, I’m sure you’ll be impressed. For this wallet, I used Herman Oak strap leather for the interior. As far as strap leather goes, nobody does it better than Herman Oak in my opinion. Both Horween and Herman Oak are two of America’s oldest tanneries. Like almost everything else, the tanning business has been hit hard in the U.S, so for these two tanneries to have survived, you can rest assured they produce very nice leathers.
