antique desk leathers

CONTACT US

Telephone:
01562 701 020

Showroom Address:
Castle Ash
Birmingham Rd
Blakedown
Kidderminster
DY10 3JE

Email:Sales

Specialists in all types of desk top leathers and skivers

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Welcome

We are one of the longest established (1968) specialists in the UK supplying tooled desk leathers and skivers for desktops to both trade and the public. We supply tooled desk tops to the USA, Canada, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Australia and to some 33 countries worldwide.

These are supplied by post, for fitting yourself (or bring your desk to us and we'll fit your new desk top for no extra charge). They come with complete easy-to-follow instructions, giving helpful tips, including how to fix them down, and on how best to restore your desk top to its original condition.

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So you need a new, or replacement leather for your desk? What do you need to know?

Not too much, thankfully. The first choice is do you want a hide or skiver? What's the difference?

Skiver

A skiver is a lamb-skin. It is leather and is supple and accepts gold or plain embossed tooling very well. It is absolultely the normal choice for desk tops, and has been for 150 years or so. The average size of a skiver is between 12 and 16 square feet. This means that most desk tops, if required in one piece (without being joined), shouldn't measure more than 20-22" x 40-42". But for larger tops, joining skivers is perfectly normal, and the joins are covered by tooling so they are not conspicuous.

Hide

A hide is the skin of cattle. Hides are much larger than skivers, with an average size of 50-55 square feet. They are harder wearing than skiver but, being tougher, don't accept gold embossing quite as well or as deeply as a skiver. Hides are usually used for larger jobs (such as large partners' desks) that require no joins.

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Which should you choose?

The choice is simple. Skiver is the first and most popular choice. It tools well, looks good and costs the least. The only reason for ordering a hide is if you have an exceptionally large desk, or your desk will be used and abused on a regular basis. If you need advice, just ask.

Relevant links

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Organisations

LAPADA

CINOA

Guild of Master Craftsmen