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About This Quiz
Leather is one of those curious things that, despite being literally made from animals, very rarely attracts the same sort of controversy as its more luxurious relative, fur. Part of this is because leather comes in an enormous variety of qualities, styles, and products that mean almost everyone has at least one leather product in their house. From shoes to jackets to furnishings to bridles to folders to bags to sporting equipment to artwork, there's leather just about everywhere. Sure, you can get the faux kind, but it just doesn't look or feel quite the same. Leather is thus pretty democratic: everyone who wants it can get at least some of it.
But just because you have leather things in your life doesn't mean you know how they were made. While millions of people knit, millions more embroider, and still more paint, not many people know how to work with leather.
This quiz is not for them. This quiz is for the tanners, the steampunk artists, the sculptors and designers -- anyone who can look at a piece of rawhide and mentally transform it into something beautiful, utilitarian, and unique. So break out that leatherworking expertise, because it's time to show it off!
What is tanning?
Treating the hide to turn it into leather
Tanning is the first step in making leather. Rawhide will decompose too quickly, whereas leather can last for decades.
Taking light pink hide and making it brown
A way of dyeing leather
A way of softening leather
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Which country produces the most leather?
USA
India
China
China produces by far the most leather. However, since animal welfare standards there are rarely enforced, the ethical consumer may tend to buy from countries with stricter rules.
Russia
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Here's a gross question. Can you make leather out of human skin?
No, it comes apart
Yes, of course
It's disgusting, but it's possible. You can make leather out of people. Just, don't.
Yes, but only in small pieces
No, it doesn't survive the tanning process
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What is vellum?
Sheepskin parchment
Goatskin parchment
Calfskin parchment
Vellum is very smooth since it is made of the skin of a calf. You can even get paper that has the look and feel of vellum.
Fish-skin parchment
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Is there any color that you can't dye leather?
No
You can dye leather any color, though there are some colors that taste might encourage us to avoid.
Yes, white
Yes, red
Yes, black - you have to get it naturally black already
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What is lacing?
A decorative, highly visible way of sewing leather
Lacing is a common way to sew leather. Since the stitching is going to be visible in some cases, lacing makes a virtue out of a necessity.
A way of scoring the leather so it is easy to shape
Long thin strips of leather
Leather that has been twisted into a rope
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What is a thong?
Underwear
A strip of leather
Nowadays the word nearly always refers to underwear or perhaps a shoe, but originally it was just the name for a strip of leather.
A rope of leather
A flat sheet of leather
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What is it called when you sew a seam that has both sides exposed?
Saddle stitch
Saddle stitching requires two threads alternating. Its advantage is that if one later breaks, the piece remains durable and doesn't start to come apart.
Cross stitch
Outside stitch
Wide stitch
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What is skiving?
Thinning out leather to make it lighter and more pliable
Putting two layers together to make it thicker
Rolling leather for padding
Making the leather thinner at the edge to avoid a thick seam
If you don't want bulky seams where two pieces meet, skiving is a good way to avoid them.
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What is the term for pressing a pattern or design into the leather?
Tooling
There are a number of different types of tooling, but all of them are about putting designs in the leather.
Crimping
Squashing
Etching
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What is it called when there is a grain put into leather where lines are crossed?
Criss-cross
Box grain
A box grain creates a pattern in the leather that can be very attractive.
Pattern grain
Line grain
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What is the term for when wet leather is molded into a shape that it will then hold when dry?
Wet-shaped
Molded
Cuir-bouilli
Cuir-bouilli literally means boiled leather. You can make leather so hard this way that it will serve as armor.
Stapled
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What does a currier do?
Check the leather for errant hairs
Dress or color leather
This is a specialist who, after the leather is tanned, does the dressing, finishing and coloring to make the product flexible, waterproof, and pretty.
The last step in the tanning process
Recycles leather goods to re-use the leather
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What is dubbin?
A kind of stitching
A machine for working leather
Grease to rub into leather
Dubbin helps prepare and waterproof leather. If your leather is looking ratty, rub in some dubbin!
A type of hide
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What is the process by which leather is softened by rubbing?
Frotting
This has now become a very naughty word but originally it comes from simply rubbing leather.
Quilting
Chapping
Nipping
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What is leather called when it is hardened?
Stiffened
Bunched
Jacked
Remember cuir-bouilli? This is what the leather is like after going through that.
Ripped
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What is pebbling?
Using a roller on the leather to make indentations
Pebbling is the result of using a roller, sort of like you might do to the surface of a pastry.
