A number of farriers have asked if the tannery that I work with makes or can make a leather that is similar to the E. H. Hall leather tanned by the now closed Westfield tannery of PA. . I have rcd. some samples that I will wedge to match the E. H. Hall wedges that I have, to compare but would like to know if other folks are looking for similar leather. Unfortunately I only have bout 20 pieces of E. H. Hall 6 heavy wedge to sample. By the same thinking, if anyone has some 4 ,5 6 reg E. H. Hall leather pads n good shape I would be willing buy them from you. Thanks Ray Steele 413 863 2443 redsteele@hotmail.com
New Leather has arrived, lite regular and heavy , will be marked EHH , I brought in 50 bends of each weight and will custom cut pad sizes as ordered, pony size thru draft, most popular i expect to be 4,5,6 ray 413 863 2443
On facebook ,Farriers Q and A, there have been several posts dealing with where product used in the farrier industry that i and others have taken part in. as many here know i make ,dist. and sell leather pads and hoof packings, because there currently no sole leather veg. tanneries left in the USA, all the leather we use, that is sole tanned comes in from other countries, the R.Steele/Horseshoes Unlimited sole leather is tanned in Mexico, the hides are USA or American, North ,South or Central. I placed some calls to USA tanneries (veg), one who could assure me that they start with USA hides, tan in the USA and i would cut them, after transport so pretty much a 100% USA made product. Thickness will be limited for this product and looks like more expensive! in 2 to 3 weeks i should be able to offer a 3 pair bundle offer to test the waters , i have some USA tanned 1/8 inch thick bends of sole leather from Howes Leather formerly of Curwesville PA. ,the offer will be 1 par of the Howes leather, 1 pair of the USA tanned and cut USA hide , and 1 pair of the R.Steele, tanned in Mexico cut in USA ,American hide. Prices will be shown for each pair, and it will be up to the USA farrier community to decide if it s worth persuing and encouraging veg tanning in the USA! I ll post here and on Farrier Q and A when the new side arrives so that you can order if interested. Ray Steele 484 832 3910
Following up The all USA hide arrived a couple weeks ago, from a USA cow /bovine, USA tanned, USA cut into pads it is 12 /14 ounce weight, in leather talk an oz. is 1/64 of an inch,thickness measurements are taken at the butt. It is skirting leather, by my calculations I can cut 29 pair of #6 pads from this, not using the belly leather, they will cost $13.26 per pair ,fob Gill, MASS. This is a chance for those interested in buying a truly 100% USA product to step up, if I can show a market the tannery says it might look into doing sole leather, I will cut any size pad from ony to draft and adjust the price accordingly , Ray Steele 484 832 3910
