Bridle Leather - Explained
I’ve created this simple guide to help you understand what bridle leather is and in particular, English bridle leather. I will gradually add to this as I go.
I have moderated comments enabled at the bottom of this post so please do ask any questions. There are a lot of searches on this topic so it would be great to hear from you.
What is Bridle Leather?
Bridle Leather is one of the finest leathers and it is known for its beauty, strength and longevity.
Rooted in Craftmanship
Bridle leather is very much an artisan product needing expert craftsmanship skills to produce it. Each piece is still hand finished, piece by piece, using the same techniques as it would have been hundreds of years ago. This is one of the key reasons that contributes to its beauty and special qualities.
Due to the amount of hand work that goes into producing each piece, this leather is produced in small amounts for the premium market.
When you buy a product made from bridle leather, specifically English bridle leather, not only will get a high quality leather which will last a long time, you are also investing in keeping the artisan hand skills alive so they can be passed onto the next generation.
Hand finishing at the tannery
What is bridle leather used for?
Today’s World
In today’s world it is mainly used in leather accessories and is best suited when it’s used for belts or straps. You can get wallets and bags from bridle leather too. Personally for wallets I think an Italian vegetable leather works better but that’s just personal preference.
Bridle butt leather used for belts and straps is 4 mm thick, to make a bag it would need to be around 2-2.5 mm thick, for a wallet each piece of leather would need to be around 1mm thick.
Best For
Belts and straps that you want to last a very long time and know will stand the test of time. Bridle leather is still used in the equestrian trade so it’s perfect for this, as this was the industry where it was first made for.
Background - what bridle leather was first used for?
English bridle leather dates back a few hundred years to a time when horses were the main form of transport and were used in social activities such as hunting for example. The term bridle comes from bridles that horses wear so this type of leather was designed for horse bridles. You’ll find a lot of traditional leather work refers to terms in the equestrian trade.
Image taken from Wikipedia - bridle sits around the horses head
Horse bridles hanging up in the place where I learnt the leather working skills in Cumbria
Victorian England was a boom time for the saddlery (equestrian) industry and also the First World War where horses were used in battle. Walsall, England was the centre of the trade and sold saddlery products throughout the world. Goods made in Britain during this time symbolised high quality and a lot of the heritage of this leather I feel comes from this time.
The same skills that were used in making the leather then are still used now to create the same high quality.
How thick is bridle leather? What are its key characteristics?
4mm thick
Strong & Robust - when you feel the leather, especially when it is cut into a strap, it feels strong, like it will last a long time.
Waxy Look & Feel - you will see a white wax come to the surface every so often, this is normal and it is applied at the tannery to keep the leather nourished.
Smooth Surface- it has a very smooth surface which is achieved through the hand finishing techniques which are applied.
Bridle leather I use
Sedgwick & Co - My Branton range
J&FJ Baker & Co - My Felton range which is referred to as ‘oak bark leather’. This is in fact bridle butt leather but its known as oak bark in the industry and to others.