Abstract

Measurements have been made of the effects of treating various leathers with solutions of certain components of perspiration in such a way that the solids accumulated in the leather. It is apparent that the treatments which resulted in an accumulation of materials, especially crystalline solids, in the leather caused some deterioration due to the presence of the solid components, since washing to remove the soluble material invariably resulted in a marked improvement in the physical properties. Detannage of chrome leather did not seriously affect the physical properties of the leather even though the chrome content and shrinkage temperature were considerably reduced. Assessment of leathers by treatment with the long-established synthetic perspiration solutions does not give reliable results nor is a simple soaking procedure satisfactory.