Leather Tanning

A heritage craft of cleaning and treating hides by traditional methods, turning them into leather fit for tools and everyday goods.

Leatherwork

About Leather Tanning

Tanning begins by soaking hides and scraping away hair and fat, then treating them with local plant tannins such as pomegranate rind and tree bark until they soften and resist decay. Once dry, the hides are stretched and polished, ready to be shaped.

Tanning served nomadic and settled life alike: leather was the material of water skins, buckets, saddles and bags.

How it is made

Step 1: Soaking and cleaning the hides
Step 2: Removing hair and fat
Step 3: Steeping in tanning agents
Step 4: Drying and stretching
Step 5: Polishing and softening

Tools

Scraper
Soaking vats
Knife

Raw materials

Goat and camel hides
Pomegranate rind
Tree bark
Salt
Water

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