Tanning Leather for Moccasins - Part 5

The final phase for tanning is finishing the leather.
Leather maybe finished in a variety of ways depending on its use. Using fine abrasives, the leather can be buffed to produce a suede finish. Leather can also be embossed. Another way involves waxing or shellacking and treated with dyes, pigments, and resins to produce a smooth leather and desired colour. Another finish is to lacquer the leather with urethane to produce a glossy patent leather. To bond these processes to the grain of the leather, a process called plating is used.

As you can see the process of tanning leather for footwear like moccasins is a long one even using modern technology. Pity the person without the access to tanning factories. The process must have been difficult and tedious indeed.

Quote of the day:

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity."