Leather Working
Leather was an important material in the Viking Age since it was both tough and (if properly treated) fairly waterproof. It was used for all sorts of everyday items such as shoes, belts and pouches, as well as for scabbards for swords and knives, and possibly clothes. Leather items, and evidence of leather workshops, have been found in the excavations of a number of Viking-Age towns.
It may also have been used as a cheaper and lighter alternative to metal armour. Soaking leather in hot melted beeswax and then drying it makes the leather extremely hard, and able to resist glancing blows from weapons quite effectively. Although there is no firm evidence for the use of this sort of leather armour by the Vikings, the technique was used both before and after this period, and some archaeologists and historians now think it likely that the Vikings used it as well.
Leather items were often plain and functional, but they could also be highly decorated. An attractive raised effect could be obtained by carving a design into wet leather with a sharp knife, then working round the knife marks with punches.
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