after the skins are unhaired, scraped, “fleshed,” and raised. It consists
in rubbing the skins with pumice stone or a blunt knife till the
appearance of the grain is entirely removed.
FRONT. A term used for part of a congress toe.
GAITER. A term usually applied to a separate ankle covering or to a
congress shoe.
GEMMING. The operation of making gem insoles.
GEM INSOLES. An insole for welt shoes of leather.
GLAZED KID. See Kid.
GLOVE GRAIN. A light, soft-finished, split leather, for women’s or
children’s shoes or topping.
GOATSKIN. See Kid.
GOODYEAR WELT. A term used to denote the process of attaching the sole
to the upper of a shoe by means of a narrow strip of leather called a
welt.
GORE. A rubber elastic used in a congress shoe. It is also applied to the
long, wedge-shaped piece of leather set in an upper to widen it.
GRADING. The sorting of outsoles and half soles to get uniform weight in
edges of finished shoes.
HALF SOLE. Half of a complete sole used in forepart of bottom under
outsole.
HARNESS LEATHER. Similar to belting, and is made from hides heavier than
kips.
HEEL. Made of layers of leather or wood called liftings, and attached to
rear part of shoe (heel seat). There are different varieties of heels.
The French heel is an extremely high heel with a curved outline in back
and front (breast). It is sometimes made of wood covered with leather,
with thicknesses of sole leather, or all sole leather. The Cuban heel is
a high, straight heel, without the curve of the French or “Louis XV”
heel. Military heel is a straight heel not as high as the Cuban. A spring
heel is a low heel formed by extending back the outside of the shoe to
the heel, with a slip inserted between the outsole and heel slat. Wedge
heel is somewhat similar to a spring heel, except that a wedge-shaped
lift is tacked on the outside instead of a slit. Slugging heels is the
process of affixing the made-up heel by one operation of the machine.
HEEL FINISHING. Blacking and polishing the heel edge.
HEEL LINING. The lining to cover heel nails inside the shoe; it is often
known by other names.
HEEL PAD. In the manufacture of shoes, is a small piece of felt, leather,
or other substance fastened to and covering the full width of the insole
at the point upon which the heel rests. A heel cushion is sometimes
called a heel pad.
HEEL SCOURING. Sandpapering the edge of the heel, except the front or
breast portion.
HEEL SEAT. That part of sole on which heel is fastened.
HEEL SEAT NAILING. Nailing the heel part of sole.
HEEL SEAT TRIMMING. Trimming the rear or heel part of sole.
HEEL SHAVING. Shaving the heel, shaping it.
HEMLOCK TANNED. A process of tanning leather by hemlock bark.
HIDES. Distinguished from skins, in the trade. Hides refer to skins of
animals which are over twenty-five pounds in weight. Skins refer to
smaller animals; as skins of goats, calves, sheep.
INLAY. A trimming of the upper by an insertion of the same or different
kind of material than that of the body in which it is inlaid. It is used
for decorative purpose on a shoe.
INSEAMING. Sewing sole on turn shoe. Welting and inseaming are
practically the same operation.
INSEAM TRIMMING. Cutting off the surplus leather; term is also applied to
pulling sole tacks.
INSOLE. The first sole laid on the last, and is the foundation of all
shoes with insoles. It is an important though invisible portion of a
shoe. This inner sole is the part to which the upper and outsole are
sewed or nailed in the McKay and welt shoes.
INSPECTING. The examination of shoes to see that the work is perfect; it
is sometimes called crowning.
INSPECTING INSOLE. The operation of looking inside of the shoe for tacks.
INSTEP. The top of the arch of the foot.
IRON. A term indicating the thickness of sole leather; each unit is
approximately one thirty-second of an inch in thickness.
IRONING UPPERS. Taking wrinkles out of the uppers and smoothing the same
with a hot iron.
JULIETTE. A woman’s house slipper which is cut a little above the ankle
in front and back, and cut down on the sides is called a Juliette.
KANGAROO. The skin of the animal of that name, which makes a splendid
leather, of firm texture. It is quite expensive, hence substitutes are on
the market under the same name.
KID. A term applied to the shoe leather made from the skins of mature
goats.
KIP. A term applied to leather made from hides weighing between fifteen
and twenty-five pounds.
LACE STAY. A strip of leather reënforcing the eyelet holes.
LACE HOOK. An eyelet extended into a recurved hook, around which the lace
is looped. It is most commonly used in men’s and boys’ shoes, although
recently some have been invented for use in women’s shoes with curved
ends, to avoid catching the dress.
