tawing
/ˈtɔɪŋ/
noun
- The process of treating animal skins with alum and salt to make white leather, especially for gloves or bookbinding.
- The artisan specialized in tawing, producing soft white leather for fine gloves.
- The museum displayed a collection of books bound in leather made through tawing.
- Tawing is an ancient method that differs from traditional tanning by using mineral salts instead of tannins.
verb
- To treat animal skins with alum and salt to produce white leather.
- They taw the sheepskins in large wooden vats filled with the salt solution.
- Modern factories rarely taw leather by hand anymore.
- The craftsman learned to taw hides from his grandfather.