Life of a Boot Series: Shaving Isn't Only for Legs

When shopping for hides, do you ever wonder how they get them all to be the same shape? With the perfectly rounded corners and uniform thickness? Surely, not all animals are created equally.

Once the hides are tanned, they are shaved. Shaving not only removes the excess from around the edges, but also gives a uniform thickness to the hide as well. If the hide didn't have uniform thickness, it would absorb pigment at different rates as well as lay on the shoe surface in an uneven manner. Below are photos of before and after (right corner).

No, this isn't the most interesting or glamorous step, but it may be the single step that is the most important for a quality hide. Until next week!

xoxo,

Jane