LEATHER, Chamois. What is known in the market as chamois skin is really an oil tanned sheep or lamb skin lining. The supply of skins from the chamois animal is very limited; enough could not be obtained in a year to supply the United States for more than a single day. In Switzerland about 5,000 to 6,000 skins would be a fair average yearly crop. This skin is heavier than the skin of the sheep or lamb, also much coarser. For strength and durability this skin is preferable, but for ordinary use and appearance the oil tanned sheep-skin lining would, in most in stances, be preferred.
To manufacture sheep or lamb skins into chamois leather the first step necessary is to remove the wool, which is accomplished either by painting the skin on the inside with a solution of sodium sulphide or by immersion in milk of lime. By•the former method the wool is loosened in a few hours; by the latter method it will require several.days. When the wool is loose it is pulled off either by hand or scraped off with a dull instrument. The skin is now again immersed in milk of lime, to swell it. It is then cleaned (beamed, as the trade calls it), to remove all fleshy particles that may adhere to it. It is now ready for splitting. The chamois skin is really only the half of a skin. The outside, that is, that part of the skin next to the wool, known as the grain side, is not suitable for chamois leather, and is used for other purposes, mostly for hat linings, book covers, etc. In former times, when skins were prepared for oil tannage, this part of the skin was cut away with a suitable knife and thus lost. In our days the skin is cut through the centre (split), thus producing two skins from one — the outside, called grain or skiver, and the inside, called lining or flesher. The split ting is accomplished on machines specially con structed for this purpose. It consists of an endless knife, the edge of which is constantly grinding to keep it sharp, the skin being passed through rollers against the sharp edge of the knife. These machines require very delicate
adjustment to produce good results.
The lining or flesher is now ready for tan ning. This is accomplished by sprinkling it with oil, codfish oil of good quality. It is im portant that this oil should be thoroughly in corporated into the skin. For this purpose a quantity of the skins are placed into what are known as fulling stocks, which twist and turn the skins in every direction and distribute the oil evenly. After sufficient milling the skins are partly dried and the process of sprinkling and drying is repeated again and again until they are full of oil and all the moisture is dried out. They are now allowed to hang sufficiently long to thoroughly tan them at a temperature of about 100°. The process after this is very simple. The oil is removed by pressure and the balance washed out by saponi fication; after this they are dried and they arc then ready for finishing. The oil, by the way, is recovered, by decomposing the soap solution with an acid and separating. It is sold to manufacturers of other leathers, it being useful to make them pliable, etc. The finishing is done mostly by pressing the skin against re volving wheels, covered with emery or flint to remove all adhering substances and to present a finished surface. We now have the finished chamois leather ready for the and sorting room, where it is cut into suitable sizes and packed for the market. Of late years a trimmed skin, that is, skins of even sizes, are preferred by the trade. For this reason most manufacturers, at least most American manu facturers, cut their skins over patterns so as to produce uniform sizes. In former years, when England and France supplied the United States market, the skins in the same package would vary in size and shape, thus lacking uniform ity. See also HIDES AND LEATHER.