Leather

Boiled leather, sometimes called cuir bouilli, was historically a popular construction material for armour. It consists of thick leather, boiled in water (some sources hold that oil and wax were used as well, others posit the use of ammonia from fermented animal urine). The boiling causes the leather to become hard and brittle, gaining some resemblance to the properties of wood. Since the leather remains flexible and stretchable a short time after the boiling, forming it to the needs of the armourer is quite easy, making it a cheap, light and convenient alternative to bronze, steel, and other historical materials. Boiled leather"

Chamois leather is leather made from the skin of the chamois, although the term is also commonly used to refer to cloths made from the skin of other animals or a synthetic material version. Its most common use is in automobile washing and auto detailing, where it may be known as a "shammy" cloth. Its water absorbency makes it good for other uses such as in cycling shorts, although most modern cycling shorts use synthetic chamois leather. Chamois leather"

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. Leather"

Leather carving entails using metal implements to compress moistened leather in such a way as to give a three dimensional appearance to a two dimensional surface. The surface of the leather is not intended to be cut through at all, such work being known as filigree. Leather carving"

Leather dying usually involves the use of spirit or alcohol based dyes where alcohol quickly gets absorbed into moistened leather, carrying the pigment deep into the surface. "Hi-liters" and "Antiquing" stains can be used to add more definition to patterns. These have pigments that will break away from the higher points of a tooled piece and so pooling in the background areas give nice contrasts. Leaving parts unstained also provides a kind of contrast.

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