Leather

Leather
I was reading the post by member LaPell about the leather holster he rejuvenated and it got me to thinking about why I like leather so much.
When I was young I used to stay at my Grandmother’s farm for the summers and often roamed around the old farm buildings that dotted the farm landscape. Some were totally reclaimed by nature while others still had a bit of spine left in their roofs, although not much. The old corn crib was a skeleton of weathered slats and missing parts but still retained enough of its original structure to enable its identification. The old barn was only half intact, with its roof line ending abruptly in a collapsed pile of rotted wood and old cedar shakes.
My brother and I would sometimes sneak off to explore these old buildings, despite stern warnings of dire consequences if we got hurt falling through an old floor or off the neglected hay mow. We were especially warned about old rusty nails, because of “Lock-jaw” the dreaded disease associated with puncture wounds. Of course, there were loads of Bull snakes, what we commonly referred to as “Pine Snakes”, and they usually smelled terrible when disturbed.
The barn was so intriguing because there was still a lot of old farm gear left inside it. It seemed as if my Great-Grandfather had simply shut the door one day and never went back in again. Old farm tools and hardware were all around. There were various pieces of ox yokes and team harness carelessly draped on old pegs or nails and even the mule collars, though tattered and chewed on with the straw padding falling out, were still hanging above the stalls where “Pat and Mike” had once stood when not working in the fields. Old dog collars and tack were strewn around much as they had been tossed years ago, still collecting mold and dry rot. I actually saved a large dog collar and took it home; it still hangs on a wall in my shop. It had been worn by my Grandmother’s huge bull mastiff and I could almost buckle it around my waist!
You could put your nose to the old mule collars and still smell the sweat of their labor faintly even though those collars had hung silently for over forty years by that time. The old team harness was mostly rotted and cracked but some pieces were surprisingly supple and strong. I saved some of the old straps to use as belts for my toy holsters and cut more into strips for leather thongs that I used as bow strings or lashings for my river rafts that never worked quite as good as Tom Sawyers.
The leather was able to regain its softness with a bit of boot grease and I was amazed that it could be so old and still be of some use. Those pieces that I saved saw many more years of use as I grew and moved on to more adult outdoor exploits. I still see that today when I read a story about an old holster or gun belt that is found in some attic or storage space. Put away years ago and forgotten until some lucky person finds that treasure and puts it back into service. That’s why I like leather so much; it has strength and texture; it has that smell that brings old memories back and it has an aura of mystery that nylon or synthetic just doesn’t have. Chris