Leatherworking 101
Leatherworking 101: The Basics of Working With An Unrivalled Material
Leather…a material that has been known from man’s earliest civilizations. It can be sewn like cloth, carved and shaped like wood, hammered and molded like iron or plastic. It can be breathable enough for clothing, or made watertight enough for leather fire buckets. It has been, for thousands of years, one of the most important materials mankind has possessed; and those who were skilled in working it were valuable members of a thriving community.
This basic leatherworking class, which covers the basics of knife-working and sewing work, has been taught at various historic sites throughout the Eastern U.S. and the Midwest by Cordwainer Brett Walker. Mr. Walker will share from his more than twenty-five years of experience as a traditionally-apprenticed cordwainer (viz., shoemaker), weaving in anecdotes of his successes and failures along the way.
Cost: $85.00 per person + $55.00 per person material and supplies fee ($140.00 total)
Designed for participants aged 14 and up (minors with parental or guardian supervision, and waiver required), basic, traditional leatherworking skills and information will be taught in the following areas:
Shop safety
Understanding types of leather and their uses
Basic cutting, paring, and other knife-work skills
Types of hand-tools and their various uses
The basic shoemaker’s stitch (and introduction to other kinds of hand-stitching)
Inscribing, burnishing, and basic finishing of leather
Conditioning and care of leather, for long use
And much, much more…
At the day’s end, students will leave with the skills and experience necessary to take additional leatherworking classes being offered by The Fellowship, and will have completed or substantially completed a reproduction leather document case as shown in the adjoining photograph, which is based on an original owned by a shoemaker in the 1740’s.
The class will be conducted at Somerset Historical Center. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues until 5:30 p.m., with a one hour lunch break around midday. For details, please contact the Somerset Historical Center at (814)445-6077, or feel free to email The Fellowship at info@guildfellows.org, or ring us at (757)608-8120.
