It may be noted that in such strap-joining as that which I have described, the repair will be greatly strengthened by pasting very thin bits of leather, or even of muslin, over the edges and pressing them in. It is true that this cover will soon wear away, but meanwhile the mended leather is all the while growing stronger and uniting more perfectly. Even paper, glued and pressed on, materially aids to make the exposed joint unite.
And here I may say that many a lady and youth would do well to take a few practical lessons from any shoemaker in the noble art of cobbling; that is to say, of heeling, soleing, and patching, all of which are as easy to learn as steps in dancing, and are even more interesting or amusing when once mastered. It is, moreover, an art which will be of use through life. Those who can do this will probably, if ambitious by nature, progress to making slippers, it may be shoes; and he who can do this may be assured that he never need quite starve to death while human beings go shod. It is not so difficult as many think, for I have known shoemakers of very ordinary minds, and I also once knew a mechanical artist who learned to make a fine pair of shoes in a few weeks. In fact, there is a living in a great many things for those who have once learned to use their fingers.
Few people are aware of the extraordinary durability of leather-work of certain kinds. There are in the British Museum Roman sandals, probably made of raw hide, but cut into pretty form, which were found in the Thames, and which look as new as if recently made. I have seen within a day as I write a gracefully formed pitcher of the early fifteenth century of very solid black leather, like the old blackjacks once common in England, which has probably passed through centuries of use, and is as perfect as ever. Wood splits, earthenware breaks, and metal rusts, but raw hide, or cuir bouilli, as set forth in the old song of the “Leather Bottél,” seems to endure every trial. As the man commemorated in “Æsop’s Fables” declared, “After all, there is nothing like leather.” The reader who may be especially interested in this easiest of all the minor arts may consult on this subject my Manual of Leather-Work (5s.); Whittaker & Co., 2 White Hart Street, Paternoster Square, London, E.C.
Strips of raw hide are without equal for repairing broken vehicles, wheels, saddles, and similar articles, because they shrink while drying, drawing everything tight, and set so hard when once dry that what is mended is often stronger than before. I have elsewhere mentioned that the strongest trunks in the world are made in America from it, as they had need to be, since there is no country in the world where the “baggage-smasher,” figurative or literal, is so much to be feared.
The reader who has occasion to repair anything in leather should study the chapter of this book which treats of indiarubber and gutta-percha, the subjects being in many respects the same.
A strong cement for leather is made by combining gutta-percha and Schwefelkohlenstoff, or bisulphide of carbon, with petroleum to a syrupy consistency. A very good cement specially adapted to joining leather straps is as follows:—
| Asphalt | 12 |
| Resin | 10 |
| Gutta-percha | 40 |
| Bisulphide of carbon | 150 |
| Petroleum | 60 |
The materials, excepting the Schwefelkohlenstoff, are put together in a bottle which stands in hot water for several hours; when the mass has grown thick with the petroleum add the rest, and let the whole stand for several days, shaking it very often. If the pieces of leather to be united are first heated and then pressed very tightly together, the adhesion will be increased. This cement is as well adapted for glass, crockery, horn, ivory, wood, or metal as for leather. It is admirable for mending trunks, whether made of leather, wood, or pasteboard.
When a trunk is made of any of these, and a hole is broken through the side or top, take a newspaper and coat it with this cement, applying another, till there are a dozen or more thicknesses. If, as it gradually dries, this be pressed and hardened with a roller, or even a round ruler, it will be much improved. Glue this into or upon the fracture. In most cases with care it can be made as strong as ever. Where a rib is broken it should be promptly replaced. (Vide Metal-Work.) All trunks should be covered with waterproof glue or varnish, as it effectually protects them from exposure to the rain. This is very rarely done, however, the result being an immense amount of loss to all travellers. In any town where there is a chemist’s shop, and where a bit of indiarubber is to be had, even at the stationer’s, a waterproof cement can be at once manufactured. The easiest of these to prepare is the following:—
| Gutta-percha | 100 |
| Pine resin | 200 |