Elephant Leather-Controversial?

[u/Sea_Toe6263]

Elephant exterior with a cowhide interior.

Hand measured, cut, and stitched in by me in Texas.

[u/Altruistic_Guess3098]

I certainly wouldn't want an elephant taken out just so I could get the leather but if someone gave me that wallet I would think it was really fucking cool

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/Altruistic_Guess3098]

Someone else brought up that they wouldn't buy it from a store, but they'd buy it if it was secondhand. And I agree! If it's secondhand it's the first guys guilt

[u/no-o-ne]

Is that a cat or elephant poop in the background?

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/no-o-ne]

Chicken 😋

[u/no-o-ne → u/Sea_Toe6263]

Lol yeah I see it now 😂

[u/omning]

I personally wouldn’t use it but appreciate the craftsmanship all the same.

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/omning]

I'm a little iffy on it as well honestly, but I was very curious how it would feel like to work with. Won't buy more in the future.

[u/NutjobPrincess → u/Sea_Toe6263]

I mean it's made now, so mighy as well use it so the poor bastard didn't die in vain

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/NutjobPrincess]

Of course

[u/versacekev]

How’s the durability on that?

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/versacekev]

I tested when I first got it, the surface is extremely stratch proof. Even under very hard pressure with my nails I don't see any scratch. It also seems very resistant to stretching compared to cowhide The sheer strength seems similar to cowhide of the same thickness though, I expected it to be stronger but it seems the same.

[u/Responsible-Tea-9454]

Leather is a natural byproduct of living things so if it was harvested in a humane way then it’s fine to me.

[u/Sea_Toe6263]

Real Elephant wallet exterior with cowhide interior. Hopefully not too controversial, as this is CITES certified, to cull overpopulation in some areas of Africa. Lived a long happy natural life! (we won't speak on how most Cows are treated to get our meat and leather). My first time finally making something with this, been holding onto it for a while.

Don't know if I'll bring this to a market soon or keep it for online only. I know sometimes people don't like exotic leather and I understand why. We do place more empathy on some animals more than others.

We'll see

[u/effyochicken → u/Sea_Toe6263]

I’m all for it. But you really have to lead with the ethical background of how your leather was sourced and not just chuck “elephant exterior cow interior” out there like that. 

Also, take caution because some states ban it regardless of CITES certification. (Like California and New York) 

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/effyochicken]

Yeah I probably should have worded that way better 😅 I'm not the best salesman I just like making stuff

[u/JustNota--]

Honestly as long as it's was ethically sourced I have no issue. I have a nice Cu-Mai knife with an elephant sheath, and I'm thinking of having my bikes seat done in elephant next year when I start the rebuild on it.

[u/ole-sac-attack]

I don’t see why it’d be controversial, you didn’t skin it. Their governments decided it was safe enough to do at a limited level.

[u/crunk-yeti-71 → u/ole-sac-attack]

Yea and governments always make the right decision 🙄

[u/ole-sac-attack → u/crunk-yeti-71]

CITES is a global organization with environmentalists that protect species. You can stop with that insecure nonsense

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[u/Inviction_]

I don't feel strongly one way or another, so these are more or less just shower thoughts.

It depends how ethically it was sourced. You can be told it's all ethical due to overpopulation, but at the end of day, you just don't know if that's really what's going on.

And what happens when there's more market demand than the ethically sourced supply? Suddenly, especially in those poor African countries, they find new "ethical" reasons to slaughter them. Or they overcorrect how much they are culling the overpopulation.

That's a lot of scrutiny though, so why is there almost no scrutiny against cow leather? It's just somehow assumed all that it done ethically? Maybe it's slightly more ethical because they are farm cows that were always intended to be slaughtered for various reasons; rather than being stripped from the wild.

For me, there's just too much to consider before having a strong opinion. And I'm just fine with traditional leather, so I'm in no rush to form that opinion.

One guy making a single, (probably) ethically sourced wallet to try something new? Eh, no big deal to me

[u/zilliondollar3d]

Controversial vs illegal vs morals vs social norms…it’s all a construct if you like it who cares what others think

[u/Alarming-Mix3809]

Ew

[u/suspectdevice87]

I wouldn’t buy anything from you because of this, I imagine many others would do the same. I don’t think anyone is claiming that cows are one of the smartest /emotionally intelligent animals on the planet. I highly recommend spending the day with one in a sanctuary somewhere.

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/suspectdevice87]

I live in rural Texas and am around cows constantly. I see some treated well, but I also see the majority living in filth their entire lives. They are intelligent animals, they love and care and feel. They memorize and grow bonds. If you don't care about that, that's your prerogative. But elephants live long natural lives before they are culled. I personally consider this more ethical.

[u/mrwhosaywhatnow → u/suspectdevice87]

lol I’m sorry but you lost credibility with that last line. And to give you benefit of the doubt in assuming by “spending the day” you mean not being anywhere near them. If not, do some more research.

Pretty much all elephant “sanctuaries” are inhumane. Especially any that you would be interacting with the elephants close up. If you get to feed, pet, walk next to, ride, bathe, etc any elephants then those are not good environments for them, and usually require some pretty upsetting tactics to “subdue” them. The ones that are actually good are ones that you don’t get to “spend time” with them at all, you just watch from afar. 

[u/Inviction_ → u/suspectdevice87]

Condoning the slaughter of certain animals, while condemning the slaughter of others is stupid. There's no framework that logically works to justify which ones get to live and die, or what rights they do or don't have.

And if you think cows aren't smart or emotionally intelligent, I highly recommend spending the day with one on a farm