celticleather

Many years ago a friend of mine bought 500 leather hats from a manufacturer in India, at a ridiculously low price. When they arrived at his shop, they were nested one inside the next, in lots of 50, and shrink-wrapped. When he opened the packaging the smell was appalling - they had obviously been tanned using a process that involved doggie-doo! He moved them all to a small spare room, threw in a handful of lavatory cleaning blocks, and taped up the door. The last I heard, he was opening the door every six months to throw in more lavatory blocks, and resealing the door! Don't know whether he ever sold them. . . . Since then, I have learned that in some parts of India, small boys and girls are employed to collect what dogs (and pigeons) leave behind, for use in the tanning process. Another friend's father worked for a removals company during the 1930s, and if they had a removal to London, they would call at Battersea Dogs' Home on the way back and collect drums of 'pure' (that's what it's called!), and sell them to tanneries in their home town. Where there's muck, there's money!

I quite like the idea of the 'sizing belt', but for long-distance orders I always use 'fixing length', which is usually two or three inches greater than waist size. This can also increase if the belt is worn low down, and often comes close to 'hip-size', which may be much larger than waist size. I have an illustration that I have built into my website, to make sure that customers get it right first time.

If you're anywhere near London, the biggest stockist of everything you'll ever need is J T Batchelor 9-10 Culford Mews Islington London N1 4DZ Telephone: 020 7254 2962 It's well worth a visit to them, just to see the tremendous range of leathers, buckles, fittings and tools that they have. Speak to Ted or Rocky . . . they're really helpful guys! They don't have much in bridle leathers, but the Sedgwick link is ideal for that type of leather. Another good source of tools etc is Le Prevo at http://www.leprevo.co.uk/index.html who have an excellent online catalogue.

Why use x-ray film? . . . visit your local printer, and ask if you can have some of the scrap film that they use to make printing plates. It's exactly the same as x-ray film, and many printers have to pay to have it taken away!

I'm from Hertfordshire in the UK, where I have a small leathergoods and footwear repair shop in the world's First Garden City. I've been leatherworking for about 35 years, and I'm always keen to learn more about the craft, and quite happy to share my knowledge and experience with others. I make and mend all sorts of leather items, from handbags to horse tack, and particularly enjoy renovating old leather items. When I'm not working in the shop or in my workshop at home, I work as an archaeologist for a commercial archaeological contractor. The work is fascinating, and sometimes takes me away from home, but I'm always glad to get back to the smell of leather. I collect antique and vintage leather tools - often bought from car-boot sales. It's surprising how many people find old tools in their garden sheds, and put them up for sale without realising what they are, or how much they could be worth. I currently have five plough gauges, which will eventually form part of my pension! I look forward to browsing the Leatherworker Forum, and only wish I'd stumbled across it years ago!

Hmm . . . so I guess I've been polishing my edges with chewing gum for all these years??!

For a good many years I've been using gum arabic for polishing the edges of veg-tanned leather. It's most often used by printers to coat their aluminium litho plates to prevent them from oxidising. It comes as a liquid, and most local printers are happy to part with a small bottle free of charge, and it's very economical to use. I sometimes dilute the gum 50/50 with Fiebing's water-based black edging dye, which does two jobs for the price of one! I apply the gum with a small piece of sponge or a dauber and burnish immediately with a bone folder or a piece of antler, followed by a quick polish with a piece of saddle cloth. If it dries out too much, it can be reactivated by wiping over with a damp sponge.