Russian Calf; A Historical Leather by J&FJ Baker
The other day, I was very fortunate to find this so called 'scrap' piece of Leather in the Scrap Bin at Bachelors. This is a Leather Merchant near to where I live. Great staff, great selection of Leather and Hardware, can't go wrong.
However, what I came across in the scrap bin, was this piece of 'Russian Calf' produced by J&FJ Baker, the last remaining Oak Bark Tannery in the UK. Not sure how it ended up there as this Leather isn't stocked here, but it was just lying in the bin.
Some more information about the Leather.
Quote;
'Baker’s Russian Leather is a reproduction of the legendary and coveted Russian Leather. We studied the only known remaining, 18th century rolls of leather recovered from the shipwrecked Metta Catharina off the Devon/Cornwall coastal border, to recreate the leather’s unique colour, print, thickness, texture, supple yet firm handling, smell and durable qualities. We researched what is known about the tanning techniques and the naturally occurring materials that the original Russian artisans would have had available. Each hide is de-haired by hand before being soaked in pits of three different barks; oak, willow and birch.'
I'll say this, the smell is absolutely incredible. It is extremely potent and apparent. Even being a few feet away, the silage and projection from this Leather is mesmerising. It's equivalent to a high end fragrance with a perfect balance of strong oils.
I'm not sure what I'm going to make from it, however it's about 1 square foot of material, so I'll have to give it a think over.
Flesh Side Detail.
