<html> Glue will not hold well over time on the smooth side of leather. If the suede side needs to be on the outside, then both sides need to have the suede texture. Jon  Page At 06:46 PM 12/17/2000 -0700, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>Hi  Diane Why do you say that the deerskin is the best ?What others have you tried?Has the leather been put on with the rough side in or out.?It should be out.When glueing the leather on it has to be done in 2 steps.It is not glued onto the entire hammer but only at the base of the hammer felt and hammer molding Regards Murray ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diane Hofstetter" <dianepianotuner@hotmail.com> > Dave, > >   I am fortunate to  live in a town with a tannery.  If I could understand > better what to ask for, I could probably drive over one afternoon and get it rather than start up a new account with Jahn in Germany and wait and wait... > >   I have tried several different kinds of leather from that tannery so far > and so far the deerskin has been the best, but it's very mellow.  Perhaps if> I can get some of the leather made by Herzog, the folks at the tannery would> know what it is. > >   The ideas I put forth on pianotech as a research arm can best be > illustrated by this.  If we collectively can find what the best materialis > and even find a domestic source, then anyone who has the need of maintaining> instruments at a higher level with less effort can benefit from all our > efforts.> >   Thank you for your information! > >   Diane > > > >From: Dave Doremus <algiers_piano@bellsouth.net> > >>The original leather on the hammers was European > >>doeskin........etc. > > > > > >Murray is right, and the best leather I've used is from Herzog in > >Germany, I believe called hirsch and elsch, correct me if I'm wrong. > >Stretch and thickness are important as is consistency in flesh vs > >skin side. Do not use American supply house buckskin, it's too coarse > >and heavy. I think that Jahn will supply what they call hammer > >leather which comes from Herzog and should be better than the > >American stuff. I dont think anything currently made (and there are > >those much more knowledgable than me who can add to this Im sure) is > >even close to what you actually find on old pianos, the whole leather > >making process is so different now. It is fairly easy to  use, just > >common sense, consistency and a careful hand. Malcolm Bilson had a > >blue suede on his piano hammers for some time that was very > >successful, so experimenting can be fun. Just use hide glue so you > >can recover from any mistakes. > > > >-- > >Dave</blockquote></html>