SECTION V. HEAVY CHROME LEATHERS 



THE term " heavy chrome leather " is taken to include 

 chrome sole leather, chrome strap and harness butts, water- 

 proof chrome upper leathers, motor butts and picking 

 band butts. These will be discussed in turn. 



Chrome sole leather, as stated in Section I., has made 

 headway in Britain during the European War, the Army 

 authorities having recognized its great advantages in 

 durability and waterproof ness. At the time of writing, 

 however, its manufacture has received a set back, and 

 many factories are reducing their output. The primary 

 cause of this is that the Army purchases have largely 

 ceased, whilst the general public have not yet been educated 

 to its value. Men who take chrome uppers for granted 

 talk of chrome sole as a " leather substitute " with an 

 implication that it is of inferior value. It must be recog- 

 nized, too, that there is some interested opposition to its 

 development. Cobblers and bootmakers complain that it 

 ruins their tools, being so hard to cut. Now, it is manifestly 

 impossible for it to be soft to cut and hard to wear out ; 

 the complaint is therefore an excellent testimonial. There 

 is also a stupid fear that an article which lasts twice as 

 long will reduce repairs and retail sales by 50 per cent. 

 Even the manufacturer has sometimes a suspicion that a 

 demand reduced in proportion to durability will not be 

 balanced by an extended export trade. These points of 

 view will become minor considerations when the public 

 realize its relative economy, and when the community as 

 a whole grasp that a durable article is a natural asset. 

 Meanwhile credit is due to those firms who persevere in 

 their pioneering work of educating the public. 



The manufacture of chrome sole leather presents many 

 analogies with the vegetable tannages. The soaking and 



