LEATHER, CURRYING OF 95 



some cases the thicker parts are partially soaked before the immersion of the whole, 

 and when, from the nature of the skin, this cannot be done, water is applied to the 

 stout parts after the dipping ; it is requisite that the whole should be as nearly as 

 possible equally wet. In some instances the wetted leather is beaten, and sometimes 

 a coarse graining-board (hereafter to be described) is used, to make it more supple 

 previous to shaving it. The skin is then laid over the beam (fig. 1368), and the 

 rough fleshy portion is shaved oft'. This operation is generally called skiving. In 

 all the operations at the beam the leather is kept in its place by pressure of the knees 

 or body of the workman from behind. In skiving the right-hand handle of the knife 

 somewhat precedes the left, but in shaving, properly so called, the left-hand precedes 

 the right, fig. 1369. In skiving the knife is driven obliquely a few inches at a time ; 

 in shaving it is driven with great force, not unfrequently from the top to the bottom 

 of the beam ; great skill is requisite in the performance of these operations, to guide 

 the knife and to keep its edge. The carpenter's plane can be most completely regu- 

 lated by the projection of the plane iron from the wood, but the currier's knife admits 

 of no such arrangement, and the unskilful currier is constantly liable to injure the 

 leather by cutting through it, as well as by failing to produce a regular substance. 

 The kind of skin, and the use for which it is designed, will regulate the work at the 

 beam. In some cases, as in the calf-skin, it is skived and then shaved, or, as it is 

 called, flattened at right angles to the skiving in other kinds, as the cow-hide pre- 

 pared for the upper leather of heavy shoes, after skiving it is shaved across (i. e. 

 nearly at right angles to the skiving), and flattened by being again shaved in the 

 same direction as the skiving. In some manufactories there are certain kinds of 

 leather which are subjected to the operation called by curriers stoning before flatten- 

 ing : this is done by forcibly driving the stock-stone (fig. 1370) over the grain side of 

 the leather, thereby stretching it, and rendering the grain smooth. The flattening 

 process is considerably facilitated by this stoning ; and if the skin has been allowed 

 slightly to harden by exposure to air, and the edge of the knife is fine, as it should 

 be, the workman has but to strike the flat part of the knife over the leather after the 

 shaving is performed, to produce a beautiful face to the flesh side of the skin. It 

 will not be difficult to understand that a good hand is easily distinguished from an 

 inferior one in this part of the business. With such nicety will a skilful workman 

 set the edge of his knife, that although there seems nothing to guide him, he can 

 take shaving after shaving from the hide extending from the top to the bottom of the 

 beam, thus rendering the leather extremely even in its substance. 



1370 1371 



tW9^>&S 



I 



After the process of shaving is completed, the leather is placed in water, where 

 it remains until it is convenient to carry on the operation next required. It is to 

 be observed that in the condition in which leather is shaved, it cannot long be 

 kept without becoming heated; when, however, it is put into water, it is safe 

 from injury, and may be kept a very long time, provided the water be occasionally 

 changed for a fresh, sweet supply ; stale water is regarded as injurious for the skin 

 to remain in. 



Scouring is next proceeded with ; the skin is taken out of the water, and laid on 

 the scouring-stone. In respectable manufactories, it is usual first to scour on the 

 flesh ; this is done by passing a slicker smartly over the flesh side, by which the grain 

 of the leather is brought into close contact with the scouring-stone, and, being in a 

 wet condition, the air is easily excluded, so that the leather sticks to the stone. A 

 plentiful supply of water is now applied, and a large bru.s.:, with stiff hairs, is rubbed 

 over the flesh, or upper side. Portions of the surface, in a pulpy condition, come off 

 with the scrubbing, and the skin presents a soft, whitened and pulpy appearance ; the 

 pores are rendered capable of containing more moisture, and, altogether, the leather is 

 much benefited. The slicker is a plate of iron or steel, or for particular purposes, of 

 brass or copper ; it is about five inches long, and like the stock-stone, is fixed in a 

 stock, or handle (fig. 1371). It is sharpened at the rub-stone, by grinding the plate 

 perpendicularly, and then on either side, thus producing two edges (or, rather, right 

 angles'). The edges thus produced are not of an order to cut the leather, but rather 

 to scrape it. The slicker is not intended to remove irregularities in the leather; but 

 its uses are various, and it may be considered a very important tool, as will hereafter 

 appear. 

 . In the process of tanning, the grain side of the hide or skin becomes covered with 



