Types Of Leather

In general, there are three different types of leather sold in the market:

·         Full-grain leather or top-grain points to the upper section of a hide that formerly contained the hair and epidermis , but were detached from the hide or skin. Full-grain hides are those that have not been buffed, sanded or snuffed in order to remove defects (or natural marks) from the surface of the hide. In this the grain remains in its natural state thereby best fiber strength and greater durability. Since the natural grain also has natural breathing ability therefore it results in greater smoothness for clothing. It changes it appearance over time by some splitting and cracking and develops a natural patina. Some of the finest leather furniture and footwear present today are made from full-grain leather. Thus only the best raw hides are used in order to make full-grain or top-grain leather. Full grain leathers are available in two finish types: aniline and semi-aniline.

• Corrected-grain leather can be referred as top-grain leather with its surface buffed, sanded or snuffed so as to remove any marks on the hide/skin due to healed scars, insect bites or brands. Even though corrected-grain leather is finished from top-grain, the leather is no longer referred to as full grain or top-grain leather, as soon as the hide surface is corrected in any way. It is not used to make anline or semi-aniline leather as the hides used in it are of low quality and thus unable to meet the required high standards. A good number of corrected-grain leather is used to create pigmented leather because the solid pigment helps in hiding the corrections or imperfections. Thus corrected grain leathers are available in two finish types: semi-aniline and pigmented.

• Split leather is created from the fibrous part of the hide which is left once the top-grain of the rawhide is separated from the hide. The grain and drop split are separated during the splitting operation. The drop split, if thickness is sufficient, can also be split further into a middle split and a flesh split. If the hides are very thick then the middle splits can further be separate into various layers till the thickness does not prevent it from splitting. Than an artificial layer is applied to the surface of the split and than it is pressed with a leather grain (Bycast leather). Splits are also used to make suede. The strongest suede’s are typically made from grain splits, that have the grain entirely removed, or from the flesh split, that has been shaved to the exact thickness. Suede is fluffy on both sides. There are variety of methods used by manufacturers to make suede from top-grain. For instance, in one operation, lone side of the sued is applied with a leather finish and then pressed through rollers. These helps in flattening out one side of the material and thereby making it even, giving it the smooth look of full-grain. Latigo is one of the trade names for this product. Reversed suede is grained leather which is designed into the leather article using the grain facing away from the visible surface.