Great suggestions Irish! I work with hides all day and I know the woes of barbed wire scars. But do know this........European hides have more hair holes and bug holes. You won't see this till it is stretched (either over a frame or seat or something).

So another word of advice when working with leather.....(a new hide)........Stretch it to it's limits to find ALL the flaws and do it under a really good light or out in the sunlight! Cows itch and when they do they scratch themselves on ANYTHING convienient! Barbed wire is the norm in the U.S, but they'll scratch on ANYTHING! If you can't get 5 parts to one pattern in one hide......reject it! Also, some hide manufactureres/tanners are better than others in the chemicals they use and so some hides will be "drier and less pliable" than others! Some cows are more bug ladden and itchier than others. Sounds crazy, I know, but tis true!

So PF...........answer my previous question hun.......or PM with the details.....I am sooooooooo curious!

BTW.....A little F.Y.I here...........Ya know that "leather smell" you so love when you smell "new" leather? It's an additive! Hides stink naturally! Some smell like cat piss! The smell you love in stores????? It's added! Sorry to burst your bubbles!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~