# Ray Allen leather dog leashes



## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

I had a really old leather leash from petsmart or petco or somewhere that finally kept stretching and stretching till it snapped one day. It was probably 7ft long by the time it snapped, lol.

Anyway, I ordered two from rayallen.com a premier lead and a tac-black braided black leather leash. I thought they would be a lot softer as a lot of people suggested this place but they actually hurt my hands. Im sure they will soften up but I was wondering is there a way to speed up the process of getting it nice and soft?

If not I might just break down and order one from leerburg. Im not fond of his training philosophy but his leather leashes are great straight from the box.


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## Kotone (Apr 20, 2008)

I have one of these leashes as well. They're awesome. It does take a while for them to soften up, but with regular and perhaps semi-hard use it goes much more quickly. I've also been told that you can buy that grease stuff that you use on baseball mitts to soften them up. I didn't do it myself, but I'm sure it would work. 

I've had mine for about 8 months or so, but haven't really used it much until now, since I have Logan. And in the only 2 weeks that I've had him it's already softened up a lot.


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

I use leather oil. Its made by Wilson ( wilson leather) and it works great..


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I won't buy leashes anywhere but Ray Allen. In fact, I've got 3 here now that are at least 8 years old and they look like new. 

Any type of leather wax or oil will help to soften the leashes up. If you have a tack shop (horse supply store) near by they would definitely have what you need.

I have also used Murphy's Oil Soap as a cleaner/softener. We used it around the barn all the time. Very inexpensive and works great.


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## OC_Spirit (Feb 6, 2007)

I make my own custom leather leashes (and sell too), one thing I do notice is for some bizarre reason some places dont bevel the edges of the leather they are working with. This means the edges are a sharp 90 degree cut rather than a nice smooth rounded edge. I also condition the leather before I start working with it. Mink oil works great for this but there are many varieties available on the market that work great. Remember though, you want leather conditioner, not saddle soap or leather soap! Also, you shouldnt condition dirty leather or else you'll be working the dirt and grime into the leather which will speed up it drying out and cracking. If I am just watching tv I'll pick up a newer leash and play with it in my hands, wrapping it around my fist, twisting it around, bending, etc. This will help soften up the leather along with just regular daily use. Also the thickness of the leather can determine if it takes longer to soften up or not. Is it a wide leash? I find wide leashes in small delicate hands can become sore rather quick! I used to have 2 traffic leads that are 1.5" wide and I have small hands. My hands would actually get sore after a walk since the leashes were simply too wide to be comfy. I ended up giving one away but I keep the other around for walking big strong dogs. Instead for my boys, I made 2 new traffic leads that are narrower but using thicker leather. The strength is the same but its feels sooooo much nicer in my hands!


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## slydogges (Jan 6, 2008)

Ray allen leads are awesome. The Ram-tech alternate leather leads feel greatand have amazing grip to them. very durable, for all weather.


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## tigress (Feb 6, 2008)

I like my Remington brand (I think the brand is remington, they do a lot of hunting dog collars and other stuff aimed at hunting dogs) leather leash. The edges are beveled and it is much nicer than the straight cut of hte ones sold at Petsmart (and it was slightly cheaper). And it looks pretty nice.

I've only had it a few months so no idea about durability (I figure it's probably as good as your average leather would be at least).


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## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

The edges of the ray allen ones are pretty sharp. They are the 3/4 width so not too wide but not too narrow either. I'll try playing with it. What do you charge for your custom ones?


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## OC_Spirit (Feb 6, 2007)

That depends on what you want LOL For example, using a regular snap that you find on most leashes is already $5 cheaper than using a locking alligator snap which is my personal favourite and what I use on all my own personal leashes. Then you have how long you want, the weight (strength) f the leather, how wide you want it and if you want any secialty things such as a snap on the handle as well and o-rings on the leash. I'll put up a pic of what I mean later on today right now I must head off to work. Average price tends to range from $15-30

Here's an example of what I was talking about earlier. You have the snap that attaches to the collar as well as a snap on the handle which allows you put the leash over your shoulder and across your body for hands-free walking. It's also easy to tie your dog up to something without having to actually unclip the lead, get it secured around the object and attach it back to your dog again. I have two of these myself and use them for everyday walking of my two. If I clip the handle snap to the o-ring closest to the snap for the collar the leash becomes 4ft long, if I am just holding on to the handle its 8ft long. I make just regular 6ft leashes too, like I said, custom leashes, I'll make whatever you are needing. The leash on the left and right in this pic are traffic leads about 2.5ft long. I have a wide variety of different snaps available, colour is mostly natural colours but I do have access to dyes if you really want a blue leather lead or something of that sort. For the most part I do the style of braiding you see on these 3 leashes as I find it to be the most dependable in the sense that rather than relying on the strength of a couple rivets or the workmanship of stitches, its the strength of the leatehr itself that you are relying on. The stitching is just to hold the tabs down so they arent flapping around. I could not have a single stitch or a single rivet on the leash and it would still be just as strong.

The traffic leads in this pic are $22 each because of the locking alligator snap on them

The custom service dog lead is around $40 if I remember correctly, I'd have to price it out again to be sure, because of the 2 locking alligator snaps, the extra braiding, and the o-rings.


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