specially treated skins of certain domestic animals.
It is a simple matter to recognize a kid-skin among the various kinds of
upper leather, because of its very light weight and pliability.
During the winter, leather, in drying, is apt to become frozen,
especially where no well-equipped drying loft is provided. Such leather
becomes weak and limp if thawed out too rapidly. In freezing, the
water in the hides which have been hung up to dry is forced out and
stretches apart the hide fiber. The wetter the hides, therefore, the
more demoralized they will be by the frost. The treatment of rushing the
frozen leather into a warm room is inadvisable; the best method is to
allow the hides to hang as they were and to tightly close all openings
to the outside air. In case this is impossible, it is best to place the
leather in a heap, in a room where the temperature will not fall below
the freezing point, and to cover it with a cloth. In case the leather
rolls up, it should be moistened before the roll becomes greater than
is customary; it will thus become firmer throughout. Some upper leather
and especially sheepskins for lining purposes are aided by freezing,
since the leather becomes white and plump and also is of a bright color,
though the durability is somewhat lessened.
The popularity of white leather for shoes is increasing wonderfully.
There is good reason for this. The modern white shoes have a stylish and
fashionable appearance which has won the hearts of women of all ages and
conditions, and when they want a thing, there is always alertness in
supplying it. The new love for white shoes is interesting to trace. Years
ago white leather for shoes was made principally from deerskins. But
this leather, while attractive when new, would stretch soon after being
worn, and take on a yellowish tinge. Besides, the price of such shoes
was very high, and it is not surprising that they became supplanted by
the cheaper, but attractive and useful, white canvas shoes, which became
quick sellers during the season.
It is greatly to the credit of our tanners that they have been able to
perfect and put on the market a white leather for shoes which answers
all requirements satisfactorily. This leather is made from cowhides; the
white color will not fade nor turn yellow, and best of all, the leather
can be easily cleaned and made to look good as new. Another advantage is
that such leathers can be used in shoes that sell at popular prices.
There are many common, commercial grades of upper leather.
Willow calf is a fine, soft, chrome tannage of calfskin. It is sold in
three colors, light tan, ox blood, and olive-brown. The distinguishing
features of this leather are its durability and the fact that it always
keeps soft and pliable. It is adapted to the highest quality of men’s and
women’s shoes.
Box calf is a storm-calf leather of highest quality. It is a waterproof,
chrome tannage in a medium tan color, with a dull finish. This is the
best leather obtainable for rough, outdoor wear, walking shoes, hunting
boots, etc. It is also adapted to men’s and women’s very fine footwear.
There is a growing demand for this kind of shoe. In the uppers of the
best storm shoes you will always find box calf.
Royal kid is a black chrome calfskin, dull finished with a smooth,
natural grain of fine texture, soft and pliable. It is used for vamps
and whole shoes of the highest grades for men and women, and is a very
popular material for the fall and winter shoe. The desirable qualities
of fine calf leather are making the demand for it grow faster than the
supply of raw material increases.
Tan royal is a tan color, chrome calf leather, smooth finish, fine grain,
excellent cutting qualities, uniform, of medium rich tan shades. Tan calf
leather is very attractive and the tan shoe is now a staple product.
Cadet kid is a bright black, smooth-finished, chrome calfskin for men’s
and women’s fine shoes. This tannage and finish give a remarkable
cutting value. The stability of this stock is entirely unique and makes
the finished shoe stand up, keeping its much desired shape through the
different tests of manufacturing. It is said to be the best calfskin, by
the best judges, the shoe manufacturers.
Bronko patent is distinguished for its fine, coltskin-effect grain. It
has a rich and lustrous black patent finish. The results obtained from
bronko patent in its workings through the shoe factory and its wearing
qualities afterward have never been equaled. Bronko is one of the finest
results of the development of chrome patent leather.
Cadet kid side is a chrome side leather that closely imitates the
calfskin, called cadet kid. It has a bright, lustrous finish, and a
remarkably fine grain. It is surprisingly like fine calf leather in
appearance.
