Tanners were important! Many colonists depended on the tanner. One was the shoemaker. The shoemaker needed leather from the tanner so he could make shoes for colonists. Another was the farmer. He needed leather to make his saddle and bridle. Tanner’s Tools The tanners process was long. Colonial tanners used at least eight different tools to do their job. The tools were made of wood and metal. A vat hook has a long wood handle with a metal hook at the end. It was made to move leather. It was also used for dipping leather in and out of the pits. The mace is a four sided piece of wood with rough sides on a long pole. It was used for making the leather nice and smooth. The sleekers were used for making leather smoother. Buffers made the leather shiny. A fleshing knife was used for removing the animal flesh fromthe animal. The fleshing knife is a curved piece of metal with two pieces of wood at the end of the blade. The Tanner’s Process Tanners had a hard and stinky job. For instance, they had to smell decaying animal hides and skins. Colonists could not wait for shipments of leather, so they asked the tanner in the town to make their leather. Step 1 - The tanner received the animal hides and put the owner’s mark at the end (tail). Step 2 - The tanner cleaned and softened the hides. To soften the hide, the tanner would hit it with a mace. Step 3 - The tanner had a method called liming. Liming pulled off some unwanted hair. He would leave the hide in the liming solution for days, or until the hair came loose. Step 4 - The tanner flipped over the hide and scraped off any flesh with a fleshing knife. Step 5 - Then it was time for a solution called ooze. Ooze was made of ground-up bark and water. Ooze stopped hides from rotting. The tanner would soak the animal hide in ooze. Step 6- Then the tanner washed and stretched the leather. The tanner made sure it was brown and smooth for the shoemaker and other colonial people. The tanner’s process could take up to a year or even two years. He had to be very patient! |