LACING. The operation of putting laces in shoes.
LAST. A wooden form over which the shoe is constructed, giving the shoe
its distinctive shape.
LASTING. The process of making the uppers conform to the last in all
respects. The operations of assembling and pulling over are parts of
lasting.
LAYING CHANNEL. Turning down the lip or flap to cover the stitching.
LEVELING. Shaping the sole to the bottom of the last.
LIFT. The name given to one thickness of sole leather used in the heel.
Top lift is the bottom lift, when the shoe is right side up, and is the
last piece put on in manufacture.
LINING. The inside part of shoe, generally of cloth (dull) or sheepskin.
LINING CUTTING. The operation of cutting the cloth linings.
LINING-IN. The operation of putting lining inside of the shoe to cover
insole or part of insole.
LOADING LEATHER. Filling the pores of the leather with glucose to
increase its weight.
MAKING LININGS. Consists of closing up heel of lining; putting on top and
side or eyelet stay.
MATCH MARKING. An operation performed on colored uppers, except black, to
get different parts of the upper the same shade and color, and both shoes
in the pair alike.
MAT. A term applied to a dull finish kid as distinguished from glazed.
MCKAY SEWED OR MCKAY. A shoe in which the outsole is attached to the
insole and upper by a method named for the inventor.
MCKAY SEWING. Sewing through and through so that thread is seen inside
of shoe.
MIDDLE SOLE. Any sole between outsole and insole.
MOCK WELT. McKay-sewed shoe with a double sole and having a leather sock
lining. It is fair stitched to imitate a welt.
MONKEY SKIN. A peculiar grained skin, and is considered in the trade as a
fancy leather. It is often imitated.
MOROCCO. A name applied to leather originally made in Morocco. It is a
sumac-tanned goatskin, red in color, and is used in book binding. The
name is also applied to a leather made in imitation of this, and to
heavy, plump goatskins used for shoes.
MOLDING. Shaping the sole to fit the bottom of last.
MULES. The name applied to slippers with no counters or quarters.
NAP. The woolly side of hide, cloth, or felt.
NAUMKEAGING. Smoothing up the bottom with fine sandpaper. Sometimes the
buffing grain.
NULLIFIER. A shoe with high vamp and quarter, dropping low at the sides,
made with a short rubber goring for summer or house wear.
OAK TANNED. A process of tanning by means of a substance obtained from
oak bark.
OIL LEATHER. Leather prepared by currying hides in oil. The hides are
moist, that the oily matter may be gradually and thoroughly absorbed.
OOZE. A chrome tan calfskin treated on the flesh side in such a manner
that the long fibers are loosened and form a nap surface; made in many
colors.
OUTSIDE CUTTING. Cutting the leather parts of the shoe, as vamp, tip,
top, etc.
OUTSIDE TAP. The tap used outside of men’s or boys’ heavy shoes.
OUTSOLE. The sole next the ground, on which all wear comes.
[Illustration: Cross Section of McKay Sewed Shoe.]
[Illustration: Cross Section of Goodyear Welt Shoe.]
OXFORD. A low-cut shoe no higher than the instep lace, button, or
goring, made in men’s, women’s, and children’s sizes.
PACKER HIDES. Hides taken off in the large slaughterhouses. They are
rated slightly higher in price, because great care and skill are used in
taking them off.
PACKING. Placing a pair of shoes in a carton.
PACS. Coverings for the feet made of good quality calfskin, similar in
form and appearance to the Indian moccasin. They do not have sole leather
bottoms. If properly made, they are waterproof.
PANCAKE. A term applied to one of the many artificial leathers formed
from leather scraps, shaved thin, and cemented together under heavy
pressure.
PASTED COUNTER. One that is cut from two pieces of sole leather pasted
together. It is sometimes called a two-piece counter.
PATENT LEATHER. Varnished leather.
PATTERN. The model by which the pieces comprising the upper of a shoe
are cut, applied collectively to upper as modified by the differing
shape of these pieces.
PEBBLE. A term used in the process to bring out the grain of leather and
give it a roughened or rubbed appearance.
PEGGING. Lasting out soles with pegs.
PERFORATING. Making very small holes around parts of upper. It is
performed mostly for decoration.
POLISH. The name of ladies’ or misses’ front-lace shoe of higher cut than
“bal,” and named from Poland, where it originated.
PRESSING. Consists of a flat-press pressure for heels and soles, to
prevent cracking of edges and to make parts adhere.
PORPOISE. This skin is sometimes used for leather and boot laces, but
porpoise hides are ordinarily obtained from the white whale.
