Good morning to all - Can anyone suggest a supplier for stingray skin for my next build ? The contact that I had never responded back and I don't have a clue where to begin looking . My new blank is a grey batson 1087 and it would be a perfect match. Thanks in advance for any replies -Steve Leslie

Tandy Leather Factory

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Hi all - upon further research I found another source @ rojeleather.com. I purchased a small hide ( approx. 11 by 13 inch ) for 23.00 US. Hope this helps anyone interested.Steve Leslie

A Google Search under Stingray Skins will bring up a lot of info

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks to Raymond and Bill who took the time to reply - Google works every time !

Off topic, but I never really got an answer from my post last week. How do you go about installing the skin and finishing the seem? I was imagining some type of thread stiching for my application unless there is a better way I cant think off. I really wanna try this stuff but hate the large eye sore seam Ive seen in pics. One solution given based on a different build was a leather lace but that seems too bulky for my application. Im trying to hide it as much as possible. Any help or direction would be appreciated.

Since I am a relatively new builder and have little experience, especially with something like stingray skin, take my comments with a grain of salt. Could you not gllue the skin down with something like contact cement., overlapping the edges at the bottom of the grip similar to the process Kevin Knox suggests when using abalone veneer? The overlap would be slight and I would think you could lightly feather the edge to give it a smoother taper. I would think the material used to make carbon fiber grip forms could be shaped to accept the skin. Perhaps the application of a thin line of rod epoxy applied at the seam edge would help seal it.

That honestly was my first thought but was concerned about the overlap. Stingray is much thicker than abalone so there would probably be a noticable contour there. You may be able to "feather it out" and that may be the way to go and may look great. I was thinking that if you went with cork or foam under then you could modify that, some sort of recess, to disguise the overlap. Im not a builder, Ive built a total of two rods, just an annoying customer who likes to be involved as possible. I really want to convince my builder to try this on a future build, so Im trying to figure it out so he will be comfortable installing it. He won't build anything that he hasn't used and tested himself and I respect that. Just trying to find the ideal way if someone already went through this and successfully made it look almost seamless. Thanks for your input

The overlay doesnt work, Ive tried it. The hide is too thick, it looks worse then a flush seam does. When you see how hard the scales are on the skin you will see that feathering it out wont work either. The scales will just chip and crack and it will look pretty bad. I played around with different ideas to hide the seem for a long time. The honest answer is that there is not a good solution that I have found to hide it, just ways to make it less noticeable. The hide I used was white in color. If I were to guess, I would think that if you used a black hide, it would be less noticeable.

What if
The skin is cut on an angle so the top or scales are longer then the bottom of the skin Then the Top or scales connect more and maybe tend to cover the off colored underneath

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks Mitch, that was the info I was looking for. I guess what I was looking for was whether can successfully hide the seam or embelish the connection to disguise. I actually really liked the deer lacing but on a spinning rod I would be concerned about more about being in contact more so while fighting the fish on foregrip. Because of this I imagined a lighter guage stiched seam like a couch. Cutting it on angle was something I would probably try and thought about, but that brings the whole edge chipping factor more into play. I am going to get some to play around with, but some troubleshooting prehand could save me alot time and pelt money. I really appreciate the feedback. Thank you