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Useful Leather Weight & Thickness Guide – Stonestreet Leather

When describing leather, leather weight and thickness go hand in hand. Knowing how they're measured can be helpful, especially when buying leather.

Leather Weight Guide

If you are buying leather for a project, it will be necessary to determine how much leather would be needed. Leather is a natural product, and in most cases, it is sold and measured by square foot. In addition, terms like leather thickness and weight may sound confusing.

The term "weight" means thickness when describing leather. Leather thickness and weight go hand in hand.

What Is Leather Weight?

Leather weight isn't defined by how much a leather hide actually weighs. Leather doesn't convey weight in the formal sense but the thickness. Typically, in the U.S., leather thickness is measured in ounces.

In general, one ounce (1 oz) would correspond to 1/64 of an inch in leather thickness or 0.4 millimeters (mm), depending on which measurements you are using. Two ounces (2 oz) would correspond to 1/32 of an inch in leather thickness or 0.8 mm.

Another thing to remember is that leather is almost always gauged in a range of thicknesses. That's why it is called 3/4oz and not just 3oz. Leather is a natural material that can vary in thickness over the area of the hide. One side might be slightly thicker or thinner than the other.

So, since there are variations in the thickness of leather across a leather hide, leather weights are often given in ranges, like 3-4 oz, 4-5 oz, and so on. 

Leather Thickness Chart

Since measuring leather thickness can be confusing, a leather thickness chart can be used to make things easier.

As you can see, our chart provides leather thickness conversion from ounces to the millimeter. A millimeter is a metric unit and a popular way to measure the leather thickness. It is straightforward and doesn’t require conversions. A leather thickness of 1mm is exactly that – a piece of leather 1mm thick.

But, since leather thickness/weight are given in ranges, a 3/4 oz piece of leather would measure to around 1.2-1.6mm thick.

It’s also good to know that one square foot of 3/4 oz leather will usually weigh about 3-4 ounces, one square foot of 4/5oz leather will usually weigh around 4-5 ounces, and so on.

You may wonder why you should know how is leather thickness measured?

The lighter the leather – the more flexible it will be and vice versa. So, different leather thicknesses correspond to different types of leather products. For example, a leather wallet can be made of leather 1.2 – 1.6mm thick, while light moccasins can be made of 2.0 – 2.4 mm thick leather.

Thicker leather, in the range of 3.2 to 3.6 mm, can commonly be used for knife sheaths, saddle bags, leather belts, and pet collars.

If you have questions, call us. Our staff at Stonestreet Leather will be happy to assist you. But, if you feel you can’t be successful in your leather endeavor, let Stonestreet Leather manufacturing turn your idea for a leather product into a beautiful reality.