PULLING LASTS. Removing the lasts from shoes.
PULLING OVER. Pulling upper on the last and tacking it in position.
PUMP. A low-cut shoe originally having no fastenings, such as laces or
buttons. A pump is cut lower than the instep.
PUMP SOLE. An extra-light single sole, running clear through to the
back of the heel. A pump sole in former years was distinguished by its
flexibility and was hand turned.
PUTTING ON TAP. Sticking half sole to the outsole.
QUARTER. The rear part of upper when a full vamp is not used. Term is
used mostly in women’s, and Oxfords or low shoes.
RAND. Made of sole leather about as wide as a welt, but thin at one edge.
It is tacked to the heel so as to balance the heel evenly on the sole and
fill any open space around the edge between sole and heel.
RAPID STITCHING. Sewing the sole to welt.
RELASTING. Consists in putting lasts in shoes from which the original
lasts have been removed.
REPAIRING. A term applied to filling slight cracks in patent tips or
patent leather.
ROAN. Sheepskin tanned with sumac. The process is similar in its details
to that employed for morocco leather, but lacks the graining given to the
morocco by the grooved rollers in the finishing. It imitates ungrained
morocco.
ROLLING. The process of passing leather between rolls to make it firm and
hard. Rolling consists in polishing the bottom on roll and brush.
ROUGH ROUNDING. Rounding outsole to the shape of last, and cutting
channel in the welt-channeled shoes.
ROYALTIES. Sums paid for the use of machines to machine companies.
RUSSET CALF. Russet-colored calf is made from calfskins.
RUSSET GRAIN. Russet-colored grain is made from a split cowhide.
SABOT. The name of a one-piece wooden shoe, carved from a block of
basswood. A novelty to Americans, but worn by people in the rural and
manufacturing sections of Holland, Germany, and France.
SACK LINING. The lining inside the shoe and insole.
SANDAL. The name of a woman’s strap slipper, or a sole worn by children.
Originally fastened on the foot by straps.
SATIN CALF. A grain split, stuffed with oil, and smooth finished.
SCOURING BREAST. Sandpapering the front part of the heel.
SCREW-FASTENED. A shoe having the sole attached with screws, as in cheap
or working shoes.
SEAL GRAIN. Usually a flesh split, with an artificial grain which is
stamped or printed on the finished leather.
SECOND LASTING. The same as relasting. Term used most in turn work.
SHANK. The middle position of the bottom of the foot. Shank supports are
placed in shoes to stiffen that part of the bottom. They are of steel,
of wood, or of a combination of leather board and steel, and can be
placed in the shoe any time before the outsole is laid.
SHANK BURNISHING. Polishing a black shank with hot iron.
SHANK FINISHING. Finishing the shank with blacking or in colors. The top
lift is generally finished at the same time.
SHANKING OUT. Means making the edge of the shank thinner than the other
part of the sole, and making it smooth.
SHEEPSKINS. Used largely for linings and for cheap shoes for women and
children. It is too soft and weak in texture for heavy wear, and liable
to split and tear.
SHORT VAMP. A foreshortened vamp. The distance between the extreme tip
and the throat of the vamp shortened for appearances.
SIDES. Leather made from hides which are split into two sides down the
back.
SIDE LASTING. Lasting the side of the shoe only.
SIZE. Shoes are measured by the length and width. The length is expressed
by numbers and the widths by letters.
SKINS. A term used to represent the skin covering of small animals, such
as goats.
SKIRTING. The outer parts of leather (hide), such as shanks, bellies,
necks, etc.
SKIVING. Making the sole the same thickness in all parts. Skiving means
cutting or shaving down to a thin edge. This operation may be done in the
cutting department or stitching department.
SLIP. The name applied to spring heels or to soles. Slip is a thin piece
of sole leather inserted above the outer sole.
SLUGGING. Driving slugs in heels, on part or all of the heel.
SOCK LINING. The lining for insole, inside of shoe.
SOFT TIP. A term applied to a shoe on which no boxing is used under the
tip.
SOLES AND SOLE LEATHER. Name applied to pieces of leather of various
thickness on the bottom of a shoe, usually made from heavy hides of
leather. There are many varieties of soles: a “full-double” sole has two
thicknesses of leather extending clear back to the heel; “half-double”
sole is a full outer sole, with slip extending back to shank; single sole
is self-defining; “tap” is a half sole.
SOLE LAYING. Sole laying is the operation of laying the outsole.
SORTING. The process of selecting and sorting soles, so that they may be
put up in different qualities.
