Cordwainer "cobbler" have often been considered not interchangeable, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. In this usage, a "cordwainer" is someone who makes new shoes using new leather, where as a "cobbler" is someone who repairs shoes. Medieval cordovan leather was used for the highest quality shoes, but cordwainers also used domestically produced leathers and were not solely producers of luxury footwear. In the historic London guild system, the cobblers and cordwainers were separate guilds, and the cobblers were forbidden from working in new leather. Historically, cobblers also made shoes, but only using old leather
Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery of Man" (1993), including two versions of the short story "War No. 81-Q"). Linebarger's cultural links to China are partially expressed in the pseudonym "Felix C. Forrest", which he used in addition to "Cordwainer Smith": his godfather Sun Yat-Sen suggested to Linebarger that he adopt the Chinese name "Lin Bai-lo" (), which may be roughly translated as "Forest of Incandescent Bliss". ("Felix" is Latin for "happy".) In his later years, Linebarger proudly wore a tie with the Chinese characters for this name embroidered on it. As an expert in psychological warfare, Linebarger was very interested in the newly developing