I tend to use leather tanned with plant extracts rather than with chromium but then I wondered if it’s really a more responsible choice once trees are cut and processed?
Yes. Even with all of the processing, it produces less toxic waste water and is much, much healthier for the humans who work in the tanning industry.
The biggest difference when working with the two is that I can hand-dye vegetable tanned leather. It can also be embossed with things like lettering. I’m not saying Chrome can’t be hand-dyed, I just am not set up with those chemicals and choose not to be for my own health. Chrome also cannot be embossed.
Chrome-tanned leather, on the other hand, has the advantage of being produced in a wide range of patterns and colors. So if you want leapard-print, Hello Kitty, camo or flowers, Chrome is the way to go.
I can hand-dye some types of patterns, but they will have an organic feel because the dyes like to spread a little on the surface of the leather, so my plaids and stripes have a loose and casual feel.
Leather choices are vast, from tanning processes, animal, thickness of hide, where on the animal the pieces for your project are cut, etc. but we can talk more about this in person.
I tend to work with cow leather and cut from all areas of the hide depending on the final effect we want. Cows scratch their itches on fence posts, stumble, get in fights and live their lives. Some of this is reflected in their hide and these marks can be taken advantage of or cut away. I also tend to work with thicker hides for most of my pieces except shaped work like a jock pouch where comfort and pliability are a good thing.
Lastly, I hope you will feel free to live out your kinks in our wide world. So I tend to avoid those beautiful $500 Italian hides. They just don’t hold up well when you’re tied to a tree or mashed against an alley wall.
But let’s chat about your kinks and what gear helps you get to the headspace you want. After all, that’s what it’s all about.