Kangaroo Skins
Kangaroo leather is by far the best leather for fine leather braiding. We supply both skins and lace, tanned in Australia by Packer Leather. Excess kangaroos are harvested in Australia under programs approved by both the Australian and U.S. Fish and Wildlife authorities. The leather we offer is in a high strength bark tannage, and the skins are selected for shape and minimum scars and discoloration.
We offer natural, black and whiskey skins drum stuffed, that is grease is worked into the leather in heated rotating drums. Drum stuffing provides an even distribution of grease in the amount needed to ensure optimum properties of the leather. The natural color skins are a light tan color as received from the tannery, but darken with sunlight. The black and whiskey skins are tannery dyed, and are black or whiskey through the skin.
The skins come in three weights, light (under about 0.8 mm thick), suitable for fine braiding, medium (about 0.8 mm), suitable for belts, stockwhips and most horse gear, and heavy (about 1.00 mm), suitable for belts and heavier gear and whips. We do sell a package of Kangaroo Leather Samples as a service to our customers.
The table below summarizes the suggested uses for the hides we carry.
| Item | Avg Thickness (mm) |
Suggested Uses Braided Work |
Suggested Uses Solid Skin Work |
| Light Weight Skins |
< 0.8 mm
|
hat bands, bolo ties fine plait horse gear edge lacing |
wallets elbow and cuff leathers recoil pads book binding |
| Medium Weight Skins | about 0.8 mm | belts horse gear stock whips finer plait bull whips |
small bags wallets |
| Heavy Weight Skins | about 1 mm | coarse belts utility horse gear bull whips falconry jesses, leads |
small bags boots |
Skins are measured in square decimeters (dm2). 10 square decimeters equal 1.076 square feet. Kangaroo skin prices are less 10% in lots of 250 square decimeters and over (assorted). Actual prices of the skins are determined when shipped, based on the actual size of the individual skins. Quantity discounts will be given at the time of shipment.
We purchase only the best quality vegetable tanned kangaroo, bringing in shipments from Australia two or three times a year. The Australian drought has affected both the size and availability of the quality skins, with the sizes tending toward the small end of the range. If your project requires a minimum size, please let us know so that we can ensure we have big enough skins before filling your order.
Do you live outside the US? Due to strict US export regulations, we are only able to ship kangaroo leather products outside the US by adhering to the US Fish and Wildlife Service export inspection procedures.
For more information …
Please follow the links below for more information concerning our kangaroo hides
and braiding supplies.
Braiding Supplies
Cutting Kangaroo Hides for Braided Work
Cutting Kangaroo Hides for Solid Work
Comparative Characteristics of Kangaroo Leather