Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-03-08
LEATHER USED
FOR UPHOLSTERING
There Are Many Processes
That 1t Has to Pass
Thru.

The processes thru which n hide
goes in its transformation into leather
suitable for uphulstering the modern
hleh-grade motor car are complicated
and not generally understood Some
rev points stand out clearly, however,
and give an idea Of the skill REQUIRED
ana the expense entailed in making
good upholstery leather.
To be successful as an upholstery
leather hide must be so treated that
1t VIII be flexible and soft, take n
Eood tinlSh and mold it without crock
ing, told without cracking. wear well
and be waterproof These really Sc
we're requirements make the use Of
only the best hides and the best treat
ments possible. Cattle hides make mn
the great bulk Of our feathers, altho
pigskin Is occasionally used for up
holstery in a car
Tanning, buffing, splitting, emboss-
ing ana dyeing, painting or enameling
are the steps thru which each hide
must 80.
Chrome Process New.
The tanning substances used are al
ways strongly astringent, the object
being to draw the fibers of the skin
as closely together as possible to Sc
cure compactncSs and toughness.
Vegetable and mineral substances are
both used. tie former ENJOYING the
greater popularity. A new departure
is the use of the chrome-i1nning
process Cthe same as used in tanning
uppers of the best shoes), the chrom-
ium salts imparting great flexiblity
and tou@hncss to the hide. The one
great drawback is the expense. as the
percentage of loss due to shrinkase
is abnormally large.
When tanning is about nalf finished
the hides are split. A half-tarnel
cattle hide is about three -eighths of
an inch thick, and the splitting pro e
cess separates 1t into several layers,
the number depending upon the use
TO which the leather is to he put. Both
outside layers. "handcuffed" and ma
Chine-buffed." are used for uphol
stery, altho the former Is much supe-
rior to the latter, as II carries the
natural grain Of the leather with it's
great feasibility and wearing qualities.
Beneath these is the "deep-buffed"
layer, which has to be treated with n
filler and binder in ordcr to make il
us1hle, imitation leather is replacing
II largely as il is not satisfactory.
The remaining ayers are impoSslb BILE
Tor upholstering purposes. only the
highest grade leather is hand -buffed
today, machine buffing being used by
the majority Of leather manufactur-
Crs. The hand -buffing process
smooths off tho natural grain Of the
leather without injurins IT, while mG-
chine buffing removes practically all
the grain.
Buffing Gives Grain Effect.
After splitting and bufflng comes
the surlacing process. The natural
way IF raising the grain" for 4 finish
Is hy''hand boarding" and can be ap-
piled only 70 hand-buffe6 hides The
boarding IS dono at an angle to the
natural grain. Varying the ansle ana
the number of applications gives the
various straight and peible grain ef-
fccts. Machine embossinc by an cleo
uotype process similar to that used
In printing, is used in place of hand
boarding on machine buffed leather
and splits"
Leather manufacturers have always
found it difficult to paiat or enamel
a hide successfully In cold weather
especially there IS great danger Of the
coating cracking. In dyeing skins the
difficulty has been 10 hold colors fast
so they will not crock The finishing
oi the chrome-tlnned grain leather
las now been perfected SO II prevents
crocking. The result is a leather of
great softress and fleXihility, excep-
tional wearing qualities ard perfect
freedom from cracking. n combination
that cannot bs found otherwise.
Chrome leather win he in greater de-
nand for upholstery when the buyer
Of the high grade cor learns more
about its superior qualities.
The Franklin Automobile company,
Syracuse, y. Y, is using a chrome
tanned, dyed grain leather in one of
its models. This is the FIRST time such
leather has over been extensively
utilized for automobile upholstery,
and leather experts in the motor car
industry are watching the results with
much interest-Chicago Tribune.
Evening wraps never were more at
tractive in make and material One
of palm leaf Persian satin is made
in a full dolman model. The yoke.
from which drops a wide cape collar
of sealskin, is of old pink satin en-
broidered in silver. There is a high
seal collar, and bands of the fur en-
circle the armholes The ground of
the satin is gray with the colorei /
palm leaves over 1t. and the lining is
=, the same colored satin as the yoke.
Travelling baskets for dogs are lined
with fleece-faced blankets, with an
extra one for cover. The mattress or
stiff pillow in the bottom has a
blanket slip cover which can be re-
moved and washed when 1t is soiled.
Dallas News