The last remaining Oak Bark tannery in England

J&FJ Baker & Co is a family owned tannery located in the southern England countryside in the city of Devon. Bakers specializes in Oak Bark tanned leather, a traditional form of tanning leather that uses only oak bark and water. Tucked away along the River Coly in Devon England, Bakers has been tanning leather using Oak Bark liquor for over 600 years. And they do it without the use of any chemicals or acids.

                                                              A slow gentle tanning process

To tan their leather, Bakers uses large pits fill with a super concentrated oak bark liquor and chunks of oak bark, where the hides will soak for over a year. This slow gentle tanning process maintains the natural alignment of the fibers in the leather. This creates a leather is hard wearing with a high tensile strength. Once the tanning process is complete master craftsman, called Curriers, use skills passed down from generation to generation to finish and care for the leather. After being stained, the hides are coated with a mixture of fish oil and tallow, called “dubbin”, that protects the leather during shipping. This give the leather the signature white streaks. Oak Bark Tanned leather remains a traditional English leather because of the hard work J&FJ Baker employees put into each hide. With every step of the tanning process being done by hand using techniques refined over 6 centuries, Bakers only produces 80 hides a week, ensuring each hide is the finest representation of this traditional leather.

                                                    The Toughest Bridle Leather In the World