UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1168 
Washington, D. C. 
September 5, 1923 
WEARING QUALITIES OF SHOE LEATHERS. 
By F. P. Veitch, R. W. Frey, and I. D. Clarke, Leather and Paper Laboratory, 
Bureau of Chemistry. l 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Purpose of invest igation 1 
Plan of investigation: 
Selection of materia] 2 
Preparation of mal erial 2 
Wearing conditions 3 
Page. 
Results of investigation 4 
Condition of worn leal her 4 
Effect of certain factors on wear of sole 
leather 7 
Composition of original and worn sole leath- 
ers 12 
Summary 22 
PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION. 
There is great need of definite information on the wearing qualities 
of leather and on the effect of tannage, grease, loading materials, and 
the kind of hide used upon its serviceability and adaptability to the 
many operations to which leather is subjected in making various 
articles. Wearers of shoes need such knowledge to enable them to 
buy economically; tanners need it to enable them to make high-grade 
leather and to use their raw materials to the best advantage and at 
the lowest cost. 
During the World War innumerable questions arose as to which 
leathers were best suited to certain purposes and as to what factors 
determined their suitability. In practically no case, on either side of 
the Atlantic Ocean, could a clear-cut, definite answer be given. The 
entrance of the United States into the war offered an excellent oppor- 
tunity to conduct on a large scale systematic experiments with shoe 
leathers, the Army training camps providing large numbers of men who 
lived under fairly uniform conditions. 
Accordingly, in July, 1919, 2 a very comprehensive study ol' the 
wearing qualities of leather was undertaken by the Bureau o( Chem- 
1 The wearing experiments herein reported were conducted jointly by the United States Department of 
Agriculture and the United States War Depart ment. The leal her industry gave valuable co >peration in 
preparing leathers and in supplying information on tanning processes. A^cknov ledgment is made especially 
to Brig. Gen. A. L. Smith, \\". I). RicKissick,Capt.G.C. Bosson, and Capt. R. L. M< Andrews, of the War 
Department, and to C. P. Keighleyand B. A.. Corbin & Son Co. for their interesl and assistance. 
2 The plans for I his work were oui lined in i ( .U7 and later revised and approved bj represental h es of the 
War Department and old he industry. 
44969°— 23— Bull. ] 16S 