Using a punch on the leather to make holes
Taking the holes from a punch and using them to decorate another piece of leather
Writing made of leather pieces
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What is steampunk, as it relates to leather
A way of fixing the leather to non-leather garments
A way of cleaning leather
Clothing made of leather and worn by punks
A fashion that uses a lot of leather, cogs, bronze work, etc. to create an industrialized sort of alt-history Victorian look
Steampunk is a genre of science fiction but it's also a fashion now. It is characterized by steam engines, brass, valves, cogs, and loads and loads of leather.
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What is a sleeker?
A smoothing tool
This tool does exactly what it says in the name. Leather can be rough and sometimes you want it... sleeker.
A stretching tool
A flattening tool
A crimping tool
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What is zug?
Pebbled leather
German leather
Swiss leather
Waterproof leather
Zug is not the only waterproof leather, but it is one type of it. It's great for boots.
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What is a spetch?
A tool for beating leather flat
A leather patch for mending
If you have a hole in your jeans, you need a patch. If you have a hole in your leather jacket, a spetch is the way to go.
A tool for ensuring two pieces are the same size
A tool for checking the thickness of a piece of leather
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What do you use to put lots of little holes into leather so you can sew it, as opposed to putting them in one by one?
A crimper
A stitch wheel
You can also use a punch but that's much slower. A stitch wheel actually looks amusingly like a baking tool.
A poker
A stamp wheel
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What is the name of cord that is made from rawhide?
Rawcord
Codder
Shaganappi
Shaganappi is a Cree word that describes rawhide lacing. The Cree made bison shaganappi so good that it could hold an entire cart together.
Catechu
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What is riempie?
Leather sheets used as curtains
Leather sewn together so neatly you can't see the seams
Patchwork leather
Leather strips used in the back of a chair
This is a South African word originally from Dutch, and refers to strips of leather used to make the back of a chair.
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What is the tool used to run lines across leather?
Pricker
Scoring iron
A scoring iron is similar to tools used on other materials, and can "score" the leather to put lines on the surface without cutting through.
Twiddler
Poker
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What quality does leather have after it is mulled?
It's softer
That beautiful soft leather binding on your book may not have started its leathery life that way. Mulling the leather makes it nice and soft.
It's harder
It's thinner
It's stronger
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What is moellon?
A type of leather
Wax for tanning leather
Moellon is used during the tanning process to cure the leather in the first place.
Wax for maintaining leather
Cement for joining leather
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What is a cordwainer?
A shoemaker who works in leather
Cordwainery means making shoes out of leather. If you don't have modern machines, then it requires remarkable physical strength.
A person who repairs leather
A person who can knit in leather
A person who makes leather rope
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What is the difference between painted and dyed leather?
Trick question: there is no difference
Paint is on the surface; dye is all the way through
Painted and dyed leather look very different, even in the same color. Paint may retain its own texture on the surface of the leather or even come off, whereas the dye is now in the leather and extremely hard to remove.
Dyed leather is softer
Paint goes all the way through; dye is on the surface
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What is a very modern way to cut leather?
Diamond-edged knife
Laser
Laser cutting has transformed most industries that require precision like this and leather is no exception. Carbon dioxide-powered lasers can get amazingly detailed results.
3D printer
Robot
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What is it called when you use a hot needle to carve designs on leather?
Leatherography
Leagraphy
Pyrography
Pyrography, from the Greek word for fire (as in "pyre") is also used for wood, and involves a hot metal needle. It can create intricate, precise designs.
Pyroleather
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Which of these is NOT a tool for cutting or shaping leather?
Veiner
Beveler
Seeder
Scooper
Veiners, bevelers, and seeders are all used to cut and shape leather - sometimes just making it the right shape, and sometimes "skiving" it to adjust thickness or the actual cross-sectional profile of the leather.
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What do rivets and burrs do?
Hold together two pieces of leather instead of stitches
Stitching is not the only way to put two pieces of leather together. Rivets and burrs can do a beautiful and very precise job, though it's certainly the louder option when you are working!
Hold leather in place for shaping
Decorate leather garments
Keep leather pieces apart while they are being tanned, to ensure maximum use of space
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Assuming the animals themselves are farmed sustainably, what is the most environmentally-friendly type of leather?
Chrome tanned
Vegetable tanned
"Veg tan" is less toxic than chrome tan, which uses chromium (which is highly carcinogenic), or aldehyde, which uses formaldehyde. Veg tan is certainly the safest one to wear against your skin.
Aldehyde tanned
Rawhide
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What does the "temper" of a piece of leather tell you about it?
How thick it is
How expensive it is
How hard or soft it is
The temper of the leather tells you about its hardness or softness, the way the "tog" of a duvet tells you whether it's dense or light.
How old it is
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You Got:
/35
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