• Гідрологія і Гідрометрія
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• Товарознавство продовольчих товарів

LEATHER

Leather is a natural product. Like real wood and wool it has a life of its own with a distinctive quality look. Leather is both protective and uniquely comfortable. Leather shoes retain their shape and grow old gracefully. Properly maintained, like good wine, they improve with age.

Leather is made from the skins of any animal or bird by a process called tanning. This process preserves the skin or hide, which would otherwise decay. The tanning process converts the skin able to putrefy into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses.

Leather is an important material with many uses. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology. The leather industry and the fur industry are distinct industries that are differentiated by the importance of their raw materials. In the leather industry the raw materials are by-products of the meat industry, with the meat having higher value than the skin. The fur industry uses raw materials that are higher in value than the meat and hence the meat is classified as a by-product. Taxidermy also makes use of the skin of animals, but generally the head and part of the back are used. Hides and skins are also used in the manufacture of glue and gelatin.

The most important characteristic of leather as far as the shoe trade is concerned is that it has fibrous structure, which allows it to transmit water vapour (i. e. perspiration). Leather breathes and controls the foot's temperature, permeating out the foot's moisture.

The leather industry normally refers to a hide as coming from a large animal (such as a cow, elephant, buffalo) and it is necessary to cut and divide a hide in order to assist subsequent processing. A skin can come from four sources:

• Small or young animals (e. g. calf, sheep, goat, pig)

• Reptiles (e. g. snake, crocodile, lizard)

• Animals or mammals, where the hair is left on as a feature, such as calf, pony reindeer, or antelope.

• Birds (such as ostrich)

The vast majority of leather is sold according to its area. The leather is placed through pin-wheel or electronic measuring machines and its surface area is determined. The unit of measurement is square metre, square decimetre or square foot. The thickness is also important, and this is measured using a thickness gauge (the unit of measurement is millimetres, e.g., 1.8 mm is a standard thickness for a school shoe).

In some parts of the world top-grain thicknesses are described using weight units of ounces. Although the statement is in ounces only, it is an abbreviation of ounces persquare foot. The thickness value can be obtained by the conversion:

1 oz/ft² = 1/64 inch (0.4 mm)

Hence, leather described as 7 to 8 oz is 7/64 to 8/64 inches (2.8 to 3.2 mm) thick. The weight is usually given as a range because the inherent variability of the material makes ensuring a precise thickness very difficult. Other leather manufacturers state the thickness directly in millimetres.

Leather manufacture is carried out in two stages:

• The preparation and tanning of the hides and skins.

• The process of leather finishing.

IV. Answer the questions:

1. What kind of product is leather?

2. Why is the tanning process used?

3. Why is leather an important material with many uses?

4. Why do we say that the leather and fur industries are distinct ones?

5. What is the most important characteristic of leather?

6. What animals are hides coming from?

7. What animals and birds are skins coming from?

8. What is the vast majority of leather sold according?

9. What is the method to determine the surface area of leather? What is the unit of measurement?

10. In what two stages is leather manufacture carried out?

V. Complete the sentences with the words from the text:

1. … is a natural product.

2. Leather is both … and uniquely comfortable.

3. Leather is made from the … of animal or bird.

4. … and skins are also used in the manufacture of glue and gelatin.

5. Leather controls the foot’ temperature, permeating out foot’s … .

VI. Find the English equivalents to the words:

характерний, вироблений відповідним чином, зберігати, перетворювати, зносостійкий, окремий, сировина, дихати, подальший, вимірювання

VII. Make up sentences with the terms:

uniquely comfortable, long-lasting and versatile material, ancient technology, distinct industries, raw materials, by-product, taxidermy, the shoe trade, the foot’s temperature, a thickness gauge

VIII. Give definitions to the words:

natural product, a skin, a hide, tanning, taxidermy, water vapour, the shoe trade, raw materials, a manufacture, a gauge

X. Translate the sentences into English:

1. Шкіра виробляється із шкур різних тварин та птиці.

2. Процес дублення перетворює шкури в міцний, різноманітний матеріал для використання в різних цілях.

3. Деревина та шкіра складали основу більшості давніх технологій виготовлення взуття.

4. Шкіряну та хутряну промисловості розрізняють за важливістю їх сировини.

5. В тексодермії також використовують шкури тварин, але тільки голови та частини спини.

6. Найважливішою характеристикою шкіри для взуттєвої промисловості є те, що вона має волокнисту структуру.

7. Шкіра дихає та контролює температуру стопи та її вологість.

8. Одиницею вимірювання шкіри є квадратний метр, квадратний дециметр та квадратний фут.

9. Деякі виробники шкіри позначають товщину у міліметрах.

10. Виробництво шкіри проходить в два етапи: підготовка та дублення шкури та обробка шкіри.

X. Speak on the topic using the following words and word-combination:

a natural product, to be protective and uniquely comfortable, tanning, to preserve skins and hides, important material with many uses, leather industry, fur industry, the raw materials are by-products, to have fibrous structure, to breath and control temperature, large animals, small or young animals, to be placed through pin-wheel or electronic measuring machines, surface area, thickness gauge, to be carried out in two stages, the process of finishing

TEXT B

I. Read and remember:

1. supple – гнучкий, піддатливий

2. to be stable – бути стійким

3. to soak – змочування

4. to be pliable – бути поступливим

5. cod oil – трісковий жир

6. binders – зв’язувальні речовини (клей, тощо)

7. shade – відтінок

8. rawhide – сиром’ятна шкура

9. brittle – крихкий, ламкий

10. neat’s-foot oil – копитний жир

II. Read the text and define the main idea:

Читайте також:

1. Characteristics of Leather Fabric
2. FORMS OF LEATHER
3. Leather Fabric
4. LEATHER TYPES
5. THE MOST COMMON LEATHERS

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