Chapter V: Preparing the Leather for the Fitter

In the manufacture of fine harness, where the straps are to be worked up full and to artistic patterns, the best quality of oak leather should be used, as, it being well curried, the manner of working it is less complicated than when commoner grades are employed. The reason for this is, that only the firm portion of the leather is used, the bellies, flanks, etc., being cut all off, leaving a narrow strip called the back, from eighteen to twenty-two inches wide. This leather requires to be moistened with a sponge and water, but there are few harness makers who wet it to any considerable extent. The practice, however, of one of the leading manufacturers of this country is to place all the straps in a vat of water, allowing them to remain immersed until the grain shows signs of the tallow coming to the surface. They are then removed, wiped, and hung up until the surface moisture is dried off, when they are handed over to the fitter, who rolls the whole in a coarse cloth, afterwards taking them out one at a time, and fitting them up. It is claimed that this treatment prepares the leather for working up much better than when it is merely dampened, and that the little oil and grease forced out can easily be replaced without any detriment to the leather.

Curriers, however, condemn this treatment of fine, well-finished stock, but experience has shown that leather thus manipulated can be worked up into the finest harness, the finish on the grain being soft and clear and the edges smooth, the leather retaining its softness as long as that which has only been moistened. While there is a marked reduction in the labor necessary in fitting it up, it is evident that there is something gained by pursuing this method.

There is in the market large quantities of well-tanned but poorly-curried stock. This is far preferable to poorly-tanned leather, no matter how well it may be curried, if properly treated by the harness maker. The right course to pursue with this quality is to soak the leather until it is well moistened to the center, the length of time necessary varying so greatly with different kinds that it is impossible to give any other guides than the appearance of the grease on the surface. The “testing-strap” is also sometimes employed. A small scrap of the leather, being soaked, is placed in the water with the straps, and when the workman thinks the leather is sufficiently wet, he cuts this strap and ascertains whether or not the moisture has penetrated to the center. When sufficiently wet, the straps are removed from the vat and hung up until the surface moisture has dried off. Each strap is then taken in hand, and if the leather has been badly fleshed, a spokeshave is used to remove all the superfluous stock. This is done by laying the strap on the bench, grain side down, securing the end with an awl, and with a sharp tool cutting off the loose scraps and thin, veiny portions. Care should be taken, however, to avoid cutting away any more of the flesh side than is absolutely necessary, as the leather is weakened by so doing. After being cleaned off, the leather should be rubbed on the flesh side with a slicker, and laid out on a board grain side down; then with brush give each strap a coat of melted tallow, warm enough to run freely, but not sufficiently hot to injure the leather, and brush it well to work in all the grease possible. Allow the straps to remain coated with tallow for twelve hours at least, by which time the moisture will have dried out and the tallow have struck well into the pores of the leather. No bad results will follow if the leather is allowed to remain a much longer time coated with the tallow.

After the leather has been in this state a sufficient length of time, each strap must be placed upon a bench, grain side down, and secured in the same manner as before mentioned; then with a glass slicker rub the flesh side thoroughly, working in all the grease possible, the surplus being removed by the slicker. Then turn the strap over, and rub down the other side to set the grain and give it a fine appearance.

If the straps are to be worked up full, it will not be necessary to rub the grain side much, as the rubbing incident to the process of fitting up will give it a fine finish. This recurrying is not done solely with a view of improving the appearance of the leather, though this alone would fully compensate the manufacturer for his trouble, the treatment being equally beneficial to its wearing qualities, as the leather is made more dense by the rubbing it receives, while the grease is worked thoroughly into every fibre, causing it to become soft and flexible.

With ordinary leather, this recurrying will reduce it in thickness nearly one third without a particle of its original substance being removed. The good effect is not so marked upon poorly-tanned leather as it is on that which is well tanned but poorly curried, but the improvement in the wearing qualities and appearance is sufficient to make it profitable to expend labor in this direction.

The leather used for single-strap track-harness should always be rubbed on the flesh side as has been directed, in order to give a fine, smooth, and perfect finish, which, after being blacked, will make the flesh nearly equal to the grain side. Besides this, the increased density given to the leather makes it possible to trim the edges smoothly and finish them as finely as the grain, and as this latter consideration is one of great importance to all who desire the harness to appear smooth and true, they will find it greatly to their advantage to follow the above directions when preparing their leather. Common harness could be made to appear much neater than is generally the case if the same course were followed in the treatment of the leather as recommended for fine grades, but as the prices are usually such as to render the carrying out of this system unprofitable, the leather can be fitted up without extra labor, the straps being moistened by dipping them into a pail of water, or by using a sponge. With this kind of stock, no more water should be used than is absolutely necessary to cause it to work up well.