Do you own/want leathergoods made out of sharkskin?

[JJEH]

Guys,

some of you know that I'm for the sharks. I'm just curious if there is really such a demand on leathergoods made out of sharkskin.

Please take the time to make your anonymous "vote" and - if you want - tell us why you have/want it or why not (i.e. you have one and it's for special use only, daily carry, BBQ, etc...). Or maybe you don't care at all...

I really appreciate the input!

 

[roarindan]

well,,, like I said to the Border Patrol agent that stopped me and asked me if I had any guns....."what do ya need". some days a holster looks nice, some days a belt, some days a vest, boots,.....

 

[Rule3]

No, leave the darn Sharks alone. They are severely threatened species. Too many are killed just for the hell of it let alone in other countries where they are "finned" (Dorsal fin cut off and thrown back in the water) just to make cartilage soup.

Don't get me going on this

They serve a very necessary function in the whole system.

Ya want exotic leather? use farmed Gators or invasive Lizards

 

[JJEH]

Thank's fellas, I appreciate it. This thread is not to point with fingers or judge people. So don't be afraid to tell us your opinion

I already sent a letter to GALCO and even got a answer. You can read about that in my blog keep sharks alive dot com.
BUT, the more I look for it, the more I find. Therefore I'm really curious if there is such a demand out there...

I have several ideas in the pipeline regarding sharkskin in the "firearms industry" but cannot say too much at this point

 

[sonora]

No! I had a good pair of boots made from sharkskin once. That was a long time ago. Times have changed. Sonora

 

[Texas Star]

I had a pair of sharkskin shoes years ago. They didn't accept polish well, and cracked. Maybe they weren't tanned right. I think the salesman said tiger shark, but I couldn't confirm that.

I understand that sharkskin holsters wear well and have a distinctive look. I don't care if people wear sharkskin, within reason. And I am all for killing sharks defensively! The need does occasionally arise.

I think reasonable sportfishing of most shark species should be allowed, but not commercial fishing, except for abundant species like the dogfish that are often an ingredient in fish and chips. They're often wasted, anyway, as they get into nets used for other food fish and are discarded if not kept. They damage nets and incomes. This may be true to some degree of salmon sharks, too, related to the mako. If the meat and hides are good, let them be used. But a widespread fishery for many sharks is probably not a good idea at this time.

Shark liver oil was at one time important, but synthetic vitamins replaced it. Other aspects of shark systems may lead to cures for cancer and other ills. I'd allow that research, within reason.

I am very intrigued by sharks, but am not a blind shark-hugger. I do have about a dozen books about them, and several videos.

BTW, for those who didn't read, "Jaws", the book is MUCH more complex and better than the excellent movie. I had a couple of casting differences with Spielberg that affected my enjoyment of the film, but admit that it is remarkable. I bought it; watch again every few years.

 

[Rule3]

I am not a "Shark Hugger" or a member of PETA. The sharks along with a lot of other "Fish" have had their populations so depleted that recovery is not looking good.

Here in Florida so many fish, take the Redfish for example. When
Blackened Fish became so popular the Reds where devastated. It is hard to fine Grouper above the size limit, Snook are closed etc etc.

Mankind is the only species stupid enough to hunt a valuable resource to extinction.

The fish population has only now started to come back after the commercial inshore net fishing ban started many years ago.

If we could do it sensibly there are many benefits of Sharks.

Yes, I have caught them an eaten them . I have also released many more.

People treat Sharks like Snakes, the only good one is a dead one

 

[Stevens]

I bought a billfold made of Tiger Shark skin in 1986 wore it every day and it finally had to get rid of it maybe 3 years ago. Replaced it with one of canvas like stuff, we'll see how that goes.
Steve W

 

[Steve O]

My initial reaction was no, they are an endangered resource. (My reaction is still no, I don't want one). With that said, the resource needs to be managed, with limits to encourage growth of the various species. All these absolute bans on various creatures do tend to have unintended consequences.

