What thickness of leather do I choose?

You may have read my other article about leather weight. This talked about thicknesses of leather (weight).

In this article I will dive a little bit more into what thicknesses I use for different jobs.

Apart from the weight of leather I also decide on what type of leather I use. For example, I might choose English Bridle Hide to make handbags. On the other hand I might choose undyed veg tanned hide to make a handbag. Then there is the part of the hide I want. For those heavy jobs, like wide belts, saddles and chairs I will choose butt as this is the strongest part of the hide. For a bit of subtleness I will choose shoulder, which is more pliable and softer yet still very strong. I use shoulder on my guitar straps for example. These decisions are based on what finish I want in my end product.

The thickness is the next decision point.

I will use leather that is less than 1mm thick for lining inside boxes or gun cases. I use 1mm upholstery leather for desktop and writing slope inlays. For saddle bags I will use anything thicker than 3.5mm.

This table below lists some of the uses for the various weights of leather.

Weight in Ounces	Uses
1 to 2	Watch bands, thin wallets, lining.
2 to 3	Wallets, Thick Watch bands, Thin Purses, Liners, Bookmarks, Shoes, Small Pouches, and Light Upholstery.
3 to 4	Thicker wallets, Molding and Embossing, Small Bags and Purses, Thin Notebook covers, Standard Upholstery.
4 to 5	Notebook covers, Small Knife Sheaths, Keychains, Small bags and purses, Light Chaps, and Aprons.
5 to 6	Notebook covers, Small Knife Sheaths, Key chains, Thicker Pouches, Cases, Chaps, Small Purses and Bags, and Light Aprons.
6 to 7	Guitar Straps, Large Notebook covers, Knife Sheaths, Key chains, Thicker pouches, Carved purses and bags, Heavy Chaps, Cases, Thin Belts, Thin Scabbards, and Thin Armour.
7 to 8	Large Notebook Covers, Knife sheaths, Light Slings, Key chains, Pet collars, Scabbards, Bags and Purses, Cases, Belts and Light Straps, Heavy Aprons, Small Holsters.
8 to 9	Heavy Notebook covers, Knife sheathes, Slings, Key chains, Scabbards, Bags and Purses, Armour, Saddle Bags, Pet collars, Belts, Straps, Holsters.
9 to 10	​Knife sheaths, Slings, Key chains, Scabbards, Large Bags and Purses, Saddle Bags, Pet Collars, Armour, Cases, Heavy Belts, Straps, Holsters.
10 to 11	Heavy Knife Sheaths, Heavy Holsters, Belts over 1-1/2″ Wide, Slings, Key Chains, Heavy Carrying Cases, Light Saddles, Thicker Armour.
11 to 12	Heavy knife sheaths, Heavy Slings, Heavy Saddle Bags, Thick Pet Collars, Thicker Armour.
12 and above	Tack, Saddles.