Hello! I did a search on the forums but I didn’t see any concrete answers. Has anyone found a vegan leather that’s GF safe?
It looks like there is a post on it.
https://community.glowforge.com/t/polyurethane-leather-pvc-free-safe/772
I did read this post but it didn’t actually say if anyone had used it or if it was safe. It said ‘probably’ and that they wanted to try a specific source but never actually came back to state if they had or not.
I’m very concerned about making sure I get a product that’s safe. I use my forge with my kids in the house and I don’t want to hurt them by accident.
I think there was a mushroom leather substitute that was discussed somewhere.
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Go to Johnson Plastics and search for saddle collection, or if this link works, use it:
https://www.johnsonplastics.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=saddle+collection
They have four colors and you can engrave it to reveal a color below. I ordered one of each color, but haven’t cut it yet. It feels nice. It’s very floppy.
It is sold as laser safe by a company that sells to laser users. There are at least two threads on the forum where it is mentioned, but I couldn’t find them with a quick search. One person used it as part of a key chain.
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https://www.johnsonplastics.com/saddle-collection this is all pleather made just for lasering
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This is exactly what I was looking for!! Thank you!!
Thank you!!!
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The saddle collection has a weird fabric backing, FYI.
It’s cool stuff, really flexible etc… but I haven’t used it yet nor tried to adhere or stitch it to anything.
Edit: it’s almost like terrycloth.
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That’s good to know! It would work just fine in this application but I can see how that would be weird for other projects. They’re wanting this leather for motorcycle patches on vests so they’d just be sewn on anyway.
Vegan leather… would a banana peeling count? 
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Hey if they can make it with pineapples and mushrooms I don’t see why not 
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I wonder if cork fabric/leather would work for some folks?
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This is one I want to try as well!
In the meantime I ordered from the link provided above for the vegan leather. Here’s hoping it turns out well.
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I was wondering how much they charge for a cucumber pelt.
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It’s here! Going to do a test with some settings in a second but I wanted to post a pic. It’s very floppy and feels great.
It’s a bit odd but in this application it’ll be fine. I like the fact that the back is ‘finished’.
Calipers call it a 1/16th of an inch.
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Right? Super floppy. I was impressed by how soft it felt. I have yet to do anything with it, waiting for inspiration, but it wasn’t too expensive, so I just went for it.
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The fact that the shipping was flat rate made me laugh. It’s 3$ for a piece and $14 for shipping. Almost choked on my coffee. So I just ordered a bunch because if i’m paying that much for shipping you had best believe i’m getting my money’s worth.
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Yeah it’s not like you’re paying for the weight there. It’s really light… so you pay for the dimension of their smallest box, probably… fill it up! 
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Alrighty! Tester done.
Engrave settings - 1000 speed and 225 LPI
10, 20, 30, and 40 power from top to bottom.
I think my favorite is 30 power. It’s a nice deep engrave. 40 starts looking a bit choppy in person.
EDIT: I took the sample to a window for a closer inspection and at 40 the material started to melt at the edges. Definitely sticking to 30.
(The white flecks are from me wiping away the char, that’s not the material itself.)
Cut settings - 300 speed
50, 60, 70, and 80 from the top down.
This stuff cuts like butter. From the front I honestly had a hard time telling the difference between the power settings. You can notice a slight difference in the corners where it gets a bit circular (I know there’s a name for this but it escapes me at the moment).
You notice the difference when you flip it over. The backing of the material starts to melt at the higher power settings. It shouldn’t matter for this project but I think I’ll keep it around the 50 mark just in case.
This cuts with virtually no smell when compared with acrylic or leather. In case anyone was wondering.
I’m totally going to be using more of this in the future!
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