My father worked there for over 30 years. Whenever I’m down I watch this video and imagine him working and joking with his coworkers. He loved working there and when he passed every one who could and even the owner showed up to show him respect.
WOW !! Much respect and some serious appreciation for the folks that make leather. I am getting into leatherwork and will not complain about the cost. WOW !! Thanks for the education.
I've recently started working at Hermann Oak leather Co. (Wood working backround) I have to say the consistent strive for excellence in each step from each individual is beyond outstanding. Also the culture in the facility. Is truly strong, Loving, and honest. 😊
Greetings from India, Thanks for this Tour of HermanOak Tannery. Simply superb informative, educating and as you say entertaining, but most of all being made aware of the process and the effort put in with so much professionalism and feeling-by every one at the Tannery. It is apparent, that there is a dedication and commitment to producing the finest leather. Very IMPRESSED. A PLASTIC SURGEON
Leather tanning is both a science and an art,like a good chef you become a good Tanner with time,dedication and love of what you do. Yes you've guessed right I'm a retired Tanner.
So what kind of leather makes some leather jackets and such wrinkle and develop creases and character over time as opposed to leather that seems to never develop these attributes and seems to stay plain and smooth?
@@bodeine454 All mammal leathers will crease. If a leather jacket is not creasing at all, then it might not be leather.... How it creases is largely dependent on thickness of the leather, the thicker the leather, the more rounded the creases
@@StuninRub I've also learned that different parts of a leather jacket for instance will crease and have a certain texture depending on which particular area of the hide that panel is cut from. Some areas of the hide naturally creases and textures a certain way because it may be cut from a part of the hide that is in a bend in the animal where it stretches more than other parts like around a shoulder or under a leg for instance. I had a jacket from Berman's Leather back in the mid 80s that did this. It developed a creasey texture on one front side that the other side never seemed to develop like that. If you watch some early episodes of Happy Days when Fonze had the first dark leather jacket you can see how one side of the jacket has a certain texture that the other side just doesn't have. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.
I lived near St. Louis for nearly 50 years, I never knew the best leather supplier was so close for so long. Now I need to become wealthy to purchase the best!
Brings back memories of over 40yrs ago when I was a kid and once went down to the tannery in Cleveland OH with my dad to get leather to make vests for Indian Guides. Sadly, the tannery closed decades ago...and Indian Guides was forced by modern PC culture to change its name.
Been binge watching leather related videos and I gotta say, Weaver's got some of the least biased, most concise content. Love how you get right to the point and tell us exactly the important stuff, with a little bit of fluff to keep it interesting
That is all very fascinating. How do you repair leather after it's already been made into an article? It's a fine piece of leather has a tear in it what do you used to correct it with a minimal amount of visual affect
Great Informative video. Thanks for sharing. But I was thinking at the end the leather looked so hard/rigid but the quality jackets/bags we buy are so soft? Is there any process done on the leather after its sold to the next factory? AND My back hurts by looking at men picking a cow hide on their own/just one person !!! and they have to pick soooo many in a day!! I hope they are getting paid VERY Well. And they ALL MUST be given Back belts for their Job !!
Hello! So, there are different ways to tan leather. The tanning process that Hermann Oak® uses and is shown in the video is called vegetable tanning. Vegetable tanned leather is generally used for thicker leather products such as belts, saddles, equine tack, etc. The more common process is called chrome tanning, which is the process that is used to tan leather for most handbags, jackets, car seats and shoes. Tanneries will produce leathers in different ways to meet specs of how the leather will be used. They do this by using different amounts of oils, tumbling processes and thicknesses of skins. Thanks for watching, and let us know if you have further questions!
Great way for all those cows to end up. To know that they didn’t live for nothing? They obviously had happy fulfilled lives so we can have happy leather. I like that. Thanks
Just got a holster hide from herman oak. Nice uniform thickness but there are so many quality issues. Speaking with weaver they are starting to have problems with their quality control from herman oak.
The leather used for bespoke shoes generally is shell cordovan and the only reason why they use US shells is because the Europeans forgot how to tan shells and the Japanese sell theirs at very high mark up. When it comes to Bovine leathers, the English has us beat.
Hi I have a question and can never seen to get a direct answer. I own a leather wallet handmade by a very experienced leather craftsman. It is beautiful. He says my wallet is made of hermann oak veg tan leather .. and it’s full grain. Well my question is the leather seems so smooth is it truly full grain? or shaved down? I do not see many imperfections in the leather. I also hear that hermann oak says a lot of their leather is the best top grain leather available . Can someone explain if my wallet is indeed full grain? Or top grain? Thanks In advance
I have a veg tanned horsehide jacket made in Scotland. The leather was tanned at the last remaining tannery in Chicago. The jacket cost me $750.00 5 years ago. I love it and would never part with it for any price!
Is hard to see the individual imperfections that occur. Perhaps another presentation could be made with specific causes, and what they look like [good pictures] in the future. Brands are self explanatory, but insect bites, fat wrinkles, etc would be interesting to see and be able to differentiate. Nice video.
Can I ask where do you buy the leather (do you know the supplier), I want to make my own leather shoes. I am looking for eco friendly leather. I know this message is 6 months old, but I will appreciate your answer :), all the best.
You can buy Herman Oak leather from Herman Oak directly. They only catch is you have to place a minimum order. Weaver and Springfield are the best places to get smaller sizes and quantities. Avoid Tandy if possible. Anything they carry is most likely C grade. Check out Wickett & Craig as well, they tan some really good stuff.
ouais ben j'ai un gros doute sur la selection rigoureuse de leur cuir en terme de grade de qualité ! Je prends que du GRADE : A (le meilleur donc) et ça fait 2 fois que je me retrouve avec du cuir qui a des cicatrices et meme des ondulations dans le croupon et meme des entailles coté chair (croute) .. Donc pour moi hermann oak c'est fini .. au prix qu'il coute ce cuir ...j'appelle ça se moquer du monde !! d'ailleurs chaque peau devrait etre estampillé par la tannerie .. sur les peaux qu'on achetent finalement rien ne prouvent que ça vient de cette tannerie ..