SPEWING. Shoes in stock sometimes become coated with a grayish white,
powdery substance, that looks like mildew. This formation on leather that
is not fully seasoned is called spewing, and the deposit is called bloom.
It can readily be wiped off, and does not indicate any serious defect or
trouble with the leather. It is not a mildew or growth, but apparently
an exudation of materials used in tanning.
SPLITS. A name applied to split leather, that is, two or more parts of
the hide.
SPRING HEEL. Consists of one or more lifts used between the outsole and
upper. It is seen mostly in children’s shoes and is often called wedge
heel. It can also be put on outside instead of under the outsole.
STAMPING. The operation of putting size and width on the inside of the
shoe. Parts of the uppers are often stamped or marked so that the whole
are put together properly in the stitching room.
STAY. The name given to any piece of leather put in the upper to
strengthen it or to strengthen a seam.
STAMPING BOTTOMS. The operation of stamping name on bottom. It is often
performed in finishing rooms.
STAMPING CARTON. Putting the size, width, and other marks on carton.
STAMPING SIZES. Stamping sizes on heel part of the sole.
STANDARD-FASTENED. Nailing bottom on standard screw machine.
STAYING. Putting on a stay, generally heel stay.
STITCH SEPARATING. Marking between stitches so as to make them show to
good advantage.
STITCH DOWN. A term applied to a flexible shoe used in the army, in which
the top is turned out instead of under and stitched through the sole.
STITCHED ALOFT. A term used to indicate that the sewing stitches show
on the bottom. No channel is necessary in this sole. It may be a slight
groove. In stitching, the shoe is held bottom up, therefore the name
“stitched aloft.”
STRAIGHT LAST. One that is neither right nor left, and a shoe made over
such a last can be worn on either foot. This term is sometimes applied to
right and left shoes that have a barely perceptible outside swing.
STRIPPING. Consists of cutting in strips wide enough to cut soles all of
equal size in length.
SUEDE. A trade term applied to kid skins, finished on the flesh side.
SWING. A term applied to the curve of the outer edge of a sole.
TACKING ON. Consists in laying the outsole on McKay’s lasted shoes.
TACK PULLING AND TRIMMING OUT. Consist of preparing bottom for welting.
It also makes it better for the operation.
TAMPICO. A variety of goat skins coming from the province of Tampico,
Central America.
TAP. Half of a complete sole, often called half sole when used under
outsole.
TAN. Tan is a sort of brownish leather.
TANNING. Tanning is the process of converting hides or skins into
leather.
TAP TRIMMING. Shaping the tap to conform to the sole.
TAWING. The process of making leather by soaking hides in a solution of
salt and alum, or by packing them down with dry salt and powdered alum.
Used to prepare skin rugs and furs.
TEMPERING. The operation of wetting the leather in water to take hardness
out and make leather “mull,” so that it may be worked easier.
TIP. The toe piece which is stitched to the vamp and outside of it. Stock
tip is a tip of the same material as the vamp. Patent tip is a patent
leather tip. Diamond tip refers to the shape extending back to a point.
Imitation tip-stitching across the vamp is imitation of a tip.
TIP CUTTING. Cutting the tip which goes on the toe of the vamp.
TOE AND HEEL LASTING. Lasting heel and toe.
TOE PIECE. A piece attached to cut-off vamp to lengthen it.
TONGUE. A narrow strip of leather necessary on all laced shoes.
TOP. The part of the upper above the vamp; tip of shoe.
TOP CUTTING. Cutting the top only.
TOP FACING. The strip of leather or band of cloth around the top of the
shoe on the inside is called the top facing. It adds to the finish of the
lining, and is sometimes used to advertise the name of manufacturers by a
design of letters woven or sewed on it.
TOP LIFT. The lift which is next to the ground.
TOP LIFT SCOURING. Sandpapering top lift of heel to make it smooth.
TOP STITCHING. Consists of stitching across the top and down the side.
TREEING. Shaping the shoe, making it smooth. Produces the same effect
as ironing, although no hot iron is used. It makes the upper plump and
gives it a good finish and “feel.”
TRIMMING CUTTING. Cutting stays, facings, and other small parts of the
upper.
TRIMMING VAMP. Cutting off hanging or surplus thread.
TURNING. To turn shoe right side out. Also turning upper right side out.
TURNED SHOE. A lady’s fine shoe that is made wrong side out, then turned
right side out, which operation necessitates the use of a thin, flexible
sole of good quality. The sole is fastened to the last, the upper is
lasted over it wrong side out, then the two are sewed together, the
thread catching through a channel cut in the edge of the sole. The seam
does not come through to the bottom of the sole where it would chafe the
foot on inside.
