Leather 101
The question is Who doesn’t like leather? Who doesn’t want the difference that skin can make you?
There is no equal to the elegance of leather products when used to make clothes, accessories or home decorations. due to the fact there is nothing to say about the durability of the Skin, As we get older, surprisingly the skin gets better. but this is animal skin for products, guys, not our facial skin which we hope will also be good with age.
obtained Not many people know what real skin is? and as a result they will have difficulty in distinguishing a good skin from a fake. Genuine leather products have a relatively high price, so you certainly don’t want to make the wrong choice, do you? this time we will discuss leather 101, of course, with full information about leather.
What is skin? Made of what ?
Basically the skin used in fashion products is animal skin after going through many processes that can refine and beautify it. Leather is tanned with high-grade oils and preservatives before being sewn to make the things you love.
What are the skin types?
There are many types of leather that really confuse people when going to buy. When buying leather you should ask why, what, when to buy goods. This way you will know a little about different skin products.
here are the tips you should know about the things that determine the quality of the leather you buy! Apart from cows, skins of sheep, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, deer, kangaroos, snakes, crocodiles and even elephants are used to make leather products. Cow, lamb, calf and goat skins are the most widely used in the leather industry. You may have heard different names like calfskin, reptile, lambskin, kip etc. Here are descriptions for the most popular ones.
Leather from cowhide
This is the most popularly used leather and leather made from mature cows. It is quite thick but at the same time soft and somewhat abrasion resistant too. This is commonly known as Cowhide (skin taken from mature cows, mature female cows that have produced calves). This leather can be used extensively to make a number of leather products.
Calf leather is made from the skin of a young calf. It is soft, smooth and highly demanded for making high quality expensive leather accessories. Kip leather is light leather from the skin of 6-12 month old calves. Steerhide leather comes from bulls (Steer) which is a very strong durable leather. In stores, you will see cowhide leather labeled steerhide when it has a lining regardless of gender.
Skins from other mammals
Deer skin is the hardest skin among the skins taken from mammals. It is very durable and at the same time soft and light and stretchy too. It is also very expensive to buy. Hides taken from sheep and sheep give you grained and fine hides – collectively called sheepskin hides. This leather is quite supple and light. It is used to make shape things like gloves and fitted clothes.
Buffalo leather is much stiffer than cowhide and has a deep grain and pattern. It is a very durable leather even more so than cowhide. So making shoes and other rugged items with this leather makes sense and fits perfectly.
Goat skin is another skin that is popularly used in the manufacture of leather products because it is quite cheap. It is flexible as well as durable. Cordovan Leather is a very popular goat skin which is used to make high end shoes.
Reptile skin
Skins taken from crocodiles, snakes, turtles, lizards and even some endangered species are all used to make skins and all say “sophistication and exoticism” and exclusivity. They have a pattern that distinguishes them from other skins that come from the animal’s skin scales.
There is also an issue that dog skin is also rumored to be used for leather making which is a dirty secret. what do you think about this? You can leave your comments and we can discuss it further!
Classification of skin based on its type
Typically, leather is divided into two or more layers for commercial use. The top layer, which contains natural grains is called top grain. All other layers split. Of course leather is also categorized in several types as below!
Full grain leather
This category is the best quality and most expensive leather. It originates from the outermost part of the animal’s skin, after the hair has been removed, natural imperfections or hide marks are simply left to become part of the skin. This skin is not used for any purpose
coatings because of this. You can be sure that this peel will last you a long time and will look better with age. This leather is given a surface treatment to use to prevent stains and allow for use.
Top grain leather / Corrected grain leather
Corrected grain leather has an artificial grain applied to its surface after it is sanded to remove the top grade natural imperfections of genuine and prepared animal hide. You can tell it’s as real as full grain leather, with just a hint of makeup. Some may find it inferior to the full-grain one, but it’s good enough for many of your uses.
Infact the most desirable for upholstery. It is the second best choice after grain leather for most other projects. Can be from cow leather or buffalo skin. Cowhide is more supple and more expensive than buffalo skin.
Real skin
One would think that real leather is real, I thought so too, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Genuine leather is of a lower quality than whole grain leather. In fact, the color is usually achieved by spray painting the surface of the leather but to the uneducated eye it looks quite high grade and genuine leather. These third-grade leathers are often considered to be true high-grade leather. But buyers will notice soon after it gets old and looks worn and not very good, not like high-grade leather.
Split skin
This is the skin separated from the skin of the skin, possibly the middle and lower layers of the epidermis.
Therefore, it is a very brittle shell, very weak and has many cracks, and cannot be used to make usable and durable items. But a lot of skin care is done to make it durable and attractive. Examples include finished split, coated split or suede split). The advantage of this leather is that it is cheaper than whole grain leather. Some countries have laws against marking this skin as smooth—so be careful! Usually used for the manufacture of furniture / upholstery.
Bonded leather
As the name suggests these are bonded together with the skin. Also called regenerated leather, it is in great demand in the furniture segment.
Scraps of unusable leather are made into a paste that is glued together to make a leather-like product. Basically, when you think about it, it’s leather, but then, not really. This is not exactly what you want if you are looking for good genuine leather. But it has leather look and cheap price so many choose it for furniture accessories etc
For the layman, it’s hard to tell the difference between good leather and knotted leather. You will be able to tell the difference only after you use it, obviously leather products will last much longer than bonded leather products. Another fact is that bonded leather starts to look worn and ugly after use, unlike the real thing. So you will find out soon enough.
Actually, there’s still a lot more leather that you should know about. Not forget to mention cegan leather and many others. Read the next article to find out more. We want to give you a secret. You can make bags with the leather above at Megatama Group! With any design, we can produce from 100pcs to 60,000pcs!