Greased Leather

Why makers choose greased leather

Greased leather is still a popular material among makers of dog leads and collars: it's soft on the hands and won't cause blisters, even when a dog pulls hard on the lead. It's also known for its weather resistance, and has for years been considered among the highest-quality leather for producing exclusive dog leashes. With proper care, a strap made from greased leather keeps looking good for years.

What to expect from a natural product

Greased leather is made from coloured, oil-treated cow leather, roughly 4 mm thick. As a natural product, each piece is unique and may vary slightly from the next, sometimes with minor irregularities, and colours may run slightly after contact with water. Because cow leather isn't perfectly uniform, cutting lines aren't always perfectly straight.

Low maintenance, ages well

Greased leather generally becomes more attractive with use and needs little maintenance. Scratches can often be worked out by hand, the warmth of your hand brings the natural oils back to the surface, helping the mark disappear. Over time a patina develops, a darker tone that forms especially where the leather comes into regular contact with skin.

From strap to finished belt

A greased leather strap becomes a finished belt with the right hardware: pair it with one of our belt buckles, or, for a collar or lead build, a buckle and snap hook. The strap's width determines which buckle size fits, so check the feed-through size before you order.

Straps, rolls and scraps

Precut straps come in widths of 15 to 40 mm and lengths of roughly 120 or 140 cm, ready to use straight away. If you need a custom length, our roll (per metre) has a minimum length of 150 cm, the same product used as the leather handle wrap in our retriever dog leash tutorial. For smaller projects or testing a colour first, our scraps and panels are a lower-cost way to get started, and we also stock nubuck leather for a suede-like finish within the same greased leather range.

Build your own leather collar or lead

New to working with greased leather? Our leather DIY kits include everything you need, hardware and tutorial included, so you can pair your greased leather with the right hardware from the start.