Because of their natural cow-like shape, leather workers like Bennett need to go through a careful cutting process to make sure as much of the leather is used as possible. Once it's complete, they are split down what would be the middle of the cow's back and shipped to apparel and accessory companies. Hides typically take 6-8 weeks to go through the entire prepping, tanning and dyeing process.
At this point, tanners also determine some of the leather's more important qualities, like whether it has an oily quality or a drier feel. It's at this stage that tanners determine what colors they will be dyed. After tanning, all cowhides are an identical tan color. The hides soak in a mixture of water and tannins for 14 days, after which they're wrung out and laid flat for inspection.Ĭontrary to what you might think - or at least what podcast host Kevin Dupzyk thinks - the color of the animal the leather came from has no impact on the color of the resulting piece of leather. In Wickett & Craig's case, that's done with the natural tannins from the bark of trees like mimosa and quebracho. Next, hides are taken through the tanning process, which helps to make the skins more water resistant and durable. They may also go through other processes to remove skin impurities and soften the hides so that tanning liquid can penetrate them. They have coarse hairs all over their bodies that need to be chemically removed before tanning. If you don't live on a farm, you might be surprised to find out that cows aren't naturally smooth and leathery. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
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