Cadet calf sides are similar to cadet kid sides with the exception of a
boarded finish. This is another black chrome, side leather which comes
very near to a calfskin.
Mat royal chrome side is a special finish, closely resembling calf, used
for the tops of men’s and women’s medium fine shoes.
Black hawk patent is a well-tanned, well-finished patent leather for
medium-priced women’s shoes and for tipping.
Colored box chrome side, boarded, is a substitute for willow calf.
Black box chrome side, boarded, is a substitute for box calf in medium
fine shoes.
Kangaroo kid side is a back-tanned, dull, smooth, black leather nearly
like calf, used in the tops of men’s shoes, and men’s and women’s whole
shoes.
Waterproof black is a high quality leather of great durability for men’s
and boys’ heavy shoes. Waterproof brown is similar to waterproof black,
except in color, and is a leather made for hard service.
Amhide black is a soft, dry, high-grade tannage for lightweight,
comfortable, sporting, work, and hard-wear shoes.
Amhide russet is like black amhide in everything but color.
Hercules storm chrome is a leather distinguished for its fine grain and
good appearance of medium heavy weight.
Boris is a heavy-weight, soft, waterproof leather for men’s medium
quality shoes. It is finished in three colors and black.
Zulu is a medium-priced leather, which makes a very fine wearing heavy
shoe. It is made in two colors and black.
Bison is a colored or black-finished leather, of a high grade, very
comfortable and durable.
Ottawa is of two colors and black finished, and is suitable for high
quality, heavy, rough shoes.
Sheboygan calf is a heavily stuffed, soft, waterproof leather. It is of
two colors and black.
Dongola calf is a black leather used for durable, medium-priced, heavy,
outdoor shoes.
Belt knife splits are sold in several tannages and finishes of the most
improved manufacture. These splits are sorted in all weights. Uniform
selection is maintained, and the quality in every way is of the highest
order.
Oxford calf union splits is one of the highest grades of grain-finished,
union splits. It has an extremely soft and fine appearance.
Cambridge calf union splits have a most careful and high-grade finish,
but somewhat firmer than Oxford calf.
Flesh splits are sold in two tannages. These are the highest-grade flesh
splits that it is possible to make, and they are a long distance ahead of
the ordinary flesh splits, their improved finish making them a modern and
largely used substitute for satin.
Ottawa black and russet splits include a variety of printed splits, used
for shoes in combination with grain leather and for whole shoes. They
are selected in many weights.
Flexible splits for Goodyear, gem, McKay inner soles, is leather that
offers the greatest advantages to large and small buyers. It is the
product of six different tanneries, assorted in all the usual weights.
Great care is taken in the manufacture of these splits to adapt them
perfectly to the shoe manufacturer’s needs.
Flexible bends are used by manufacturers of Goodyear welt shoes requiring
a straight Goodyear or gem inner sole. They find these bends of great
advantage on account of the small amount of waste, the strength and
desirability of stock. They are made in six tannages.
Chrome flexible splits for inner soles furnish a very strong and durable
leather for inner soles, taps, and outer soles.
Ooze gusset splits, colored, give a very low-priced leather suitable
for gussets, bellows tongues for high-cut boots, also for the
quarter-linings of Oxfords.
Ooze vamp splits, black and colored, are strong, durable, low-priced
leathers suitable for cheap work shoes where waterproof qualities are not
required.
Chrome-tanned embossed splits, colored, are made in a great variety of
patterns for cheap shoes and other work where leather is required. They
are durable and low priced.
LEATHER FOR BELTING
A native steer about four years old, killed in the month of October,
affords the best example of a good hide for belting manufacture, that is,
for the transmission of power from pulley to pulley. At this age and at
this season the steer is in prime condition.
On account of the great and enormous strain put upon belting, and the
necessity for its running true upon the pulley, it should be of the
highest grade possible, combining great strength to prevent stretching,
and evenness of grain to insure long wear; therefore only hides of
selected steers are serviceable, and these in turn are rejected when they
contain any blemishes or cuts or other imperfections. After a hide is
accepted for belting purposes, it is subjected to a generous trimming,
the head, neck, legs, and belly being cut away, leaving only a small and
compact section embracing from two to two and a quarter feet on each side
of the backbone and extending about six feet along the same from the tail
forward. This is the portion of the hide where the fibers are closely and
firmly knit together, and where the vitality is the greatest, due to the
close proximity of the network of nerves radiating from each side of the
spine to all parts of the hide.
The hides of the bull and cow of every breed are inferior for belting
purposes to that of the steer. The hide of the bull is coarse and hard,
with the neck very heavy and full of wrinkles, causing a variation in
the thickness and run of the grain of the leather. The hide of the cow
is thin, does not run uniform in thickness, being heavier on the hips
than at the shoulder, and is lacking in the firmness necessary in good
belting. The sharp angles of the hip bones of a cow also tend to form
pockets in the hide.
After the hide has been trimmed, it is subject to the process of
“currying.” All membranes or particles of flesh adhering to the hide
are removed by a machine which shaves the membrane, etc., off, with
lightning rapidity. The leather is then washed and scoured by machine,
which removes all dirt still adhering to the hide. After the leather
is thoroughly cleaned and while in a damp state, it is placed upon the
table, and greases, composed of pure animal oil, are worked into the
leather on both the grain and the flesh side with brushes. This is
carried on in the cold state. It is then put into a large revolving
wheel containing water heated to a high degree, which causes the leather
to swell and pores to open. The leather is then taken out and put into
another wheel containing heavy mineral oil and heated several degrees
greater than the water, and tumbled about in the wheel until the heavy
oil fills the distended pores and fibers. After this, the leather is
allowed to dry.
The hides are allowed to remain for several months in the tan liquor
until the green hide is changed into leather.
After the hide has been changed into leather, it is stretched. To
properly stretch the leather for belting purposes, it must first be cut
so as to remove that part which shows the markings of the backbone of the
steer.
Leather is stretched by placing it in clamps, every part of the piece
getting the same pull. (The leather is put into the clamps while damp,
as damp leather will give the greatest amount of stretching.)
When the stretching process is completed and the leather has thoroughly
dried in stretching clamps, it is released. These pieces of leather
are quite dry, very firm, and not very pliable. The leather is now
moistened in order that it shall be more pliable as it passes through the
finishing processes. After the water has soaked into the leather (called
sammied), it becomes very soft. It is then subjected to a roller under
heavy pressure to take all the unevenness out of the hide. It is next
thoroughly dried, causing the fibers to shrink; then again moistened and
put through a polishing machine, which acts on the same principle as the
rolling jack.
The sides and centers are now put through a cutting machine, which
reduces the leather to strips of different sizes.
Belts are put together by cementing the parts. Belt cement is a most
powerful adhesive. It actually governs the strength of the belt, as the
belt is as strong as the weakest part of the joint.
RAWHIDE PRODUCTS
Rawhide is used for a great many purposes. After the side of leather has
been trimmed of the portions that cannot be used, it is sold to the lace
maker. He measures the same in a machine.
The trimmings from the side of the hide may be used for a mallet head
or other tools made of leather. The most common products of the strong
section of rawhide strings are shoe strings, belting laces, and parts of
harnesses. It is also made into leather shoe strings that are used in the
logging camps.
When the hide is selected for the rawhide purposes, it is first passed to
a de-hairing machine, where all the hair is removed. It is then fleshed;
that is, all loose membrane and any flesh that may have adhered to the
hide are removed from the flesh side. The rawhide is then placed in a
special bath for the purpose of opening the pores, before the oils and
greases are added to it. After this bath, it is dried thoroughly in a hot
box and then put into wheels which mill the greases into the hide.
The hide, which is made hard by this drying process, is put through
breakers, where it is thoroughly worked into soft and pliable form.
The hide is next passed to the setting-out machine, which finishes all
forms of leather--by condensing and strengthening the fibers. Special
oils are applied to both the grain and flesh side of the hide. It is
finished by hand and cut into laces. This hand finishing is usually done
in order to reject all parts that are not perfect.
Haired leather is tanned by acid--a quicker method. The hide is split
into sides and tanned with the belly stock on them, which is used for
car straps, cowbell straps, trunk straps, and riding bridles.
THE BY-PRODUCTS OF A LEATHER BELTING FACTORY
There are a great many by-products in a leather belting factory, all of
which are used. The finest strips are used for whip lashes, small pieces
are used for the French heel, and the extremely small pieces are used in
leather mats.
The by-product from the belting bull, which is about fifty per cent, is
used for shoe leather and leather straps. There is considerable leather
taken from the belting bull for certain harness work. The belly is thick
and porous though not tough, and is used for halters, cow bridles, and
other parts of harness where the strain is not great.
ROUND BELT MAKING
Round belt is made from the best belting, but while the strain on round
belting is not severe, the leather must be soft and pliable. It is
selected from regular stock of native steer hide.
PROPERTIES OF TANNED LEATHER
Leather that has been tanned is made up of a great many little bundles of
fibers. The coarser and stronger fibers are on the inside, and the very
fine and smoothly laid fibers are on the outside. These fibers are so
intertwined and so elastic that when the leather bends these bundles play
on one another. On account of the smoothness of the surface it may be
polished, and beautiful finishes and effects obtained on the leather.
The elasticity of leather (which is due to the elasticity of its fibers)
allows it to stretch to a great extent. The tendency to return to its
original position is very strong at the beginning, but grows weaker if
the strain is continued at any one point. Of course, in stretching the
leather, there is always a corresponding drawing in another part of the
shoe, which gives it a worn and baggy appearance.
When shoes are removed from the feet, they are oftentimes damp, due
to perspiration. The stretched or strained fibers are apt to shrink
and return to their original position. In order to avoid this, it is
necessary to place shoe-trees in them.
When the linings of shoes are exposed to friction and excretion of
perspiration from the feet of some people, they deteriorate. This is due
to the fact that the acids of perspiration (acetic, formic and butyric
acids) have become so concentrated that they act on the fibers of the
leather. These acids exert a burning effect, causing the fibers to lose
their elasticity so that they no longer play on one another, but become
fastened to each other. The result is that they become hard, and any
attempt to bend the leather tears them apart; and once the union of
fibers is destroyed it cannot be repaired.
In order to keep the fibers in such a condition (soft and flexible), they
should be lubricated often (twice a week) with a liquid followed by a wax
paste, usually called shoe dressing. When a brush or a piece of cloth is
rubbed over the surface of leather containing the shoe lubricants (shoe
polish), it produces a smooth surface called a “shine.”
Compounds which shine without friction produced by brush or cloth should
not be used, as they are simply varnishes and one coat on top of the
other destroys the leather.
SUBSTITUTES FOR LEATHER
In olden times our fathers and mothers used handmade shoes, and wore
them till they had passed their period of usefulness. At that time the
consumption did not equal the production of leather. Knowledge of
conditions in the great western countries to-day will show that many of
the big cattle-raising sections, once famed for their cattle, have been
taken up by homesteaders and are now producing grain instead of cattle.
But since the appearance of the machine-made shoe, different styles of
shoes are placed on the market at different seasons, to correspond to
the change of style of clothing, and shoes are often discarded before
they are worn out. We have not been able thus far to utilize cast-off
leather as the shoddy mill uses wool and silk, etc. The result is that
the consumption of leather is above the production, therefore substitutes
must be used.
In shoe materials there is at present an astonishing diversity and
variety. Every known leather is used from kid to cowhide, and textile
fabrics have developed rapidly, especially in the making of women’s and
children’s shoes. The satins, velvets, serges, and other fabrics that
are used in the manufacture of shoes must be firm and well woven, and
are usually supplied with a backing of firm, canvas-like fabric, to give
strength.
