On 1/22/07, Nigel McCarty-Eigenmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Anyone know if this is actually tougher than bovine leather?
Do you mean the hide of an actual rhinoceros, and not one of the modern plastic vinyl things called rhino hide? I wouldn't be surpised to learn it is. But cow leather isn't terribly tough. It's reasonably thick, and suitable for all sorts of things. But there are better leathers. Goatskin and horsehide are preferred for jackets and gloves, for instance. Deerskin is prefered for some sorts of footwear -- it's tough, very flexible. These days, most leather is cow skin, because many, many cows are eaten, making the skins available, and fairly cheap. Historically, leather was whatever was convnient. You have cows, you've got cow hide leather. If you've got goats, you use goatskin. You have stingrays, you use stingrays. (Stingray leather is a traditional Thai leather.) You have rabbits, you use rabbits. Etc. That doesn't help you if you're trying to figure out if leather armor made of rhino hide has more DR than cowhide. I'd be inclined to say it does, but not much. -- David Scheidt [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
