Types of leather==

Anline leather

it is important to note that leather comes in three different types namely; aniline, semi-
aniline and pigmented. So, what is aniline leather?

Aniline leather is a special type of leather dyed using soluble dyes. The dye retains the
leather’s natural look and any spots or blemishes will remain evident after the process.
Due to this characteristic of the dye, high-quality leather is the one that is most
preferred. The dyes used initially were synthesized from aniline, but recently, many
restrictions have been put on their use due to fear of possible health risks. Aniline
leather is only covered with the dye and there are not additional coats added, however,
a slight coating can be added to protect it from soiling.

Additionally, when it comes to the quality, aniline is considered as having the highest
quality and ultimately the most costly of the three types. This is because only the best of
hides qualifies for aniline leather and are also highly priced. High-quality aniline leather
harbors thicker wrinkles and it ages gracefully with evidently increasing beauty.

Conclusively, aniline leather is notably soft and can stain easily especially if you are
having it on your seats. Therefore, it should be well taken care of and the cleaning
should be done carefully to avoid soaking this leather which unlike semi-aniline has no
pigmented coating. With that being said, aniline leather will always be one of the most
unique and natural looking pieces you can find.

Semi-aniline leather
Semi-aniline leather is leather, which is only slightly pigmented (colour layer). The natural leather
grain and the hair pores are not allowed to be concealed by the pigmentation. These can e only be
slightly protected and must remain visible. However, it should be noted that, depending on
the working steps in the tannery, the natural grain pattern and hair pores remain more or less
clearly visible. For example, vacuum drying affects the visibility of the hair pores as compared
to drying by hanging. Nevertheless, it is still a semi-aniline. The natural grain must, however, be
completely preserved and should not be buffed. Semi-aniline leather is soft and warm and feels very
natural due to the less intense coating and the absence of compression of the leather fibres by a
strong embossing. However, embossing is not completely forbidden when producing semi-aniline
leather.

In contrast to aniline leather, which is completely porous and very sensitive, semi-anilines have

better protection. The protection is by no means as strong as for pigmented smooth leather, where
the pigment layer acts as a barrier and the hair pores are no longer recognisable. Such leathers are
mostly firmer and feel colder than semi-aniline leathers.
Semi-aniline leather is commonly used for making furniture, jackets and bags. For households
without children and pets, furniture with semi-aniline leather is a suitable choice. The typical
changes occur after several years and can be delayed or repaired with regular care or with the
assistance of a specialist company. As vehicle leathers are meant to be durable and last for much
longer, they are pigmented heavily

Pigmented leather
Pigmented (protected) leather is the most durable but is less natural in appearance, having
a polymer coating. Pigmented leather is leather whose surface has a finish containing
pigment particles that render the finish completely opaque.
The durability is provided by a polymer surface coating which contains pigments. The
surface coating allows the manufacturer more control over the properties of the leather, e.g.
resistance to scuffing or fading. The thickness of the surface coating can vary.
Pigmented leather is durable, low maintenance and available in a wide variety of
colours and styles. These features make it a popular choice for furniture
upholstery. In fact, most leather furniture is upholstered with pigmented leather.
Pigmented leather gets its name from the layer of coloured pigment that is
applied to the surface of the leather. This layer of coloured pigment gives the
leather a vibrant, uniform appearance. A protective topcoat is applied over the
pigment, for this reason pigmented leather is sometimes called protected
leather. The protective topcoat is a little like a layer of varnish on timber, only it
is softer, more flexible and more breathable. It is this protective topcoat that
makes pigmented leather the most robust and the most practical upholstery
leather

1. Upper Leather
a) Full grain leather

Full grain leather is often denoted by F/G. This type of leather has original grain pattern. Since,
covering or hiding of the grain is not done by finishing or plating the raw hide /skin from which this
leather is made, it is mostly finished as defect free leather. Hence, the full grain leather is costly
leather. Full-grain leather gets its name because it comes from the top layer of the
hide, right below the hair, which includes all the grain. Grain is the layer of the
hide that contains densely interwoven fibers that run both horizontally and
vertically.

The natural grain pattern of the hide is visible once the hair is removed. Due to
the vertical fibers in this layer,  full-grain leather  is the most durable leather. The
fiber makeup of full-grain leather resists moisture.
 

Characteristics of Full-Grain Leather

Since full-grain leather is not processed to remove any imperfections it will

contain natural  markings accrued over the animal's life. These markings are not
excessive and actually add to the character of the hide.  Overtime, full-grain
leather will absorb body oils from usage resulting in a patina of sorts, adding to
its character This type of leather has a natural look. This is mostly finished with aniline or semi-
aniline. Sometimes, we have F/G leather made with pigmented finish and also called F/G pigmented
leather.

b) Corrected grain leather

A large proportion of the hide or skin coming to the tannery are full of defects and they are
either unusable or it is very costly for shoe manufacturers to use them. The tanner
therefore, endeavors to improve the quality by eliminating or rendering these defects by a
procedure called “Correcting the grain surface”.
If the raw hide/side is defective from the grain side, in tannery, the leather is snuffed
(rubbing with fine emery paper) from the grain side and then finished, plated at high
temperature & pressure to give it a good appearance and again finished coats of pigmented
finish. Since, correction of grain pattern takes place in the whole process by hiding the
defects and increase the cutting value, this leather is called corrected grain leather and
often denoted by C/G. W i t h   C o r r e c t e d G r a i n   l e a t h e r s , m o s t n a t u r a l
markings are lightly buffed or sanded off and an artificial
but natural looking grain is embossed upon the hide.
Corrected Grain leathers are still top grain leathers. They
have been altered to feature a more consistent texture and
coloration.

