Chapter III: Patent Leather

Glazed, or, as it is more frequently called, patent leather is now extensively used in the manufacture of harness, pads, gig saddles, and winkers, they being seldom made of other kinds, while for ornaments such as tabs, tug-ends, fronts, etc., it is deemed almost indispensable; like plain leather, it is made both of good and poor material, and finished to correspond.

The finest quality is made of well-assorted hides, tanned with young oak bark, weak liquors being used at first, and gradually strengthened each day until the proper degree is reached, ample time being given to thoroughly tan the leather before it is removed from the vats. All hides that are to be used for thin leather are then split.

The first split taken from the flesh side is small, and is known as the “junior,” and is seldom finished in glazed stock; following this is one or more full splits according to the thickness of the hide. The splits are always finished smooth, the grain being largely used for enamel leather, though it is also finished as grain, collar, binding, etc.

Running the hide through the splitting-machine has long been acknowledged to be detrimental to the leather, owing to the severe strain to which it is subjected, but the introduction of the belt-knife machine for splitting removes much of this objection, as the hide is split without being strained in the least. The processes of varnishing, drying, and finishing, while determining the quality of the leather, are foreign to the business of the harness maker; but there are points which he should understand in order to be able to judge of the quality of the leather. The first of these is the condition of the finished surface, which should be smooth, the coat of color and varnish being of sufficient thickness to give a pure color, while on skirting, winker, and other heavy stock the varnish should be thicker than on light leathers, as these are seldom bent while being worked. Light leather, such as collar and binding, is always worked over round frames, and if the glazed coat is too heavy it is liable to crack, thus defacing the surface. This is particularly the case with collar-leathers, which in too many cases are but the thinnest splits, selected without regard to their adaptability to the required purpose, whereas they should be of extra soft stock, coated as thinly as possible with the best grade of varnish. The severe treatment it receives while being shaped to the collar is sure to impair the surface even of the best. The grades of leather known as grain winker, skirting, collar, etc., command a much higher price than that known as splits. With the thinner qualities there is some advantage in using the grain, as the surface preserves its original appearance much better after being worked than does split stock; for winker and skirting, however, the grain does not possess any special merit, except what it may gain from not being put through the splitting-machine, as thin hides are selected, and they are reduced to a uniform thickness by the knife. The varnish is applied to the flesh sides, and is therefore open to the same objections as to split stock. The prejudice against the latter is a senseless one, and harness makers pay dearly for yielding to it and selecting grain stock at higher rates.

Enamel leather is always made of the grain side, and its quality must be determined by its softness to the touch, purity of color, and fineness of finish. The prices of patent leather vary to an extent that creates surprise in the minds of buyers who are unacquainted with the causes.

These exist from the very commencement. In the first place, the hides themselves may be of an inferior quality. When they are limed and prepared for the tanner, they may be placed in strong hemlock liquors and partially tanned, after which they are split and then retanned in oak liquor for the purpose of producing a light color. They are also submitted to various manipulations, unknown to any but the initiated, for the purpose of giving a good appearance to the leather without increasing the expense, which in no way improves the quality. After being otherwise prepared for the varnish, the hides are placed upon a frame, and by means of powerful jack-screws stretched to their utmost extent, whereby an increased measurement of from five to seven feet is given to each. They are then glazed and finished to look as well as prime stock, and can be sold at a marked reduction in price compared with the former; but the buyer who imagines he has saved two cents a foot by purchasing these hides pays for five or seven feet of leather, the greater part of which is sure to be lost, in a few months, by shrinkage. The worst feature of this excessive stretching is that the leather, being extended to its utmost capacity while wet, can not be worked smooth when used over irregular shapes, as all the stretch is taken out of it while being manufactured. This cheap stock therefore costs nearly as much as the best qualities, is more difficult to work, and is less durable when put to actual use. The care of patent leather in stock in order to prevent loss is a matter of considerable importance. When practicable, all thick stock should be hung up in a cool, dry room, while thin stock, both enamelled and smooth, should be rolled, thin paper being placed next to the glazed surface.

There is another matter that is well worthy the attention of buyers—namely, the season in the year when the leather is made, this having much to do with its durability.

The best leather is produced in cool weather, the poorest during the hot months of July and August. The latter is somewhat less liable to become sticky when exposed to the sun, but it is almost sure to crack during cold weather, sometimes when not in use, and there are very few leather-manufacturers who are willing to warrant stock not made in cold weather. Harness-manufacturers should therefore look well to this matter, as cracked patent leather destroys the appearance of their work.