What type of leather is right for you?
- Tanning
- Some Terms and Meanings
- Deciding which Leather is Right for You
Vegetable Tanned
Leather made using natural ingredients like tree bark and plant extracts. Environmentally friendly, and great for tooling and crafting. Stiffer and more expensive than Chrome Tanned leather. This leather ages well and often gets better with age.
Chromium Tanned
Leather made using industrial oils that give it a high-end look. This leather is great for upholstery and jackets. It can be extremely soft and supple. This type of tanning allows for very bright colors with amazing finishes and can be cheaper than Veg and Chrome-Free tanned leather.
Chrome-Free Tanned
This is a newer type of tanning technique which combines both tanning methods to produce a more environmentally friendly yet vibrant leather. This is done by eliminating the use of the most harmful chemicals used in Chrome Tanned leather. This leather can still be very soft and supply while producing less harmful pollutants then Chrome Tanned leather. Although this leather is not as environmentally friendly as Veg Tanned leather it’s a great mix of both styles.
ANILINE LEATHER
Dyed through with aniline dyes. Sometimes topped with a protein, resin, or lacquer protective coating. May also be waxed.
CRUST
Natural form of leather. This is before finishing and dying process. Great for lining and gloves.
EMBOSSED LEATHER
A hide which has a pattern applied by extreme heat and pressure to give a unique design or imitation.
FINISH
A surface application of color to protect or mask imperfections.
FULL GRAIN
Term used to describe the outside of the hide that has had the hair removed, but otherwise has not been corrected or altered.
NATURAL GRAIN
Leather which retains the full original grain.
MILLED
Leather put in a large drum during the tanning process. It emerges much softer.
PATENT LEATHER
Leather with a glossy impermeable finish produced by successive coats of drying oils, varnish or resins.
RAWHIDE
Cured and de-haired hides that haven’t been tanned.
SPLIT LEATHER
A cowhide is sliced in layers to give uniform thickness to the grain. The split is the next layer, which is a bi-product that is trimmed and finished as suede.
TOP GRAIN
Term used to describe genuine grain leather, as opposed to split leather which has been pigmented and embossed with a new grain.
UPHOLSTERY LEATHER
General term for leather processed in whole hides for use in furniture, automobiles, and aircraft.
UPPER LEATHER
Hides used in the making of shoes and other footwear products. This leather is generally stiffer and more durable.
GLOVING LEATHER
Leather used in making of gloves. This is general soft and supply with a bit more stretch.
While many industries use leather, every industry uses a different type of leather which have different characteristics. The right leather for you depends on your industry and requirements. When looking for leather consider the following characteristics:
Thickness
Firmness
Grain
Color