![]() We are unusual in that we still carry out the process of scudding to remove the last of the hair root and the pigment from our calf and goatskins as this results in cleaner grains. After fleshing the skins would be put back into the drum and delimed using ammonium chloride before bating using pancreatic enzymes to remove the hair root trapped in the leather. Fleshing is carried out by machine and in our case took one person around 3-4 hours to flesh 200 skins. For small skins this process would take 1-2 days and the skins after this would be swollen, clear of hair and ready for fleshing. After this skins are run in a drum with a solution of lime that has been 'sharpened' with sodium sulphide to speed the removal of the hair and non-collagen material from the skin. The raw skins on arrival in the tannery would be given a 'dirt soak' and then washed to remove dirt, salt etc. Today in most tanneries this process would be carried out in wooden drums. The beamhouse is where the skins undergo their initial processing in the tannery and where the skins are unhaired and fleshed. I thought it would be interesting to look at how things have changed over the last 150 years and how these changes have happened at Hewits. The full article can be found at Whilst I would recognise most of the processes that went on in an 1860s tannery, an employee of that era would no doubt be amazed at how innovation has changed the centuries old processes we now have in modern-day tanneries. The article was written just at the point where change was finally beginning to happen in the leather industry. ![]() During my reading I came across a very interesting and well-written article on leather tanning in a series on manufacturing in Scotland which the paper was running in the 1860s. ![]() ![]() ![]() In my research into the Company I have been reading through old editions of The Scotsman on line. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |