Leather Facts and Terms:
LEATHER FACT/TERMS
TANNING:
Converting the leather into material which will not rot or
putrefy. Tanning improves a leather's dimensional stability, abrasion resistance to
chemicals, the ability to flex innumerable times without breaking, and the ability to
endure repeated cycles of wetting and drying. Leather is made up of millions of interwoven
and interrelated fibers and fiber bundles. Leather breathes. Pores in leather permit fresh
air into boots. Leather absorbs moisture which passes out of the boot. Leather will assume
the shape of the wearers foot.
GRAIN SURFACE:
Top side of the hide...where the hair was. Most leathers are finished on the grain side.
ANILINE FINISHED
Leather which has been colored by dyes as distinguished from leather treated by pigments
or other opaque materials. The dye is absorbed throughout the leather and it allows the
natural markings to show through.
PIGMENT DYED
Leather is color coated
SEMI-ANILINE:
Combination of pigment and aniline dying
PLATING
Smoothes out finished grain surface with mirror smooth plating machine that applies
tremendous pressure (some also use heat) to iron leather
DRUM DYED
Sides of leather are immersed in dye solution. Colors penetrate totally.
PULLUP:
Leather with dark top and light base which give a two-tone effect when stretched
DRAG:
The feel when you run your hand over the leather...more drag or less drag
OILED, GREASED, STUFFED
Leather penetrated by oils waxes, greases...usually with heat... has draggy feel i.e. your
fingers do not slide smoothly over the surface
WAX HIDE, WAXY LEATHER
Impregnated with fish oils or animals fats or chemicals. Good pull-up i.e. fingers press
against underside, surface will show subtle color change
SPLIT LEATHER
Created when thick cattle hides are machine split to obtain a desired leather thickness.
The top portion is the grain layer, the bottom or underneath portion is the SPLIT.
SOLE LEATHER
Created through a VEGETABLE tanning process. Extracts from trees are used to create tough
natural leather soles. Large heavy cattle hides are used for sole tanning. A bend is part
of the hide from which leather soles are cut (the area of greatest fiber density)
IRON:
The unit of measure for leather sole thickness One iron equals 1/48 of an inch
CHROME TAN:
Enhances the physical and chemical properties sought after by leather users. Leathers
which have been tanned with soluble chromium salts, primarily basic chromium sulfate.
Currently most widely used tannage in the United States.