We’ve created a simple leather fact page to guide your buying decisions when choosing a leather product. We think you will find this not only interesting, but quite useful anytime you are shopping for a leather item.
If you know that full grain leather is the very best you can buy, then you will really appreciate the quality of our wallets at the “easy to take” prices. That’s what we call customer satisfaction!
Additional questions about leather? - Ask us at info@ahleather.com.
This is the skin of an animal exactly as it comes from the animal, and it is the best. Only about 20% of all skins are good enough to be called Full Grain Leather.
Since this is the best quality, the leather is usually finished with only aniline dyes similar to furniture stain. This step is followed with a clear protective coating of either wax or lacquer on the leather.
Any skins that are not good enough for Full Grain Leather due mainly to open cuts, fly or tick bites, or any other damage to the surface fall into this category. This leather is sanded with sandpaper to get below the level of the hide damage.
Because the surface of the leather has been sanded, a pigment finish similar to wall paint is used to fill in the fibers. On some occasions, top grain leather is treated with hot waxes or oil to create leather suitable for work boots or water resistant shoes. The top grain leather can also be finished with a pigment finish and embossed with a grain to recreate the original grain look desired.
This is a by-product of the leather making process. One of the tannery operations is to cut the leather to the desired thickness, called splitting. The bottom portion that is left, called splits, is then tanned into Genuine Leather. One of the most common uses for splits is suede. It may also have a thick film of plastic glued to the surface.
Today, this is generally finished by gluing a thick film of a polyurethane (PU) material to the surface. This PU material is made to look like full grain leather. Its surface is very attractive, but it does not have the natural feel of leather. The alternative to the PU finishing is to apply various coats of pigment similar to a wall paint finish to the surface. The final step is to emboss the surface with a leather grain to create the desired leather look.
This is a paper-like product made using leather fibers that are glued together in a process similar to paper making. This is not really leather. There is only one manufacturer using 100% leather fibers in making their material.
Bonded leather is generally finished in a similar fashion to genuine leather.
This actually is not leather and contains no leather content at all. It is 100% man-made material.
