Cobbler perhaps hardened, but slow to anger (5-8)

I believe the answer is:

sweet-tempered

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'slow to anger' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'cobbler perhaps hardened' is the wordplay.
'cobbler perhaps' becomes 'sweet' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'hardened' becomes 'tempered' (synonyms).
'sweet'+'tempered'='SWEET-TEMPERED'

'but' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for sweet-tempered that I've seen is " Of a kind and amiable disposition".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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