What is appropriate weight/ type of leather for anglo concertina straps?

[KKallweit]

I'm in the midst of making some nicer, and slightly wider straps for my Wren concertina.. i leather tooled some fancy ones out of veg tan, ( I do leatherwork among other things for a living) but, upon testing them, they are very stiff and hurt the tendons on the tops of my hands when I try to play...  I've seen pictures of both soft and what look like thicker and firmer straps..   

Any insight or experience on preference as to what suppleness" of leather is most appropriate? , or, conversely, has anyone added a bit of padding to the underside of a stiff strap?

I'm just experimenting with what I like/ tweaking my instrument atm, ever since I raised my hand rests a mere 1/8th of an inch and to my great delight, that easily gave me an added 20% accuracy/ ease in playing!! I'm leaning toward going back to  Chrome tanned leather, as it is inherently/ initially softer, but.. as anyone who knows leather knows.. there is great variety even  in that category... and Veg can and does soften up over time...  What I've made atm out of about 4-5 oz veg tan leather, while it looks nice,  I feel is definitely not going to work without added padding,  ( but I've never seen that on anglo straps.. maybe there is a reason for that...) as it hurts the tendons  on the tops of my hands and cuts into the base of my thumb when  I'm trying to reach for the air button, so  this is likely a fail even if I condition it within an inch of it's fibrous life I fear.. ( The leather soaked up waaay too much alcohol dye and thus, it dried right out causing it to become "extra" stiff... it's fixable, but..  i'm not sure atm if it's worth farting around with considering my cheap straps that came with the concertina atm are far more comfortable to play with ( which is the whole point after all), if a bit  flimsy. 

Edited February 6 by KKallweit

[hjcjones]

I don't like flimsy straps, but on the other hand they should not be too stiff. When I had new straps recently I had them made from 3mm leather, but it has some give in it.

 

If they are hurting your tendons they may be too tight. That may also be preventing you from reaching the air button properly resulting in it cutting into your hand.

[KKallweit]

Hmm. well I dont think it's the tension, as I do have a bit of space beneath my hands and my other flimsy straps didnt cause this issue.  That's a clue though.  I think the leather I used is definitely too hard as It has no give  at all really.  I'll try making some out of a softer chrome tan and see how that feels.   Wont be as much work as the veg

ones at least.

[Theo]

I've seen anglo straps lined with felt, and I think you could also make a comfort lining with a soft kid or sheep clothing leather.

[Matthew Heumann]

Have you watched any of Jody Kruskal's videos? He super-padded his straps and has them set quite wide for better hand movement.

 

[digver]

I've seen many of Jody's posts and have always been currious about his hand straps. They do look comfy, but @Jody Kruskal, I wouldn't mind hearing some about what you've done with your straps and why?