What is Leather?

Leather: noun 1. the skin of an animal, with the hair removed, prepared for use by tanning or a similar process designed to preserve it against decay and make it pliable or supple when dry. It is also made from a hide or skin that has been split into layers or segmented either before or after tanning.

Full Grain Leather: This leather is the most natural leather available. This leather shows the life of the animal it was taken from. It shows all of the scratches, cuts, different variations in the grain, all of which have healed over time. Leather that has not been sanded or split in any way is known as full-grain leather. Full-grain leather is usually manufactured from only the best, undamaged hides. As a result, it is the most expensive as well as the most durable of leathers.

Aniline Leather: Sometimes when leather has to much character or to many imperfections manufactures have to sand or buff the hide to take out some of these imperfections. This process makes the leather more even while still maintaining a natural look. A light surface coating may be applied to the leather to protect againist soiling and spillages while still giving it a natural appearance.

Top Grain Leather: This type of leather comes from just beneath the hair on the hide of the animal. The hide is run through a machine called a splitter which determines the thickness of the hide. This outer layer will show the imperfections in the leather. This part of the hide is the most durable and best layer.

Split Leather: This leather is the layer of hide left from the TopGrain and has no natural markings left on it. It is the layer closest to the meat of the animal. It is not as durable as the TopGrain.

What is Leather? Continued......