Leather, where the hair is still present, is called fur. The other side of smooth leather is leather with velvet like surfaces: split leather suede and the smooth sanded grain side , called nubuck.
Suede - Nubuck. Structure of the leather colouring and finish. Video about different types of leather. Navigation menu Personal tools Log in. Smooth leather From www. But sheep leather lambskin and deer leather deerskin are two types of leather famous for their softness. Lambskin is the softest type of leather you can find, given that it comes from an animal that had yet to mature fully. The natural lightweight layers also help to trap air inside the fabric, even though lambskin leather is thin and lightweighthelping to keep you warm in cold climates.
Because of its delicate structure, lambskin is treated less harshly in production than cowhide and requires more hand manipulation.
Deerskin is much softer than cowhide, known for its extreme resistance to the cold and water. The natural fibers in inside ability to trap air between its layers making the leather feel lighter and softer. For an even deeper look into grain leather, click here for an article I wrote on that.
Generally, only the hair is removed on full grain leathers. The grain generally has densely packed fibers that are finer; this results in a surface that is very strong, durable, and can withstand tough use.
Because it undergoes no sanding, the surface can have minor imperfections. These might be from where a cow rubbed up against a fence, a small cut they might have received, or scrapes from everyday life. Full grain hides without many blemishes are the most prized, as they are least common and are the most visually appealing. Those surface fibers are also what give it the most strength of any leather type.
This makes it good for saddlery, footwear, and furniture. The outer layer also provides some water-resistance qualities as well. Full Grain is looked upon as the highest quality leather available. This makes the leather softer and more pliable, with various dyes and finished applied to it. While this sanding makes it more visually appealing, it also removes a lot of the strength and some water-repellent qualities of full grain leather.
This we begin to see a tradeoff between leather strength, and leather look and softness. Given its softness and flexibility, top grain leather is often used in high end leather goods, including handbags, wallets, and shoes. The process alters some of the preferred qualities of leather, so while not a top quality, it is often used for belts and similar goods.
Split grain leather is a layered cut of leather from within the lower levels of the top grain area of the hide. It is usually a lower layer of the hide, above the flesh. Also, below the full grain and the best top grain cuts. Though, it still provides a useful leather material. The natural surface of split grain leather is not as dense, tight, and useful as full grain and top grain. Thus, it is often used in finishes of leathers that are colored, embossed, and the surface altered in some significant way.
This allows it to offer some of the helpful qualities of a leather material, while having a visually pleasing and often-functional surface beneficial for leather products. Bonded leather is like the scrapple or hot dogs of leather; it is made up of leather scraps that are finely shredded and bonded together using polyurethane or latex onto a fiber mesh or sheet.
For a deeper look, click here for my article about bonded leather. When raw hides are produced by meatpackers, they immediately grade them. This grade is used to determine the quality of the raw hide, and enables accurate sales to tanneries.
The tanneries will ultimately tan the hides, processing the raw material into a finished leather. When grading raw hides, the inspectors will look for issues including holes, deep cuts, scars, large abrasions, discolorations, machine damage from the skinning machines , remaining hair, and grain inconsistencies. It is important to keep in mind, too, that many large ranch operations brand their cattle to denote ownership.
Branding involves permanently burning a unique pattern usually letters or initials into the skin of the animal. A metal brand in the form of the pattern is heated, then pressed into the animal to leave the pattern permanently burned into the hide.
While common, the brand impact to the hide quality is also accounted for in the grading process. Number one hides are top grade hides. They generally have no major surface imperfections, holes, or cuts. A number two hide is allowed to have up to four holes or cuts, as long as they are located in a generally straight line on the hide.
This would allow them to be cut around later, still yielding a sizable area of usable hide. Grain defects should also be no larger than approximately 1 ft. Number three hides generally have five or more holes or large cuts within the hide, ideally within a generally straight line. There might also be grain defects, or a series of closely-located smaller holes that comprise a surface area larger than 1 ft. Generally, number three grade hides are only purchased by tanners when they have specifically agreed to purchase this grade of hide.
Hides that do not meet the quality standards of grades number one, two, or three are deemed untannable. They are not shipped to tanners, and enter another viable channel for use of the raw animal hide materials, outside of the leather industry. A finished leather hide has a fairly large amount of leather to choose from when deciding where to cut from the use pieces on a project.
Finished leather can usually be purchased based on cut type. This can include the full hide, or specific areas within it. Based on the type of project you are working on and the performance characteristics you want in the finished piece, it can be helpful to know what the different available cuts are.
A whole leather hide encompasses the entire skinned and tanned hide from an animal. Since it includes the areas from all of the other related cuts, the leather available will range from softer areas with various stretch characteristics, to thicker, stiffer areas of the hide.
The range of leather thickness and weight will vary across the entire hide. The side cut of a leather hide is a half of an entire hide, cut lengthwise along the middle. The shoulder cut of a leather hide comes from the shoulder area of the animals. This area generally has a firm, yet malleable and flexible feel to it. Shoulder cuts work well for tooling. The double shoulder cut of a leather hide comes from the shoulder area of the animals.
It is essentially the entire shoulder area from the hide. The bend cut of a leather hide is from the area ranging from the spine towards the belly, towards the middle of the hide. This is some of the best leather available in a hide, the prime sections generally towards the hind side before the butt. It is best used for across a number of leather product applications. The double bend cut of a leather hide is from the area ranging from the spine towards the belly, towards the middle of the hide.
The butt cut of a leather hide is from the hind leg portion of the hide, running around the butt and up towards the spine. This is the thickest and firmest area of the hide. Butt cuts make a good leather for thicker items such as heavy belts. The double butt cut of a leather hide is from the hind leg portion of the hide, running around the butt and up towards the spine, on both sides of the hide.
The belly cut of a leather hide is from the left or right edges of the hide. The belly of animals naturally expands and contracts as food and water are consumed. This makes the belly leather a little softer, and stretchier, than from other areas of the hide. While not considered prime leather, belly cut leather can be used for a variety of leather working uses. The belly cut of a leather hide is from the left and right edges of the hide. Leather can be produced from the skin of any animal.
Throughout history many leathers have been made across times, regions, and through different methods. The most common today are cow, sheep, goat, and pig. Though, most any type can be obtained if needed for a project. Those from smaller animals such as rabbits or pigs are referred to as skins.
Bulls are un-castrated male cattle. They have higher levels of testosterone and in general, thick, heavy hides. Bull leather is useful for thicker leather uses such as in heavy belts and show and boot soles. A low ratio number of male cattle are kept as bulls, to reproduce the breeds, so much lower amounts of bull leather are usually available than other types. Steers are castrated male cattle.
They are one of the most popular types of animal leather sought. There are also many more steers kept than bulls, so steer leather is more widely available. It works well for leather applications such as saddlery, belts, some shoes, and other strap items.
Cows are female cattle that have had calves.
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