Tanner Craft

Tanner: onne whose occupation is to tan hides, or convert them into leather by the use of tan

Basic Tanning Techniques

1. Soak the hide for at least one full day.
2. Flesh the hide. The only concern is to remove the meat and fat. Then place the hide in water and soak overnight. Make sure the hide is completely soaked (the greener the hide, the easier to dehair).
3. Freeze the hide until it is to be used. When ready to use the hide, thaw it out and soak it in water for twenty-four candlemarks.
4. Dehairing : Take the hide from the water and place it over a beam to dehair. The objective here is to get remove the brown layer (epidermis). Keep in mind, the fresher the hide, the easier it is to dehair.
5. Pre-braining: It is better to pre-brain the hide after dehairing, but while the hide is still pliable. After the hide is de-haired, put it in a brain solution. If it has gone to rawhide, soak it overnight in cold water and then stretch it by hand. The objective is to open the pores, which only takes a couple of minutes. The hide can be soaked in the brain solution for as little as twenty minutes or over night. The hide will whiten noticeably.
6. After pre-braining, hang the hide to dry. It iss not necessary to wring out the hide, and it should not be folded on itself, but hung on the drying rack straight up and down.
7. Soak the dried hide in COLD water overnight in preparation for the pre-stretching phase. Before staking the hide, sew all the holes. Lace the hide on a frame to whiten it. The weather dictates how often the hide needs to be staked. Remember, this phase is not intended to soften the hide, but just to whiten it.
8. Pre-smoking: After the hide is whitened and dried out, smoke it for three candlemarks in a smoke house. Hang the hides horizontally about three feet from the smoke pot, but not close enough to bake the hides.
9. After smoking put the hide back in the brain solution for thirty minutes to a candlemark. Take it out and rub it over the band. Put it back in the brain solution, where it can be left for from three candlemarks to overnight.
10. Remove the hide from the brain solution and wring it dry. Work the hide on a rope, beam or cable to soften it. Remember that a smoked hide does not require much work to soften it. The idea behind this method is the hide does not need to be worked constantly until it is dry. It requires the tanner to be a bit lazy since it is possible to overwork the hide.

Brain Solution Recipe

Mix one bovine brain with two gallons of water to look like a weak tomato soup, but don't eat it. Heat the solution until warm, NOT hot. The beauty of this pre-smoking method is that several hides can be worked with one cow brain. If re-using the solution, adding more water when needed, the hides will get easier and easier to soften and the solution will smell more like smoke than brains. Rainwater works best when making the brain solution, since any kind of chemical in the water seems to have an adverse effect. As many as twenty-two to twenty-four hides can be tanned with two bovine brains.

Apprenticeship

Following are some facts of apprentice life at the Tannercraft Hall: Apprentices must be a minimum of twelve turns of age. Although they may start their studies at a home Hold, it is recommended that they spend several Turns at the craft Hall so that they can benefit from the expertise available.

Apprentices live in three ten-man dormitories, located one each in the north, west and south wings of the third floor of the Hall. Attached to each dorm is a single room for a Senior Journeyman monitor.

Chores and classes for apprentices are scheduled on a rotating basis, by ten sections. These sections follow the same daily schedule:

• 6 c/m Breakfast
• 7 c/m First Section Assignment
• 9 c/m Second Section Assignment
• 12 c/m Nooning
• 13 c/m Rest/Study Time
• 14 c/m Third Section Assignment
• 16 c/m Fourth Section Assignment
• 19 c/m Evening Meal

Apprentice teams and Journeymen studying at the Hall are also assigned to Opal Cove Hold and Beastcraft Hall for two sevendays each. Master Occhipinti believes that his students must know all aspects of their craft "from hoof to Hall and Hold."

The Tannercraft Hall functions in the same way as other Crafthalls, with apprentices being answerable to any rank above them. Journeymen are in charge of most classes and work sections, as well as being dorm monitors, and dole out punishments and reprimands as needed. However, any Master may also discipline any apprentice or journeyman with cause. Apprentice disciplinary actions are recorded and overseen by the Master of Apprentices, with the Hallmaster stepping in on the more serious cases.

In order to progress through the Tannercraft ranks, crafters must meet requirements of age and length of study, besides being certified as competent in required areas. Promotion to senior apprenticeship requires a minimum age of fifteen Turns and three Turns of study. Junior journeymen must be eighteen Turns and have studied for six turns, while senior journeymen must be twenty-one Turns and have studied for nine Turns. Not every crafter will reach Mastery, but none will do so much before thirty Turns of age. The Hallmaster and the other resident Masters determine eligibility for promotions.

Journeyman Tanners

By the time a crafter reaches the rank of a journeyman, he has reached at least eighteen Turns of age and has been studying for a minimum of six Turns. Senior journeymen must be at least twenty-one Turns old and have studied for nine Turns.

Journeyman (senior and junior) rotate through the major disciplines of the craft. Junior journeymen spend two months in each discipline. After two Turns, the journeyman selects his specialty and spends six months in that chosen discipline, before his first time away from the Hall.

Senior journeymen spend two Turns away from the Hall, with assignments at various locations around the Southern continent, and one Turn in the Hall, refreshing their skills. Also, the greater part of the teaching of apprentices is handled by the senior journeyman.

Junior journeymen share four-man suites, consisting of two sleeping rooms and one common room. There are twenty such suites on the second floor of the Hall, ten in each of the north and south wings.

Senior journeyman share two-man suites of similar design. There are ten of these, located on the second floor of the north wing.

Apprentice teams and journeymen studying at the Hall are also assigned to Opal Cove Hold and Beastcraft Hall for two sevendays each. Master Occhipinti believes that his students must know all aspects of their craft "from hoof to Hall and Hold."

Masters of the Craft

Crafters seldom reach mastery before thirty Turns of age. Intensive study and concentrated knowledge of the crafter's chosen specialty are required before a person can even be considered for this rank.

Masters work away from the Hall for many Turns, before returning for further study. While the individual craftmasters serve at the Hall, the rest of the Masters will usually come to the Hall at least once every five Turns. There are ten small suites on the third floor for these visiting Masters.

Resident Tannercrafthall Masters are each charged with a certain aspect of the craft:

• Master Clothier 1st Floor East Building
• Master Cobbler 2nd Floor East Building
• Master Curist 3rd Floor East Building
• Master Dyer 1st Floor West Building
• Master Harnessmaker 2nd Floor West Building
• Master Saddlemaker 3rd Floor West Building

See Also: Craft Specialties