Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-05-03
FUR SKIN EXPERTS
A Subtle Sense of Color Guides
Them In Judging PeItS.

The chief requirement for success In
grading fur skins is an accurate eye
for color or, more valuable yet, an In
tuitive sense Of color. The difereEse
In value Of the rarer varieties Of fur
skins, especially sables, natural black.
silver and blue fox, sea offers, chin
chillas, mink and some others, is so
subtle that more than a practiced eye
is necessary to judge accurately Of
the merits of individual skins. 1t is
necessary that the color sense be high
~ developed.
The expert furrier must have, In ad-
dition to this, a thorough knowledge
of the condition in which skin should
be to gain admittance into the highest
class. A furrier must know by the
appearance Of the pelt whether it will
turn out soft and strong after 1t has
been dressed and whether the fur is in
the best condition as regards strength
and beauty.
A fur skin must, of course, be treat
ed more carefully and by a different
process from that followed by the tan
ner of hides. Tannic acid would ruin
the pliability of a fur skin, weaken and
discolor the hair. The furrier's proc
ess is designed to retain the natural
oil of the pelt, which in turn preserves
| the color of the fur and keeps it soft
and pliable. The first step in this proc
ess is accomplished by placing the
skin in an alkan bath. After it has
been softened in the bath the mois-
ture Is worked out of the skin with a
blunt wooden instrument Then the
| flesh side is drawn carefully back and
forth over a straight edged knife,
which removes any flesh that may be
clinging to the pelt and also evens
| 1t of.
Specially prepared grease is rubbed
into the skin for softening purposes
and the process is carried still further
by placing the skin in a machine which
is arranged to beat it softly until the
grease has been entirely absorbed. A
slowly revolving drum fitted with
wooden paddles and containing fine
hard sawdust, the kind Of sawdust diff
fering with the variety of fur, next
takes charge of the pelt. A moderate
degree Of heat is supplied during this
stage Of the dressing. The skin is
thoroughly cleaned of grease by this
machine. and the dressing is completed
by tapping the skin with smooth canes
of 1exibility adapted to the strength
of the fur on leather cushion stuffed
with horsehair. Often a skin will bt
changed in shape and made smaller by
the dressing process.
Seal and beaver skins require mucl
more careful handling than other furs
In the case of these skins the watel
hairs. which are the hard top hairs o.
the pelt, have TO be removed by hand
This process is more difficult with sea
than with beaver. A number of men
each a specialist in his part of thu
work, are kept employed in the work
After this part of the dressing process
has been completed the fine unde
; wool, which is wavy and pale drab il
color, is dyed dark brown. Severa
coats Of this dark brown dye are ap
piled, and the final result is q fur whicl
5 is lustrous black on top. The skin Il
> then submitted to the cleaning process
> again, made Of an even thickness b,
emery wheels and finally finished of Il
pale buff color.
The English dye for sealskin, whicl
is considered the best, is a trade sc
cret Its principal ingredients are gal
nuts, copper dust. camphor and ant
I mony. 1t is supposed that the waite
, uSed for the dive in London has a Pre8
deal to do with the fine results oh
tanned by the use of this dye. The nf
lives of different countries, using thei
own processes, obtain better result
with some skins than with others, bu
he American furriers are rapidly CON
}" Ing to the front in handling the variou
. kinds of pelts.-New York Sun.