UPPER. A term applied collectively to the upper parts of a shoe.
UNGRAINED. Smooth surface.
VAMP. The lower or front part of the upper of a shoe. It is the most
important piece of the upper and should be cut from the strongest and
cleanest part of the skin. “Cut-off” vamp is one that extends only to the
tip, instead of being continued to the toe and lasted under with the tip.
Whole vamp is one that extends to the heel without a seam.
VAMPING. Stitching the vamp to the top.
VAMP CUTTING. Cutting vamp with or without the tip.
VELOUR. A finish for calf leather. It is the French name for velvet and
is used in the shoe trade for a patent chrome-tanned calf leather. It is
an excellent leather and has a smooth and velvety finish.
VELLUM. A name for skins that are made into a variety of parchment.
VENEERING. Consists in making soles, whole or part, heavier, by means of
leather-board or other material fastened to the sole by an adhesive.
VESTING. A material originally designed for making vests. As used in
shoes, it is made with fancy-figured weave, having a backing of stiff
buckram or rubber-treated tissue to strengthen it.
VISCOLIZING. A patent method of waterproofing sole leather by the use of
partly emulsified oils with a water-resisting tendency. Viscolized soles
are used in hunting and sporting boots.
VICI. A patent trade name for a brand of chrome-tanned kid.
WASH LEATHER. An inferior quality of chamois.
WELT. A narrow strip of leather that is sewed to the upper of a shoe
with an insole leaving the edge of the welt extending outward, so that
the outsole can be attached by sewing through both welt and outsole,
around the outside of the shoe. The attaching of the sole and upper
thus involves two sewings, first the insole, welt and upper, then the
outsole to the welt. The name is applied to the shoe itself when made
in this way to distinguish it from a turned, or McKay sewed shoe. This
is the method used by cobblers in the production of hand-sewed shoes to
fasten the sole and upper together. Goodyear welt is a welt in which the
sewing is done by a machine named for the inventor. There are very few
hand-welted shoes made.
WELT BEATING. The flattening out of the welt, making it smooth.
WELTING. Sewing the welt to shoe.
WHITE ALUM. Bleached leather tawed with white alum.
WOODEN CASE. Large box for twelve or more pairs.
CHAPTER TEN
LEATHER PRODUCTS MANUFACTURE
The use of gloves is so old that relics of them have been found in the
habitations of the cave dwellers. The Romans used them as decorative
articles of dress and the Greeks to protect the hands when doing heavy
work.
The gloves of ladies and gentlemen in the days of Queen Elizabeth,
and before and after, were most beautiful in hand workmanship and
embellishments, but they were usually shapeless things, and in these days
no one would wear them; they are not to be compared with the elegant
style and artistic finish of the modern product.
When the social world was restricted, so to speak, in the numbers of
its members who could afford some of life’s luxuries, the use of the
glove was confined largely to royalty, nobility, and the well-to-do.
And the trade not being extensive, prices were high--being added to by
decorative elaboration in needlework in order that the manufacturer and
his employees might extract as much money as possible from the ultimate
buyer. While glove making is now one of the stabilities of modern
manufacture, it is, nevertheless, constantly changing in styles, due to
eagerness for novelties and new fashions.
Glove making of leather, in a rough, crude form, was carried on in this
country to a very limited extent in New York State as early as 1760, by
glove makers brought from Scotland to settle on the grants of Sir William
Johnson, in Fulton county. But there was no general market for the home
product until one was found in Albany in 1825. These early gloves, crude
and clumsy, were cut with shears from leather by means of pasteboard
patterns, and men did the cutting and women the sewing. Dies were later
introduced, and this led to a great improvement in the character of the
output.
But a still greater step forward was taken when the sewing machine was
introduced in 1852. This abolished handwork entirely, but still the
industry remained largely of a domestic nature, since it could be carried
on at home with a machine as well as in a factory. Later steam power was
installed in factories with which to run the machines. The cutting of
gloves, and the stitching on the backs, was done before the gloves were
sent out to be completed in workers’ homes.
As in everything wherein power can be substituted for hand labor in
these days, the methods of glove manufacture have undergone a great
transformation. The treating of skins in a great tub, three feet deep,
whole dyeing and scouring, in rooms of high temperature, has been
displaced by putting skins and colors into a cube-shaped box, which,
revolving with an irregular motion, produces the same results more
quickly than by the primitive way. But when color is to be applied to but
one side the process is the same as of old,--hand use of a brush while
the skin is stretched out on a slab.