Zhu Kai:the Tanner Who Ties Time

Text by Zhou Zhitao Photos by Xiao Hao

Nobody can tie up time,of this strap tailor Zhu Kai is very aware.But his craft is bound to be bound up with time.

As time ticks away on the watch dial,it also pulses its way through the strap.The meticulous,elegant,and singular craftsmanship made the time tether tied to the wearer’s wrist.The long hours of grueling labor and polish to make just one are apparent at a glance.

In a quiet workshop in Xudong Tea Market in Wuhan,Zhu Kai,a forty-something strapsmith,toils over each and every watch straps with the same passion an artist puts into a would-be masterpiece.Every strip exudes different emotions that enrapture every one of Zhu’s clients.

A few years ago,Zhu and his wife were shopping and found they couldn’t drag themselves away from a custom leather shop.To please his wife,Zhu managed to learn a few tricks from the shop owner.Soon enough,he was obsessed with the craft,even going as far as handing in his resignation to concentrate full-time on making custom leather goods.

誰也不能拴住時間，這一點朱凱心知肚明，但他的手藝注定和時間密切相連。

當時間一分一秒在手腕的表盤上流逝，它也通過表帶相連，與脈搏共振。而細致、優雅、個性的工藝，足以讓一根表帶拴住時間打磨的那份質感。

在中國武漢市徐東茶市一處靜謐的工作間里，70后皮匠朱凱，用心制作的表帶，總能帶給客戶不一樣的感觸。

幾年前，朱凱和妻子逛街時，兩人在一家定制皮具店流連忘返。為了討妻子歡心，朱凱即興跟著師傅學了幾招，從此一發不可收拾。從企業離職后，他開始專心搗鼓手工定制皮具。

四處求教，網購外文書籍，觀看工藝視頻，自學各種皮具制作工藝，主攻皮質表帶，朱凱內心有一份倔強。

朱凱從小癡迷玩拼裝模型，把上千個零部件拼湊成型，樂在其中。接觸皮具定制后，朱凱自學了一段時間，便信心滿滿，但一次給岳父修繕表帶，卻難倒了他。

制作一根小小的表帶，每個金屬零件需要逐層安裝，而一個成型的表帶需要縫制3 到7 層皮料。第一次做皮質表帶，前后返工20 多次，讓朱凱明白了市面上鮮有人做表帶的原因，也因小皮具最考驗功夫，激發了朱凱的興趣。

表帶雖小，卻需要完成設計、削皮、定型、上色等一套流程，每件作品離不開朱凱的細致。

朱凱是學計算機的，理工男，專業成就了他嚴謹的性格，他對表帶的每一個細節都嚴格要求。工作臺上，朱凱攤開一款皮料，厚度0.7 毫米，從邊緣削去一刀，剩下0.66 毫米，再削一刀，剩下0.58 毫米。手工削皮，要使誤差控制在1 毫米以內，操作難度可想而知，稍不留神就會廢掉一塊料子，而這只是基本功之一。更為細致的縫合，需要頂著針線，均勻縫制幾百針。

Tidily organized leather materials整齊碼放的各類皮料

Learning the tricks of the trade from different people,buying foreign language books online,watching leathercraft videos,picking up a new technique here,there,and everywhere,Zhu’s determination is self-evident.His main interest now is making leather watch straps.

Zhu has been enamored with building models since he was little and enjoys putting thousands of parts together.After learning how to customize leather goods,he taught himself for a while and was very confident he could do it,yet he was stumped when he tried to fix a watch strap for his father-in-law.

There are lots of metal parts on a watch strap and they need to be mounted layer by layer.A complete strap needs to be sewn together with three to seven layers of leather.The first time he made a leather strap,he had to redo it more than 20 times,which made him understand why the trade is hard up for talent.It also roused his interest because of the challenge in the making of minuscule leather miracles.

Even something as small as a watch strap requires a multitude of processes to complete,including designing,peeling,and coloring.And the success of each piece of work is tied in with Zhu’s meticulous work.

Sophisticated tools and exquisite stencils 精巧的工具和精致的鋼印

Zhu is an engineering graduate who majored in computer science.His profession has made him a meticulous sort who is strict on details.On his workbench he unfolds a slim piece of 0.7mm thick leather.He cuts off a layer from the edge,reducing the thickness to 0.66mm; and after another cut,it becomes a mere 0.58mm.The error range must be within 1mm with manual peeling,which is a basic skill among many required to be a strap maker.It is not hard to imagine how hard it is since any slight distraction can result in wasting a piece of leather.Sewing needs to be even more careful and hundreds of even stitches are needed.From Patek Philippe,Piaget,to Rolex,Zhu is familiar with the features of various prestige watches.But matching straps to dials costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan often gives Zhu pause.

Once a client brought Zhu an old Shanghai brand watch.To make a quality strap for it,Zhu traveled extensively to find a piece of leather that was similar in color to the original strap.When the client received his new watch strap,he was wowed by Zhu’s workmanship.Apart from the style of the watch face,the personality of the wearer,current trends,and the feel of different leathers are all important things that Zhu has to keep in mind when he designs and makes straps.

A real leather strap is subject to wear and tear,and thus needs replacing within two to three years.Zhu has amassed a collection of old and discarded watch straps,which are on proud display in his workshop.In his eyes,the beauty of a leather strap doesn’t lie in what it has been fastened to,it is a reflection of inspiration itself.

(Translation:Liu Lili)

百達翡麗、伯爵、勞力士……因為制作表帶，朱凱對各種名表的特點爛熟于心，動輒數萬元甚至數十萬元的表盤，如何搭配表帶，也觸動朱凱不停地思考。

曾有一個客戶，拿來一塊上海牌老手表。為了給它配好表帶，朱凱輾轉多地，才尋到一塊與原表帶色彩相近的皮料，最終縫制出的作品令客戶嘖嘖稱奇。除了表盤本身的品牌風格，佩戴者的氣質、當下流行的元素、不同皮質的觸感，都是朱凱在設計和制作表帶過程中反復思考的問題。

真皮表帶，往往佩戴兩到三年，就會因為磨損、變形需要更換，在朱凱的工作室，各種廢棄、陳舊的表帶成為他收藏和展陳的寶貝。在朱凱眼里，皮質表帶的美感，并不在于它曾拴住過什么，它本身就是一種靈感的體現。

Ensuring accurate leather thickness精準測量皮的厚度