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After
the final glaze, the piece is then cleaned to remove the
scale produced by the furnace and is now ready to be turned
into any of the items within our range.
If it is to be a lapel badge, then a brooch or pin will
be soldered on to the back or a cuff link then the actions
will be attached in the same way. Soldering rather than
gluing or other methods means that the items will stand
up to continual use without breaking. But even here care
is needed as soldering involves heat being applied, and
if too much heat is used the enamel will crack.
With transparent colours this shows as black lines below
the surface.It is clear that every operation has its problems
and care is always needed if a perfect product is to be
produced!Whatever product we make, all are hand polished
and plated to ensure that they will last. |
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With
our range of key fobs, we only use genuine leather and
the sourcing of this can cause problems. During the recent
BSE crisis, leather became scarcer and more expensive.
This was because the animals were being killed and hence
their skins were not available. Actions taken since the
ending of the crisis means that the animals are being
fattened as fast as possible as their lives are ended
much earlier.
This results in their skin is being stretched and becoming
thinner than in the old days when they were allowed to
live longer and eat naturally.You can tell when a cow
has been kept in a field with a barbed wire fence, as
the hide has holes where the cow has come into contact
with the wire!We cut round these holes and any other imperfections
to make our key fobs so that the finished leather is without
blemish.
Starting with the virgin skin it takes 11 separate operations
to produce the leather backing.Whilst
much manufacture in the United Kingdom has been decimated
over the years, we are still going strong and we believe
that it is due to the fact that we produce only top quality
products even if it requires a great deal of labour. <end>
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