I’ll Call You.

I came across a small stack of my great grandfather’s business cards recently.  Quite concise.

Technique: Toggling and Drying

There are many processes that determine how a particular tannage will behave once the leather is finished into product.  One of these processes is how the leather is dried.  There is quite a bit of water used in the tanning process – descriptors like soak, float, wash, steam, bate, and pickle are evidence of that.  Water is used to clean, dilute, deliver extracts and components, and buffer reactions and uptake, so management of the amount of water (and its temperature) throughout the tanning process is crucial.

Just as critical is how we remove that moisture once we’re ready to actually finish the leather (in the industry, finishing typically refers to a whole department that applies and adjusts color, luster, temper or softness, and general appearance).  There are four basic techniques that we use – air drying, pasting, vacuum drying, and toggling.

Toggling - notice the fans and steam pipes above.

A Long Pause

I realize that it’s been more than a month since I’ve posted… I’ve got some post idea(s) that are developing, and I promise to put out something more involved in the coming weeks.  If there are any specific post requests, please put them in the comments section here.