There's been a few questions asked recently about tooling leather grades, etc. so I'm offering this info. It is a basic/simplified over view of veg (aka Bark) tan tooling leather - hope this helps and if any of the "old Timers" can expand on this please do.
Price reflects quality in two ways:
1) Where it was tanned - generally what is available to us is either USA (Wicket & Craig and Herman Oak) or South American/Mexican import (mostly what Tandy/LF sells under the proprietary names such as Nature-Tandy, Oak Leaf, etc.)
2) The grade. Grade is based on how "clean" the face of the hide is i.e how free of blemishes such as range marks and brands as well as how tight the grain is and may include how clean the back or flesh side is - IMO a clean back is just as important as a good face. Few hides are totally free of range marks and frankly as long as the hide is not too badly scarred I like them as they add "character". Brands can be cut around, but they do take up space - hides with brands are less expensive to begin with, but the loss must be taken into consideration.
Here's how Herman Oak and most others grade their leather
A or #1 - Very few blemishes
B or #2 - Contains a few defects. No brands.
C or #3 - Contains more defects. Generally not good for plain belts.
D or #4 - Can have large brands and / or holes and other damage.
Brand - Hand sized brands. Otherwise graded as above.
TR or Tannery Run - a mixed batch of leather - it will usually be a mix of A & B or B & C, but each seller/tannery has their own basis for TR.
Here are the various "cuts" of leather:
1) IMO don't even bother with buying separate bellies. On the chart above cuts F/H and G/I are the bellies - they are part of sides.
2) Shoulders/premium shoulders: Same cut basically. Probably the most used Veg-tan leather for sheath/holster making since it generally offers the most bang for the buck due to size and lack of belly leather along the edges. The difference between the two is quality based on grade as explained above. Referring to the chart above: Double shoulders (average 14-16 sq ft) = parts A, B, C, F, & G. Trimmed shoulders have parts A, F, & G trimmed off. A single shoulder is half of a double shoulder.
3) Sides: Probably the most common cut/size of leather sold - they average 20-24 sq ft. A side is half of a full hide split longitudinally along the line between B/C, D/E. Trimmed sides have the belly sections cut off.
4) Back or Bends: The cleanest and most even in thickness (and therefore most expensive) part of a hide consists of sections D & E.
5) Saddling/Skirting: comes in light weight (8-10oz) or heavy weight (10+ oz) sides and as the name implies is widely used for making saddles. It is tanned and finished by the tanneries in such a way that it normally has a bit more flexibility/stretch to it - usually a bit "oilier" than Tooling/Holster, but that is not necessarily bad, dependent on the desired end product.
6) Tooling/Belting/Holster: normally sold in 7/8, 8/9, or 8/10 oz. It is tanned/finished to normally be less "stretchy" than skirting. The name describes it's normal usages.
Some more good reference material regarding leather, including definitions for calf, kip, etc. can be found on the Siegel site:
http://siegelofca.com/glossary_alph.asp?An oz (ounce) of leather is equivalent to 1/64" - the term is based on the old measurement of how much a square foot of a particular leather weighed.
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