RUSSET LEATHER.
In selecting rein leather, the same tests as to quality should be
employed as with harness leather, as it is in every respect the
same with the exception that, instead of being colored black, it is
bleached, and afterwards stained brown or some other color. The latest
freak of fashion is to bleach it quite light and then color it with a
yellowish-brown stain, so as to produce what is known as cuir-color, a
very light, almost imperceptible brown; in fact, the shade is nearer
to the natural color of fine oak-tanned leather than any thing else,
and the stain used is more for the purpose of producing a uniform
shade than establishing a new color. When this color is employed, very
little stain is needed on the edges of straps to bring them up to the
same shade as the grain; and where it can be done, the harness maker
will find it to his advantage to procure of the leather-manufacturer
the same kind of stain as is used to color the grain, the beauty of a
russet rein depending quite as much upon its uniformity of color as
upon its make. The brown and yellow stains can be made very easily,
but those used to produce the soft, fine shades are part of the
leather-manufacturer’s stock-in-trade, and their preparation is kept
a secret, at least until fashion has adopted some new color as the
favorite.
In selecting rein leather, it is bad policy to choose any thing but the
best quality. Poor leather works harder, does not keep its shape as
well, and takes a less uniform shade when stained, particularly when it
is short-tanned, as the untanned center presents a darker shade than
the portion that is well filled with bark. Then, too, if the grain is
hard it is liable to crack while being made up, or upon being bent
while in use. A pair of russet reins will contain about one pound of
leather, and the trifling difference in the cost between the highest
and lowest priced stock should not be sufficient inducement to the
harness maker to jeopardize the lives of his customers by the use of
inferior, unsafe reins.
Hand-part leather, like that for the reins, should be of the very
best quality, and all the tests that are applied to other kinds are
equally effectual for this, while it should also be soft and pliant.
It is customary among harness makers who use but a small amount of
rein-leather to cut their folds for hand parts from the same side as
they do the rounds.
This is a mistake, entailing additional cost without the gain of a
single advantage. Rein leather in most cases is too heavy for folds,
and must be split to reduce it to the proper thickness. This process
removes some of the strongest portion of the leather, besides occupying
the time of the workman. A cheaper and much better plan is to procure
handpart leather that has been made expressly for the purpose. It is
of lighter weight, much stronger in proportion to its thickness, and,
when cut to the proper width, is ready for the workman to make up. For
flat hand parts the leather should be equally as heavy as that used for
the rounds; it can be cut from the same sides as the rounds if desired,
but, as it is generally too hard, the workman is compelled to resort
to some method of softening it, such as pulling it around a post,
rolling and working, etc. For flat hand parts, grained leather is quite
popular, and looks well.
When the harness maker can not readily procure this, he can obtain very
nice grained hand parts by boarding or breaking the grain in the same
manner as is done by the curriers, as follows: cut a piece of leather
from the side, of the full width needed for two pairs of hand parts, as
a piece of the requisite width for one pair would be too narrow to work
well; lay the strip on a table, the grain side up, and with a board,
such as is used by curriers, crease the grain, commencing at the front
corner on one end, and giving the leather a half roll diagonally across
the strip, continuing to work it at the same angle until the other end
is reached; then commence at the front corner of the other end, and
board it at the same angle as the first, until the end is reached where
the work was begun. By this means, the creases in the grain will cross
each other and form the distinctive feature from which the leather
gets its name. The fineness of the graining depends upon the amount
of labor applied. In a little time the workman will acquire all the
experience necessary for the production of a fine, even grain.
To the harness maker using but little of this kind of handpart leather,
graining in this manner is a matter of economy. The labor needed to
produce the desired surface does even more than this, as it breaks down
and softens the leather, making it as pliant as can be desired.
Buff leather is also much used for hand parts. It is made of the same
quality of stock as the other kinds, but is not stained, the grain
being buffed by the currier to remove the gloss and give it a white,
furried appearance. It is a soft, pliant leather, and is one of the
best kinds in use for hand parts, as, in addition to its softness and
good appearance, it will not soil the most delicate fabrics.
Another light-colored leather, and one a good quality of which it is
difficult to procure, is that known as loop leather. This, unlike
the kinds before mentioned, is not curried with oil, or at least the
quantity of grease of any kind employed is very small. It must be
solid, and yet possess a mellow grain that will readily take a crease
and retain it. If in creasing up the work, one mark when placed in
close proximity to another obliterates it, or decreases its depth
in the least, a good piece of work can not be made, and only by the
exercise of the greatest care can even an ordinary job be produced.
If, however, the grain is mellow, each impression made by the creaser
becomes permanently set, and the adjoining one, no matter how near it
may be, is equally well defined. For this reason, in selecting a side,
make good tannage, mellow grain, and a solid body the tests.
The lack of uniformity in thickness is a matter of no importance;
indeed, instead of being a detriment, as is the case with all other
leather used by harness makers, it is a positive advantage, as the
shoulders and other thin parts can be used for check and other light
loops, while the thick butts are of the proper weight for trace and
similar heavy loops, all the intermediate thicknesses being available
for the various loops for other parts.
BUYING LEATHER.
In purchasing leather, the buyer is compelled to depend much upon the
honor of the seller in other respects than the determination of the
quality, excepting in the case of weight stock, which is sold by the
pound, the weight being ascertained at the time of sale. With trimmed
stock, however, the case is different in most markets. This leather
is marked with its weight while in the rough, and after it is trimmed
and curried there are no means of ascertaining the correctness of the
brand. It is claimed that a side of leather weighing eighteen pounds in
the rough will lose about four pounds in the currying and trimming. No
reliance however, can be placed upon this estimate; for if the flesh
side is not well cleaned, and the currier is desirous of misleading,
the leather may be stuffed with cheap oil until the finished is equal
to the rough weight.
Backs as well as trimmed sides are sold by the rough weight, with an
additional charge of $1 and $1.50 each for dressing. Recently, however,
a leading New-York manufacturer has adopted the plan of selling backs
by their actual weight at the time of sale, the price charged being 82
cents per pound, which is, as near as can be ascertained, the actual
cost of that bought by the pound, and to which an extra charge has been
added for finishing. The latter is the most simple method, and will no
doubt come into general use when the advantages are fully understood.
The buyer, however, is at liberty to take or leave the bellies—in the
latter case the value by weight being deducted from the bill. These
weigh, as a rule, four pounds. Thus a side of leather which weighed
eighteen pounds in the rough, if properly fleshed and curried will lose
four pounds by this process and three or four pounds more by cropping,
leaving about eleven pounds of prime leather in the back, for which the
buyer pays as though in the rough stock—eighteen pounds, less the three
or four pounds deducted if the bellies are not wanted. Therefore, in
buying a back, 48 cents a pound would be charged for eighteen pounds
of leather, and $1.50 added for dressing, making the total cost $8.70,
after deducting for the bellies, leaving eleven pounds of prime
leather, to be paid for at a cost of about 80 cents a pound, or nearly
double the apparent quotation.
In trimmed stock, the difference between the actual and the quoted
price is much less, but the buyer pays for the bellies as well as the
backs. The price charged per pound is, however, about 2 cents less
for the same quality, in which case an eighteen-pound side would cost
$8.28, and the actual weight would be about fourteen pounds, making the
leather cost about 59 cents a pound, a difference of about 21 cents a
pound between it and the backs. It will be seen by this that any false
branding of the rough weight causes a marked advance in the price, and
should teach the importance of buying trimmed stock of honest, reliable
men, and of avoiding speculators, who offer extra inducements in the
way of low prices, as the latter are sure to be made up by increased
weight.