If they had my size...

[Nick M]

... I'd buy a pair, solely so I could tell people what they were made of: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq....uct.htm Is this common?

 

[VMan]

That would be crazy if they were real elephant hide...for some reason I thought it was illegal to harvest leather/tusks from elephants. Perhaps there are farm-raised animals that make it legal?

On a side note:

My uncle is an attorney, and maybe 20 years back he had to meet with this client who was a big-game hunter and took a safari to Africa every year. He said that this guy's house was like a museum. Rugs made from exotic animal hides, 100+ heads mounted on all the walls, large full-mounts all over the house, and, to top it all off, a master dining room table where the legs of the table were actual elephant legs. I don't know if he aquired this table as an antique, or if it is actually legal to hunt elephants and this table was made from an elephant he shot. Maybe someone knows....

 

[T4phage]

Interesting material though. I've seen biker boots made of the hide.

Originally posted by VersaceMan:

That would be crazy if they were real elephant hide...for some reason I thought it was illegal to harvest leather/tusks from elephants. Perhaps there are farm-raised animals that make it legal?

I believe the website said that these were government confiscated hides. Also, they do regular culling of elephants in some parts of Africa, and the meat/skins are sold.

 

[VMan]

Interesting material though. Â I've seen biker boots made of the hide. Â Originally posted by VersaceMan:
Quote:

That would be crazy if they were real elephant hide...for some reason I thought it was illegal to harvest leather/tusks from elephants. Â Perhaps there are farm-raised animals that make it legal?
I believe the website said that these were government confiscated hides. Â Also, they do regular culling of elephants in some parts of Africa, and the meat/skins are sold.
That makes sense. So, not only could you tell people that you're wearing elephant boots, you could say that they were from a poached elephant. A few yahoo searches turned up some elephant hunting sites, and sites that book elephant hunting trips. Sport hunting is legal (thought I believe you need special permits), but I bet that if you want to harvest them for commercial purposes you need special permission or need to farm-raise them.

 

[ken]

I bet those permits cost four or five figures. One of my buddies paid $800 for an elk permit and didn't even see anything.

I'll just keep my $30 deer permit, thanks.

 

[fareau]

I had a roommate in college that owned a pair of elephant-skin boots. He spent a mint on them and kept them forever hidden away in a box in the back of his closet. It was just as well he did as they were pretty ugly.

I'm not a big fan of particularly exotic skins; I often find them gaudy. Some people really love them. Still, I guess that's what makes the world go 'round.

 

[jcusey]

... I'd buy a pair, solely so I could tell people what they were made of: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq....uct.htm Is this common?

As T4Phage wrote, the website says that these boots are made from confiscated skins, although the most common source for elephant leather these days is from animals that were culled. Elephant herds, if they grow too large, can destroy huge amounts of vegetation in no time flat, and African wildlife preservation authorities need to cull the herds to prevent them from getting out of hand. Most higher-end bootmakers will have elephant available. Here's an example from Lucchese:

And here's some verbiage about the Lucchese elephant program. Elephant leather has a lot of character, and it's as tough as nails. I'm actually having a pair of elephant boots made by Dave Wheeler in Houston.

 

[j]

Interesting. How about elephant hide for some other type of shoe? What is the character of the skin; is it comparable to any other type of hide?

 

[jcusey]

Interesting. How about elephant hide for some other type of shoe? What is the character of the skin; is it comparable to any other type of hide?

Take a look at the exotic leathers available from Wheeler Boot Company. One of the pictures is a close-up of elephant leather. Elephant has two different grain patterns superimposed. The first is a matrix of small bumps, about the size of the pattern on Scotch-grain calf. The second is a web of veins, similar to what you'd see on bullhide (made from shoulder leather of full-grown bulls). It doesn't take much of a shine: elephant boots will always be a matte finish. Edit: I seem to remember seeing a picture of elephant shoes before, but they're not common at all.

 

[Steve B.]

Shame on you- you're wearing my brethren.

Remember we never forget.

 

[theodoro]

There are several models of shoes available from Allen Edmonds made of elephant hide, although they may have moved to shark skin recently.  

I own a pair of AE saddle shoes, the Morgan model, with the saddle in black calf and the rest in dark brown elephant; they are durable and give possess a subtle visible interest which is unlike scotchgrain calf and less garish than ostritch.

Teo