Collection: Undercover at a tannery: Why is horsehide so hard? What is pit tanning?

Full tannin pit-tanned shrink-wrapped horsehide" is becoming the face of STRUM.

Full tannin pit-tanned shrink horsehide has a rugged and impactful look that is different from product dyed leather.

This time, we would like to show you the tannery (factory where leather is made) that produces this "full tannin pit-tanned shrink horsehide".

Why is horsehide hard?

In general, you may have an image that "horsehide is hard.

There is a reason for this. Unlike cows, horses are very athletic animals, which causes a lot of scratches on the leather, but in order to hide the scratches, the leather is heavily pigmented, which gives it a "hard " image.

STRUM's "Full Tannin Pit-Tanning Shrunken Horsehide" makes use of the original scratches of horsehide, and is softened by using a technique called "pit-tanning " without using pigments.

Raw hides of horses. In its raw hide state, you can feel the aspect of having been alive. The importance of effectively using what is left over from eating, etc., has continued since primitive times. Leather jackets are especially cherished and not thrown away, and we feel that this is the root of the unique power of the leather.

What is pit-tanning?

Pit tanning is a tanning method originally used to tan hard materials such as belts and shoe soles, and the more you use pit tanned leather, the more it tastes like leather.

The tanning process takes a long time using a "pit-tanner ", which looks like a huge bath filled with tannin.

There are only three of these large facilities in Japan.

The tanning process takes a lot of time and effort, as the tannin (plant astringent) is slowly soaked into the skin over a period of one month, transforming the skin into leather.

Shrink-tanning to make the best use of the scars before tanning

After the pit-tanning process is completed, oil and wax are added to the leather at the factory to finish it.

We intentionally collect leather with many scratches and heat shrink the leather in order to incorporate the scratches into the leather jacket as its original expression.

Originally, horsehide is about 2m in length, but this process shrinks it to about half its original size, giving it a rugged, grainy look, and the combination of this look and the scratches create a unique expression.

The same content is explained in a YouTube video, so if you would like to see it in a video, please click below.