The boy's book of trades and the tools used in themAnonymous
General
The boy's book of trades and the tools used in them
Anonymous
Industrial arts -- Juvenile literature; Vocational guidance -- Juvenile literature
The various kinds of _creases_ are for the purpose of making channels in
the leather along the edges which have to be sewn, so that the stitches
are sunk below the surface, and the thread will not so easily wear out.
The _edging iron_ is for a similar purpose. In common saddlery some of
the comparatively unimportant straps, or the smaller gear, are not sewn
at the edges, and indeed do not require it, although a great deal of the
Saddler’s sewing is for ornamental purposes. In order to make the whole
look uniform, however, these straps are not left plain, but are creased
at the edges, and the channels thus made are marked with the _pricking
iron_, to give them the appearance of having been stitched. The Saddler
is better off than the shoemaker, inasmuch as he generally sits to work
at a bench, and need not occupy such a constrained and unhealthy position.
Some account has already been given of the preparation of leather, but it
will be desirable here to mention other sorts, some of which particularly
belong to the business of harness making.
[Illustration: Screw Crease. Varnish Pot. Sponge.]
Sheep-skins, when simply tanned, are employed for inferior bookbinding,
for leathering bellows, and for various other purposes for which a cheap
leather is required. All the _whit-leather_, as it is termed, which is
used for whip-lashes, bags, aprons, &c. is of sheep-skin; as are also the
cheaper kinds of _wash-leather_, of which gloves, under-waistcoats, and
other articles of dress, are made. Mock, or imitation morocco, and most
of the other coloured and dyed leathers used for women’s and children’s
shoes, carriage-linings, and the covering of stools, chairs, sofas,
writing-tables, &c. are also made of sheep-skin.
Lamb-skins are mostly dressed white or coloured for gloves; and those of
goats and kids supply the best qualities of light leather, the former
being the material of the best morocco, while kid leather affords the
finest material for gloves and ladies’ shoes. Leather from goat-skins,
ornamented and sometimes gilt, was formerly used as a hanging or covering
for walls.
[Illustration: Harness.]
Deer and antelope skins, dressed in oil, are used chiefly for riding
breeches. Horse-hides, which, considering their size, are thin, are
tanned and curried, and are used by the Harness Maker, especially for
collars, and occasionally, when pared thin, for the upper leathers of
ladies’ walking shoes. Dog-skins are thick and rough, and make excellent
leather. Seal-skins produce a leather similar but inferior to that
supplied by dog-skins; and hog-skins afford a thin but dense leather,
which is used mostly for covering the seats of saddles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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