6. Nubuck leather is a type of leather that has a velvety-soft texture on the

surface. It is a quality leather, made from the Top Grain of the hide. What makes
it noticeably different than most leathers is that the surface is made up of many
small raised leather fibers. It is almost “fuzzy”, though with very compact and
short fibers that feel smooth.

The Top Grain leather used in Nubuck is generally the second strongest type of
leather available. This is second to Full Grain, which retains the outer hide
surface that is very compact, dense, and strong. Since the fibers would not be
visible in the Full Grain, the outer grain is sanded away to reveal the Top Grain
below. Removal of the Top Grain also removes seem strength from the leather,
In nubuck leather, the grain side of the leather is made velvety by snuffing. The nap in
nubuck leather is very fine because of the tight fiber structure in the grain layer. The dye
finish is done on Nubuck leather.
This leather has got a very good writing effect. Writing effect is the effect caused due to raised naps
on the surface and when we apply our finger on the surface we get finger marks on this leather.
This effect is called writing effect.

k) Split
7. Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part (lower part) of the hide left once the grain
layer (top layer) of the hide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the top
grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a
middle split and a flesh split. In very thick hides, the middle split can be separated into multiple
layers until the thickness prevents further splitting but the strength is reduced considerably. Split
leather then has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is embossed with a leather
grain. Splits are also used to create suede. The strongest suede are usually made from grain splits
(that have the grain completely removed) or from the flesh split that has been shaved to the correct
thickness. Suede is fibrous on both sides. Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede
from full-grain. Reversed suede is grained leather that has been designed into the leather article with
the grain facing away from the visible surface. It is not considered to be a true form of suede If
a skin is divided into several layers over the entire surface, this process is called "splitting". Thicker
leather, mostly cow leather, which is 5 to 10 millimetres thick, is split. The obtained layers are
designated as grain split or top-grain split and flesh split.

8.. Crimpled leather or Crackle leather

Distressed leather is any type of leather that has been treated to age the appearance of the
leather while not weakening the overall integrity of the product. There are a number of
different methods used to distress leather clothing and upholstery. Often, the goal is to give
newly made products with a weathered and broken look that is sometime more appealing to
consumers.
The common use of distressed leather is for making different types of items. Accessories
like gloves, belts, wallets and hand bags are sometimes aged using one or more distressing
methods. A jacket or coat, along with other clothing such leather pants and vests are often
aged to make the leather suppler, without causing the material to weaken. Even leather
furniture may be distressed, as the look and feel of the aged leather on a couch, sofa, or
chair is often considered inviting.
While techniques vary, the leather is usually treated with a thin coating of some type of finish, and
then subjected to a series of steps aimed at creating wrinkles and creases in the grain. This pre-
distressed leather may also undergo treatments that effectively scrape the material to lighten the
color in random areas..
9. Sole & insole leather (Vegetable tanned)
Sole and Insole leather: Leather was always the main soling material. The leather which
is used as soling material is vegetable tanned buff leather and the thickness
varies from 4mm - 7mm. Sole leather should be Solid, bold, flexible; it should not wear
out easily; it must not increase in area as a result of shoe wearer’s body pressure and at the
same time it should not crack when subjected to a certain degree of bending on a specified
metallic ball or rod.
The real secrecy of vegetable tanning of heavy leathers like the sole lies mainly with their
Degree of Tannages, which can be defined as the quantity of vegetable tannins fixed by
100gms. of the hide substance. For high value of D.T. (Degree of Tannage) a large quantity
of tannins should enter into pelt and at the same time chemically react with collagen, so that
the tannins cannot be extracted out with water.
The Degree of Tannage of sole leather is highest and lies between 90 & 95, even though this D.T. for
leather can be raised up to 120 or more. But, when D.T. exceeds 100 the fiber structure of leather
gets disoriented or destroyed and the leather becomes hard like piece of horn which cannot be
made flexible with the best lubrication

j) Patent leather
Patent finish is basically a P.U. finish in which a special coating is carried out. The finish film
thickness is restricted to be less than 0.15 mm. The mirror like appearance is the unique
feature of this finish.
Other types of PU finished leather are PU coated or PU Film coated leather

A PU coated leather is leather with a thick film of PU laminated on it. This leather does not
have grain break like other leather because of thick PU film.
PU film coated leather is either a split or sometimes grain leather with a very thin film of PU
laminated on it. This leather breathes. Patent leather is leather that has been finished with
chemicals that give it a shiny, reflective surface. It is usually black, and has long been
popular for dress and dancing shoes. Most stages of the preparation of patent
leather are the same as for other fine quality leathers. However, it is in the final
finishing stage, when it is coated with a lacquer to give it its characteristic glossiness.
All leather is derived from animal skins or hides.