Cloud 9 Status (Whisky Tango Foxtrot) |WTF|: Fish Leather

I don't know why but when I picked up my copy of today's Metro onmy commute to work and I saw the title "Kenya Hunt covers the surprising rise of fish leather." I was intrigued.  I tried and tried to look in the Metro but it turns out Kenya's story is in the form of a blog online.  So I decided to do my own research and discovered that there indeed is a growing field of products made out of the skin of all types of fish (freshwater, saltwater, Northern, Southern)



So how is fish leather made?  According to Sea Leather Wear "The tanning process for fish leather takes about a month, because every fish is different - saltwater, freshwater, northern, southern, and every one has a different oil content. None of these fish are on the endangered species list. 

The fish skins are purchased from commercial fisheries and shipped frozen in 80 to 100 pound boxes. The secret is in the combination of chemicals that are used to remove all the fish oils so that there is no odor. Through an intricate 30-day chemical and mechanical process, the skins are churned, soaked, fleshed and vacuum dried. Timing is critical in the chemical soaking stage. If soaked too long, it will lose its strength and eventually fall apart. The flesher removes any "yuck" left on the back of the skin. The special tanning process prevents the fish leather from becoming stiff, once all the oils are taken out."

Hmmm very interesting indeed, still surprising that they could even achieve that as fish skin is very thin but more power to them.  Here are some sample pieces!  They even have a suede style fish skin leather!!

LV