History of Leather Page 2

Full Grain & Corrected Leather
As a rule the cleaner the surface of the hide, the more the natural the look of the leather can be preserved through the sparse use of dyes and pigments.

Often leather is printed or plated to produce a special effect or even enhance an already natural grain.

However, it is rare for a hide to be completely free of defects, indeed many prefer some of these to be seen as they serve to add character to the leather. Often though the surface of the hide is too rough to use as it is. It then has to be buffed (or corrected with prints or embossed) and pigments more heavily applied to create a cleaner surface.

Split Leather
The thickness of hides before tanning can vary significantly. To obtain a uniform substance the hides are fed through a splitting machine. This yields a grain portion and an underneath flesh layer that is called a split. Splits need heavy pigmenting and plating (printing or embossing) to provide a clean surface and so has less of the natural look of a grain leather.

Suede/Nubuck
Suede is made predominantly from good quality split which is buffed into a fine napp that gives it the familiar velvety look. A similar process is sometimes used on grain leather which can produce an ultra fine sueded finish commonly called nubuck

Vegetable & Chrome Leather
The tanning process more commonly involves the soaking of hides in alkaline chrome salts to preserve them from decay. Sometimes vegetable based tanning agents are used instead. This creates a less dense and more rigid feel but provides a more traditional look to the leather. It also allows for easier crafting and embossing. Vegetable tanned leathers are used mainly in the bridle and leather goods trades.