As to wearing quality the old saying, “There is nothing like leather,”
still holds good; but people do not buy shoes for their wearing qualities
alone in these days. Style and intrinsic beauty are considered, and have
a cash value just as in any other article of apparel.
Each fabric is made of two sets of threadlike yarn woven at right angles
to each other. They are called the warp and filling (weft). The warp is
composed of yarn running the longest way of the fabric, and filling runs
the short way of the fabric. Since the warp is the body of the cloth, it
is its strongest part and all fabric in shoes should be placed warpwise
across the foot of the wearer, so as to be able to resist the great
strain.
Various attempts have been made for legislation to prohibit the treating
of leather by chemicals or the use of substances to increase its weight.
Complaints have been made by a number of shoe manufacturers that the
excessive use of glucose (a form of sugar) in sole leather has resulted
in injuring the leather and fabrics composing the uppers of shoes.
Representatives of large leather firms claim that the methods of tanning
sole leather have radically changed during the last few years, and that
the small quantity of glucose and epsom salts that is used to-day in
finishing sole leather is absolutely necessary to its value, and is in
no sense an adulterant or weighting material. Shoe manufacturers, on the
other hand, claim that in some cases larger amounts of glucose, salt,
etc., have been added to the soft leather from the belly of the animal,
in order to give it the desired stiffness. On account of the high price
of leather, various attempts have been made to find a substitute for
it. Most of these substitutes consist of strong cloth treated with some
drying oil like linseed, the oil having previously been mixed with other
solid substances.
A prize of five thousand francs has been awarded to a Belgian inventor,
Louis Gevaert, for his unusually superior artificial leather. The process
consists in the more or less intimate impregnation of stout cloth with
tannic albuminoid substances. Shoes made of this are said to possess not
only the resistance and elasticity of natural leather, but its durability
of wear. Moreover, they are much cheaper, costing, including manufacture,
only four francs (about eighty cents) and being sold at about six francs
per pair.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOT
Very few people, even among those engaged in the shoe industry, know much
of the anatomy of the foot. Yet it is evident that they ought to know
something about it in order to furnish the foot with a proper covering.
The first thing that strikes a person on looking at the human foot is its
large proportion of bone. On pressing its top surface and that of its
inner side, the amount of flesh will be found to be very small, indeed.
The same is true of the inner and outer ankle. The extreme back of the
ankle has scarcely any flesh covering. The most fleshy portions of the
foot are its outer side, the base of the heel and the ball of the big
toe.
The reason for this disposition of flesh is to protect or cover those
parts of the foot that support the body by coming in contact with the
ground. They act as pads and lessen the concussion. The abundance of
flesh on the outer side of the foot is to protect or act as a shield
against danger. The inside of the foot is not exposed as much as the
outside.
The foot is divided into three parts, the toes, the waist and instep,
and the heel and ankle. The largest bone of the foot is the heel bone
(called calcaneum). It is the bone that projects backward from the
principal joint and forms the main portion of the heel. When a person is
flat-footed, this bone is thrust farther backward than nature intended to
have it. The connection between it and the tarsal bones is lost.
[Illustration: The Bones and Joints of the Human Foot.]
[Illustration: The Different Parts of the Foot and Ankle. _See page 86._]
The top bone of the foot is the astragalus, and it forms the main joint
upon which the process of walking depends. This bone has a smooth,
circular, upper surface that connects it with the main bone of the lower
leg. It is absolutely necessary that this bone should be in perfect
harmony (relation) with the others in order to insure comfort and health.
If the arches of the foot are forced out of position, up or down or
sidewise, this joint is not permitted to do its work normally.
Rheumatism is a frequent evil of an injured joint. Hence the necessity of
absolutely normal action, unhampered by ill-fitting shoes.
The principal arch of the instep is called the cuneiform or tarsal bone.
Persons are troubled with defective insteps to quite an extent. Misshapen
joints at this point due to shoes that do not fit and consequently
disarrange and throw out of position the delicate, natural structure,
work great havoc with the comfort of the foot. Nine joints cluster at
this point.