Tanning

Tanning and tawing was the process of working a raw animal skin into usable leather and its variaties such as parchment and vellum. Though a vital part of producing tough clothing and the fittings for all sorts of finished products, it was an intensive and rather unpleasant process. A person that worked in the tanning industry was known as a tanner.
==Production==
From the raw hides sourced from a wide variety of animals (or even people), they would be scraped free of hair and flesh with specialized knives to produce a smooth uniform material. The thinner the animal's skin, the more delicate the work would become, with rabbits requiring a wooden "knife" to gently prepare it. Beyond this, the cleaning and preservation of leather required the extensive use of large amounts of noxious chemicals, like lime, tannic acid, and vinegar. The hides were soaked in barrels full of these substances for weeks or months, with varying concentrations depending on the stage of work.
Many tanneries had attached leatherworking shops, which turned the leather into finished goods like boots and riding tack. Others simply sold their product for artisans to use elsewhere.
==Practice==
In some areas, the professions of skinners, tanners, and leatherworkers were controlled or regulated by trade guilds, like the League of Skinners and Tanners in Waterdeep, which supplied the bulk of leather used by artisans of other guilds such as the Saddlers' and Harness-makers' Guild, Order of Cobblers and Corvisers, and Order of Master Tailors, Glovers, and Mercers.
Because of the foul smell and toxic waste produced by tanning and tawing, tanneries were almost always kept on the outskirts of towns, downriver, or entirely separated.
==Materials==
Materials used in the production of leather included:
* Salt, for preserving unworked hides while in storage.
* Tannic acid, for tanning, derived from woodchips, bark, and leaves, such as senna.
* Alum and tincal, for tawing.
* Lime, for removing hair and neutralizing acids.
* Vinegar, or "tanner's liquor", for neutralizing alkalines.
* Fat, fish oil, beeswax and pitch, for lubricating, sealing, and preserving.
* Dyes, for coloring the material.
* Grain alcohol, for cleaning.
==Notable Tanneries==
* Falthryn and Daughters Tannery, a tannery in Lannort.
* Lhuin's Fine Leathers, a tannery and leatherwork shop in Ashabenford.
* Old Dulwar's Leatherworks, a tannery and leatherwork shop outside of Dagger Falls.
* Torpus's Tannery, in the Dock Ward of Waterdeep.
* Whelanxdryn's of Elturel, a tannery and metalworking shop that specialized in scabbards.
* Several large tanneries were located in Calaunt, contributing to the city's foul odor.
==Appendix==
===External Links===
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===References===
Category:Industries
Category:Professions