Let’s be up front about this: This is a personal business.
You will be sending us your game skins…and we will be cutting them into pieces to make personal accessory items for you and your friends and family. You have vested interest in what we do together.
1. Begin by thinking about what you would like to have made, not only for yourself but your family, friends and business associates.
2. Send us an e-mail or call us if you have any questions whatsoever. We WILL respond.
3. Print out the order form, carefully and clearly fill it out, providing all of your contact information. Pack your game skins in a sturdy box and ship to Walden & Bork, by UPS or US mail. Make certain your return address is clearly legible on both the order form and on the outside of the package.
Click Here for Order Form
4. We suggest you insure the package with tracking for whatever value you feel your game skins are worth. Remember, your Cape Buffalo back skin or Elephant hide represents 50% of the trophy you harvested. In other words, it HAS value.
5. Once we receive your order we will carefully go through the item list, and confirm your order with you either via e-mail or phone call.
6. Game skins, to preserve their beauty and integrity, should never be folded when stored or shipped as folds break down the leather fibers and can damage some of the more delicate finishes, specifically glazed finsihes. Store game skins loosely rolled in a cool, dark place. When shipping skins to us try to ship them in a large tube or long box that will allow the skins to be rolled, not folded. This is for your own protection.
Delivery
In most cases your finished items will be shipped to you within 8 to 12 weeks. Orders may take a bit longer between September and December, given the holiday gift giving season so if you are planning to gift some of the items to family and friends, please order early to allow for the holiday crunch. Custom made leather items take time. Please allow sufficient time between the time or order and desired completion and ship date.
WE DO NOT OFFER RUSH SERVICE
We do not ship by FedX, ever, as FedX is horribly unreliable. We highly recommend that you never ship your skins to us via FedX, as your valuable game skins cannot be entrusted to an unreliable shipper like FedX.
Holiday Orders Deadline for All Products Are Due August 15
to Ensure Christmas Delivery
Leathers
Your tanned game skins will more than likely be chrome tanned, which is great. Leather weights and the suppleness of various leathers vary greatly.
Our fine needle craftsmen prefer to work with 2 oz. to 3 oz. leather for purses and bags…3 to 4 oz. leathers for wallets, belts and other accessories. If you think you may want to have a pair of custom made boots or shoes made from your game skin leather, bootmakers prefer 4 to 5-1/2 oz. leather.
Some heavy, stiff hides, such as Cape Buffalo or Elephant may have to be split or skived down to make some of the smaller, more delicate items. This can be done at a nominal cost. When we receive your game skins we will evaluate them and contact you if splitting or skiving is necessary.
Note: We do not accept untanned skins or raw hides.
If the game skins you provide us have scars or marks on them that you do not want us to use when making up your items, please note these areas on the order form or mark on the back of the hide.
All of the unused game skin and scrap will be returned when your finished products are shipped to you.
Making the Most of Your Game Skin Leather — Be Specific!
Before your skinners even begin working on your animal, you must tell them what you want. Some of the most interesting leather parts are often left behind. Zebra leg, for instance…the portion from the knee joint down to the hooves… often carries the most interesting and intricate patterns for making small items. The same holds true with Ostrich leg leather–a very interesting and unique leather pattern that makes up beautifully. Tell your professional hunter’s crew what you want from the animal before they even begin their work.
Also, be specific about color you want your leather tanned. If you do not tell the tannery what color you want you will most often get a dark Brindle Gate Great Dane Dog “DO” brown or a boring gray. Be specific!
Leather colors should be selected before tanning because color is added at the time of tanning. Recoloring tanned hides is not only expensive but the results are disappointing more often than not, as colors are not colorfast and will rub off on your hands. Therefore we do not recolor tanned hides.
Suggestion: For large hides, cut in half before tanning, allowing you to have half tanned green and the other half brown, black or red or whatever. By doing so you have many more choices.
Finally, be specific how you want your skins tanned — hair-on…or hair-off.
Leather Tannery Recommendations:
Click Here to Read Valuable Information
Pricing
For items such as wallets and checkbooks, the insides are made from fine topgrade cowhide unless specified as all game skin on your order. If you want one of these items made totally, (inside and out), out of your game skin, the price is higher as the skins will need to be individually split and hand cut for the interior of the wallet or checkbook, (except thin deerskin).
Hair-on items require special care and handling, thus are a bit more expensive across the board than items made from smooth leathers.
Women’s purses, constructed from your hair-on hides will be made in a combination of your
hair-on hides and our supplied leather trim unless you specify otherwise. You may also send your own leather for trim.
Return Shipping
Unless otherwise specified, return shipping of your finished custom products and remaining game skin, will be by insured express routing.
Note: We cannot ship to PO Boxes.
Protect Your Investment
Finished products…which will obviously be valuable…will be shipped to you insured. Insurance and shipping are not included in the product pricing. These charges will be added to your order.
If you wish for your items and scrap to to shipped without insurance, you must notify us on the order form and sign the shipping disclaimer. Delivery is then at your own risk.
We strongly recommend the insured shipping procedure. For a few dollars more your personal items are assured to arrive along with the remainder of your game skins. If for some reason they become lost, we will track your package and provide you with that information.
Walden & Bork, accepts no responsibility nor liability for lost skins or finished products while in transit.
Use ALL of The Trophy!