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What is Leather?

Real leather is made from the skin of an animal. 

Leather is an exceptional material. It’s flexible, timeless in style and can withstand decades of use. But these defining features only apply when you invest in the right type of leather.

 

There are three main features that determine the quality of leather: the grade, the hide and the tanning process.

Understanding how each impacts leather’s durability and strength will allow you to make informed decisions when purchasing products.

How is Leather made?

Known as a hide, it is light yet strong and naturally water-resistant, resulting in a flexible material that can be used to make furniture, fashion accessories and clothing, footwear, car furnishings and various other products.

 

The hide goes through an in-depth process before it is turned into leather. This includes:

 

  • Curing and fleshing to remove fats and salts

  • Liming and de-liming to remove hair

  • Splitting to separate the flesh layer from the top grain

  • Bating and pickling to expand and soften the hide

 

After this preparation process, the hide is then tanned using chromium salts or vegetable tanning extracts before the last finishing stage. Here the leather may be stretched, hand-painted or split for a particular thickness.

What are the Different Types of  Leather?

When we talk about different types of leather, we refer to the layers of the original hide that are preserved in the finished material. This is what’s known as leather grades.

Listed from best quality to worst, the five types, or grades of leather are:

  • Full grain leather

  • Top grain leather

  • Genuine leather (also known as premium leather)

  • Split-grain leather

  • Bonded leather

An animal’s hide is split into four sections; the grain, grain and corium junction, the corium and the flesh. The better the quality of the leather, the more layers it preserves. 

What is Full Grain Leather?

Full grain leather is made using the majority of the animal hide; essentially keeping everything but the hair and flesh.

 

This results in a thicker, heavier material that creates extremely durable leather goods. 

By keeping the outer layer, full grain leather also preserves the hide’s natural grain. From every scratch to scrape, each mark is celebrated making every piece unique.

 

Its quality is the best your money can buy and unlike any other grade of leather, it only gets better with age.

What is Top Grain Leather?

Top grain leather is created by sanding or buffing away the outermost layer of the animal hide.

 

This gives it a more uniform look and is therefore often used for mid-range manufactured products.

 

It leaves a more flexible, softer finish however this makes it less durable over time.

What is Genuine Leather?

Genuine, or premium leather may sound like the best option but is in fact the opposite.

 

The other name for genuine leather is corrected-grain leather, as it is sanded down to remove inconsistencies before being dyed or painted.

 

This often results in a thinner, weaker material used for cheaper leather goods such as belts.

What is Split Leather?

Split grain leather only uses the corium section of the hide.

 

This results in the most fragile form of real leather and therefore has a low life expectancy.

 

You may find it on steering wheels or cheap leather furniture. An artificial layer is also often added to split leather to strengthen it.

What is Bonded Leather?

Bonded leather (also known as composition or blended leather) is made from scraps of leather fibres mixed with rubber or polyurethane binding materials.

 

It is then embossed with a leather texture to give the appearance of a certain grain. 

How to check if its Leather?
 

The natural characteristics of leather are:

  • Thickness

  • Water-resistance 

  • Soft and supple

  • Marks, scars and variations

  • Wrinkles and creases with use

Real leather is a natural, beautiful material that will feel soft, warm and have a distinctive woody smell. Unlike faux leather it can be stretched and will have a grainy surface.

 

You can also test for real leather by placing a single drop of water on the material (never more!). If it is absorbed, then it’s real.

 

Whilst also checking for real leather, you should also enquire about the grain of the material.

 

Full grain leather is always your best option when it comes to utmost quality, so always look for features of grade that celebrates leather’s natural look and feel.

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