Can "a thin strip of Texas leather" be used in several situation? Or are there any similar expressions?

I'm Japanese. When I watched a show on Netflix in English, I came across an expression "a thin strip of Texas leather." As I couldn't find the meaning on any sites (online dictionaries or search engines) on the Internet, I took a sneak peek at Japanese caption (from the beginning, I should have done it!) and got it meant "a born and bred Texan."

The phrase is used in the show The Mentalist, in the episode "Copper Bullet." The context is:

Candlesticks seem a little odd, don't they? I don't understand.

I mean, for a thin strip of Texas leather like Peterson.

Doesn't strike me as a candlestick type.

Maybe he hired a designer.

Is this a peculiar expression for Texans? Or can it be used for any state residents where leather is produced?

Anyway, I felt this is a very strange expression... why "thin strip" and why "leather"? Are there any other similar expressions for other states?

Heh, you're not the first to be confused; a search limited by phrase turns up mostly speakers of other languages looking for an explanation—Chinese, Slovenian, Persian...

It's not an established idiom, but simply a colorful metaphor, invented on the spot. The phrase is applied to a person, who is presumably thin and Texan. By likening him to leather, the speaker also implies that he has other leather-like qualities—tough, strong, resilient. In context, saying that they didn't expect him to like candlesticks, it also implies that the sort of leather the speaker is thinking of is not the expensive or luxurious leather of kid gloves or designer clothes, but a practical, work-ready, unglamorous "strip of leather."