Take the sea turtle for example. The U.S. bans the import of sea turtle products, which on its face seems like a good and noble thing to do. I remember talking to a person involved with turtle farming in Grand Cayman and they said that if there was a bigger legal market for the product, there would be more incentive to enlarge the business, thus allowing more turtles to be let back into the wild. Out of every hatch, they let a portion of the hatchlings go, with the expectation that if they survive, they will come back to the same area to lay their eggs. There is no incentive for them to do that with the limited market that is available to them at this point.

It really is no different than any other game animal out there. Would there be more or less deer, geese, ducks, etc. if hunting was totally banned?

Rational limits need to be placed on the harvesting of sharks to help their populations grow, but an outright ban would be counterproductive.

 

[Thuer]

I do like Sharks. After Jaws they get an undeserved bad name. At this time they are overfished. I hope that they are survive. Those fish survived before the stoneage. No. I do not want a Sharkskin product.

 

[RonJ]

Back in the sixties I had a sharkskin suit.

 

[Fishslayer]

No, leave the darn Sharks alone. They are severely threatened species. Too many are killed just for the hell of it let alone in other countries where they are "finned" (Dorsal fin cut off and thrown back in the water) just to make cartilage soup.

Don't get me going on this

They serve a very necessary function in the whole system.

Ya want exotic leather? use farmed Gators or invasive Lizards

I feel pretty much the same although I fish for sharks once in a great while. Some species are great eating.

Can't say I've even given any thought to sharkskin clothing beyond Billy Joel's jacket, you know, the kind with the velvet collar.

Last time I looked Great Whites were protected in California and that's the way it should stay.

 

[A10]

I answered No and No. I will qualify that statement: if I were out deer hunting and some stinkin' shark snuck up on me, I'd shoot it then turn it into a holster. Otherwise, not interested......

 

[Rule3]

I feel pretty much the same although I fish for sharks once in a great while. Some species are great eating.

Can't say I've even given any thought to sharkskin clothing beyond Billy Joel's jacket, you know, the kind with the velvet collar.

Last time I looked Great Whites were protected in California and that's the way it should stay.

I fish/ed for Black Tips. The are a riot to catch as they jump and twist. The small ones are good to eat but I no longer do as they are top of the food chain and contain high levels of Mercury. We let them go to twist up someone else line.

Most of the bigger sharks just strip your line and reel and hug the bottom, big ones are hard work.

To eat any off them they need to be gutted, be headed and drained right away and put on ice or the meat spoils,

 

[blujax01]

There was a comedian who once said that if you wanted to bring back the Bald Eagle population, promote them as food.

If there were profit in it, we would be up to our armpits in them critters.

I mean, how many billion chickens, cows and pigs do we gobble up?

And there certainly is no shortage of them.

 

[COL Jagdog]

Sharkskin????? How many lawyers do you plan on skinning???

CAJ and I are going to be in hiding if folks plan on making wallets out of us

 

[Maddog 521]

I just bought a pair of sharkskin boots. The first time I pulled them on my feet I said " these must of been made for my feet". I couldn't believe how comfortable they were. I don't like the holsters trimmed in shark and wouldn't buy one of those.

 

[Fishslayer]

Sharkskin????? How many lawyers do you plan on skinning???

CAJ and I are going to be in hiding if folks plan on making wallets out of us

We're going to keep some domesticated, free range lawyers. When they're OUR lawyers, they are good.

 

[mjr]

Back in the sixties I had a sharkskin suit.

Yeah, me too--a three-piece iridescent sharkskin suit. Wuz I cool back then.


Oh yes, I'm for enforceable protections on most shark species.

 

[Out West]

Sharkskin looks great and it wears like iron. I have a very nice pancake of sharkskin for my 3913. That said, I carry concealed and any holster used for that purpose doesn't get much appreciation for how it looks.

Out
West