Basic Application

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<b>Name:</b>
<b>Age:</b>
<b>Why do you want to be a Tanner?</b>

Apprentice Application

First Year Apprentice

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<b>Name a type of leather and what breed of animal it comes from.</b>

<b>Briefly describe a tool used to either butcher a hide-bearing animal or remove the hide from the carcass.</b>

Second Year Apprentice

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<b>Describe a method of curing hides or a tool used during the tanning process.</b>

<b>Describe one of the beamhouse operations.</b>

Third Year Apprentice

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<b>Pick a leather and list three items it is best used to make.</b>

<b>Pick a tool used in leathercrafting and describe how it is used.</b>

Fourth Year Apprentice

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<b>Describe the first salable product you produced.</b>

Journeyman Application

First Year Journeyman

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<b>Describe your first dyed leather product.</b>

<b>Describe your first leather painting.</b>

Second Year Journeyman

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<b>Describe your favorite (thus far) leather carving that you produced.</b>

<b>Describe your latest stamped leather product.</b>

Third Year Journeyman

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<b>Describe the first leather clothing product you designed.</b>

<b>Describe your favorite (thus far) piece of leather clothing that you've produced.</b>

Fourth Year Journeyman

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<b>Describe your first filigree design.</b>

<b>Describe what product you'd make using that filigree design.</b>

Master Application

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<b>What would your Mastery be in (e.g., Tackmaster, Clothier, etc.)?</b>

<b>What are your plans for your Mastery?</b>

Name: H'lee
Age: 35
Why do you want to be a Tanner?
As a dragonrider and a Weyrlingmaster, at least basic knowledge of tanning is extremely beneficial.

Name a type of leather and what breed of animal it comes from.
Cordobanes is a type of soft leather made from milk-producing ovines (goats).

Briefly describe a tool used to either butcher a hide-bearing animal or remove the hide from the carcass.
A "fleshing" knife does what it sounds like it does - removes the flesh from the hide.

Describe a method of curing hides or a tool used during the tanning process.
Hides are typically cured by packing them with salt to remove excess moisture.

Describe one of the beamhouse operations.
Hides that need to be exceptionally soft are bated after they're delimed. This is done by applying the enzymes found in boar pancreas or poultry dung; this is accomplished by soaking the hides in warm water with ground pancreas or dung paste mixed in.

Pick a leather and list three items it is best used to make.
Cordovan leather is best used for painting. It is heavy and durable. One of the best uses is as an alternative to fabric tapestries. It is also ideal for molding.

Pick a tool used in leathercrafting and describe how it is used.
A strap cutter is an adjustable tool that allows straps of varying widths to be created. First a straight edge is made on a hide using a long ruler and a straight knife, then the strap cutter rests along this straight edge and cuts a strap on the inner side.

Describe the first salable product you produced.
Because I started learning tanning in order to make and repair riding straps, most of my focus was on strap-like products. My first object that I sold was a soft leather belt; I bartered a duplicate with an Apprentice Smith to get round loops to make belt buckles with. I split one end six inches down into eight strands and then trimmed the two outer strips off; then I nicked the belt in rows down the length, six holes in each row, laid the loop over it, and then wove the six remaining strips through the holes before tying off the end on the outside side of the belt. The belt is tied off using a double loop knot through the metal buckle.

Describe your first dyed leather product.
My first belt design (described above) proved popular and effective, so I made a set of riding straps for Seeth using that pattern. My very first set was dyed a solid, bright red and stood out magnificently against his hide.

Describe your first leather painting.
I used cordovan leather, dyed to a pale blue, and tried to paint Seeth's head on it. My artistic skills have improved a lot since then, but I'm still not that great at painting. I do better when I've stamped the leather and have edges to paint by. His head looked like it had been put in a vice and scrunched from his nose back toward his neck.

Describe your favorite (thus far) leather carving that you produced.
My favorite leather carving was one I did of Seeth's head, a lot like the painting I did, only better. The nice thing with carving is that you can draw on the leather, and when you carve into it, your drawing marks are removed with the leather, so I was able to work on Seeth's profile until I got it just right before I started carving it. In it, his head is turned toward the viewer, only his near eye is visible, but you can see both nostrils. It's a little flat, I carved a little deeply on the first line, so I wasn't able to get as much perspective as I wanted.

Describe your latest stamped leather product.
Most recently, I created a decorative pouch for carrying an emergency dragonhealing kit. I carved an image of a dragon taking off - the neck and wings outstretched with the tail draped behind - onto a light-colored piece of leather that I then stitched to the heavier pouch cover. I've created a good work relationship with the now-Journeyman Smith; he produced a leather stamp resembling the carving. I stamped a narrow strip of light-colored leather with this in a repeating pattern and then glued it to the wider, heavier strap that serves to sling the pouch over one's shoulder. The main leather of the pouch is a mousy brown; these paler ones are almost skin-colored.