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Grades of leather: Understanding Different types of Leather
The material of leather is always been luxurious due to the amount of time and cost spend on its overall processing. There are multiple steps take place to transform an animal skin or hide into a quality-approved leather product. When we talk about types of leather, we refer to the layers of the original hide that are preserved in the finished material. This is what’s known as leather grades.
Raw animal skin or hide is comprised of multiple layers and each layer has its functionality and flexibility. These properties ultimately define the durability and use of leather in the respective product. Along with these features, the tanning process also defines the quality of leather.
We can categorize a leather on multiple basis like type of animal from skin is obtained. Or the process of tanning or dyeing employed to make a final product. In this article, we will discuss about the quality and use of leather depending upon the Grades of Leather.
What are the Different Types of Leather?
While listing types of leather, this classification basically depends volume and layers ok animal skin that are present in the final product. These five grades of leather are known as full grain, top grain, genuine leather, split-grain and bonded leather.
Full Grain Leather:
This type of leather does not go through extreme “splitting” process, rather full grain leather is made using the majority of the animal hide, keeping everything but the hair and flesh. This topmost layer of animal hide is extremely durable because it is densely packed with fibres. Full grain leather has all the imperfections like cuts or bruises which animal receives in its whole life, making every piece unique. Full-grain leather is great for leather jackets, footwear, bags, and furniture because of its strength and durability.
This type of leather is not exposed to buffing or sanding. Full grain leather is very rare and a very high price material. It has the ability to, develops patina, means it only gets better with age. This thicker and the heavier leather is the most expensive type of leather.
Top Grain Leather:
When the top-most or the outermost layer is sanded or buffed, the resulted layer is now called as Top grain leather. The cuts and bruises are not visible, imperfections are removed, making it softer and more flexible. The overall look is more cleaned and smoother but the water resistance and durability is less. This type of leather is a perfect choice for handbags, wallets and shoes. It doesn’t develop patina as the outer layer is removed.
Genuine Leather:
Genuine leather is also called as Correct Leather or Premium Leather. Its name suggesting the idea that it is the ideal type of leather but is in fact the opposite. This type of leather goes through a process of buffing, sanding and then dying and tanning which make it more shiny, smooth and uniform. But also, these processes make it less durable and less quality leather. This leather is used in making cheap leather belts and other accessories.
Split Leather:
This type of leather is found in the lowest layer of top-grain leather, usually above the flesh of the animal. This layer is not much dense and tight and mostly fragile in nature. It can be utilized by combining with artificial layer of leather and is used in the process of leather finishing like colouring or embossing.
Bonded Leather:
It is a reconstituted type of leather, means it is made from scraps of leather fibres mixed with rubber or polyurethane binding materials. We also called it as a synthetic leather because the percentage or leather fibres is very low from 10% to 90%. This percentage defines the functionality and aesthetics of bonded leather. It is usually embossed with a leather texture to give the appearance of a certain grain.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which is the most expensive type of leather?
Full grain leather is the most expensive type of leather as it extremely durable and densely packed with fibres because it does not go through splitting process.
- What is patina in leather?
Patina can be described as an antique effect and a transparent sheen that appears on leather and fabrics over time with use and exposure.
- Why leather is expensive product?
Leather material always go through multiple steps of manufacturing and processing. Including cleaning, tanning, dyeing. More manufacturing procedures makes it a highly cost-effective product.
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Summarizing Types of Leather:
Different types leather has different qualities and durability. Also, different grades are used to make different leather end product. The more processing is employed, the less refine is leather. All these parameters decide the final cost of leather. To summarize, full grain leather is the best quality grade and with expensive type of leather.
The quality of leather is determined by the amount of tanning and finishing it undergoes. There are five main grades of leather: full grain, top grain, genuine leather, split grain, and bonded leather.
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