A beginner's question on ostrich leather, pls help

M

maplemoose

O.G.
Jul 13, 2012
678
436
#1
To all lovely knowledgable ladies out there, what factors are important for a nice pieced of ostrich leather ? Why is the follicle density different ? I saw most if not all bags in the reference section have fairly low density of follicles. I also saw some SLGs has high follicle densities ? Can you educate me why ? Are they from different part of hide or different age ostrich ?

Thank you very much !
 
#2
maplemoose said:
To all lovely knowledgable ladies out there, what factors are important for a nice pieced of ostrich leather ? Why is the follicle density different ? I saw most if not all bags in the reference section have fairly low density of follicles. I also saw some SLGs has high follicle densities ? Can you educate me why ? Are they from different part of hide or different age ostrich ?

Thank you very much !
Click to expand...

Hi, maplemoose

Full quill skin is the most highly regarded/sought after because out of the entire ostrich hide, not all is quilled, only around 1/3 is quilled and it's called the "crown" of the hide.
This is why, on many bags, you'll find the bottom of the bag has very few quills, it's less valuable.
The older/bigger the ostrich, the hide will be larger so more quills are present overall on the hide, it's all relative.

I adore ostrich skin and I just lost an H birdie bag at auction that I am kicking myself over not bidding more for!
Some people aren't birdie fans, but I think it's beautiful and is most certainly durable.
 
#3
BritAbroad said:
Hi, maplemoose

Full quill skin is the most highly regarded/sought after because out of the entire ostrich hide, not all is quilled, only around 1/3 is quilled and it's called the "crown" of the hide.
This is why, on many bags, you'll find the bottom of the bag has very few quills, it's less valuable.
The older/bigger the ostrich, the hide will be larger so more quills are present overall on the hide, it's all relative.

I adore ostrich skin and I just lost an H birdie bag at auction that I am kicking myself over not bidding more for!
Some people aren't birdie fans, but I think it's beautiful and is most certainly durable.
Click to expand...
Dear BritAbroad,

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

Can you please let me know where the density of follicles stand in terms of leather quality. I am looking at a Bearn wallet and the ostrich leather has ver dense follicles, about 1/2cm apart vs 1-2cm apart seen in many bags I saw before. I wonder where the leather with dense follicles come from. Are they considered good quality ?
Thank you !
 
#4
maplemoose said:
Dear BritAbroad,

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

Can you please let me know where the density of follicles stand in terms of leather quality. I am looking at a Bearn wallet and the ostrich leather has ver dense follicles, about 1/2cm apart vs 1-2cm apart seen in many bags I saw before. I wonder where the leather with dense follicles come from. Are they considered good quality ?
Thank you !
Click to expand...

I'm attaching a pic as it shows better than I can explain, the regions of quil density.
As far as density, it's really just aesthetic preference more than quality. You can see where density naturally varies along the spine compared to other regions of the torso. The quality of the hide can be excellent and variances are anatomically natural and normal.
H are particular, they won't use sub par ostrich hides, hence the scarcity of ostrich as of late due health = lack of quality hides.
Pick the density you have a preference for and be assured it'll be a quality H piece they'll stand behind.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    98.6 KB · Views: 422
#5
BritAbroad said:
I'm attaching a pic as it shows better than I can explain, the regions of quil density.
As far as density, it's really just aesthetic preference more than quality. You can see where density naturally varies along the spine compared to other regions of the torso. The quality of the hide can be excellent and variances are anatomically natural and normal.
H are particular, they won't use sub par ostrich hides, hence the scarcity of ostrich as of late due health = lack of quality hides.
Pick the density you have a preference for and be assured it'll be a quality H piece they'll stand behind.
Click to expand...

Thank you so very much ! Great teacher ! I got it !
 
#7
BritAbroad said:
I'm attaching a pic as it shows better than I can explain, the regions of quil density.
As far as density, it's really just aesthetic preference more than quality. You can see where density naturally varies along the spine compared to other regions of the torso. The quality of the hide can be excellent and variances are anatomically natural and normal.
H are particular, they won't use sub par ostrich hides, hence the scarcity of ostrich as of late due health = lack of quality hides.
Pick the density you have a preference for and be assured it'll be a quality H piece they'll stand behind.
Click to expand...

Very valuable information BritAbroad. Thank you for sharing!
 
#10
maplemoose said:
Dear BritAbroad,

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

Can you please let me know where the density of follicles stand in terms of leather quality. I am looking at a Bearn wallet and the ostrich leather has ver dense follicles, about 1/2cm apart vs 1-2cm apart seen in many bags I saw before. I wonder where the leather with dense follicles come from. Are they considered good quality ?
Thank you !
Click to expand...

The spacing is closer on a wallet compared to a bag as the balance looks better= more equal compared to the space and size of item.
Ostrich is incredibly strong , develops a beautiful patina and is a natural finished skin when it's the real thing. Ostrich legs are even used for shoes = SBWE . They last almost forever.
 
#11
ostrich is my very favorite skin .... you have been helped to perfection but ...its all in the hand that goes one by one flattening the pores, also i must say that a key element to ostrich is the color with certain more saturated and high hued colors the fading,common natural and inevitable on ostrich may cause the pores to look different and the skin to look better.
 
#12
Informative posts! Thanks!

Made me regret passing up a pink ostrich bearn wallet. It was gorgeous but pink is not my colour. Got a kelly wallet in blue instead. Maybe pink in small doses is not that bad arrgghhh!
 
#14
Hermesaholic said:
Maplemoose: you have received great information. quite often the bottom panels of the bags will have only partial quill pores .
Click to expand...
I am getting a wallet that has very dense pores. It does not look like those i saw on the web. Interestingly the inside is also made of ostrich leather. My current speculation is that the craftsman used the area with dense pores so that the hide can be thinned and large enough to make the whole wallet. Too bad, I really have to learn how to post a picture. I hope this makes sense
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back