A

ANILINE-DYED: The method of colouring hides by penetrating the cell layers with soluble colors. The dye colors the leather without leaving a smooth, even surface like a topcoat paint or an insoluble pigmented sealer. The natural surface of the hide is preserved in the finished product. Any kind of visible Variations in the undyed leather's surface, such as visible pores, scars, or other flaws, will be noticeable. continue to be seen As a result, only high-quality leather and pure aniline are suited for aniline finishing.

Aniline leathers account for about 5% of all leathers produced around the world.

ANTIQUE DISTRESSED GRAIN: Leather that has been dyed with one hue over another (typically darker over lighter) to produce rich highlights and a fake aged appearance. Distressed leather is another name for it.

AMERICAN BISON: American Bison Leather is tougher, suppler, and more durable than typical steer hide. The natural grain of bison hides is not rectified with artificial embossing or plating, allowing them to show off the signs of a range animal.

B

BARK TANNING: Vegetable-tanning mainly by means of tannins from the bark of trees

BELLY: The part of the hide covering the underside and the upper part of the legs of the animal.

BELTING LEATHER: Typically a heavyweight, full-grain leather that was first used to make pulley belts during the industrial revolution. Belting leather is one of the strongest and stiffest leathers available due to its unique tanning process.

BLUE SPLIT : Blue split comes from the hide that has been split into several layers and treated with

chromium during the tanning process, which gives it a bluish colour.

BOARDY LEATHER: Term used to describe leather, which is stiff or not pliable.

BONDED LEATHER: Bonded leather, also known as RECONSTITUTED LEATHER, is created from glued-together leather fibers/scraps to form a leather sheet. Because bonded leather is a non-elastic material, it has a tendency to break with wear, resulting in strips of polyurethane and leather peeling away from the backing.

BREATHABILITY: A significant feature of full-grain leather. Full-grain leather breathes because of its unbroken grain and pore structure. This means the leather responds to the temperature and wicks away moisture.

BUFFED LEATHER: The enamel surface has been abrasion removed from leather. Nubuck is another name for this material.            

C

CALF HIDE: The skin of a young or immature bovine animal that does not weigh more than a specific amount. Calfskin leather has a fine grain and a smooth surface; it is also lighter and thinner than cowhide and is primarily used for apparel and accessories. Hides are around 4-6 square feet in size, significantly smaller than cowhides.

CATTLE HIDE: The outer covering of a fully grown bovine animal.

CHAMOIS LEATHER: Chamois leather is a porous leather created nearly completely from the flesh split of a sheepskin. It was traditionally fashioned from the skin of the chamois, a kind of European mountain goat. Chamois leather is supple and flexible, and it is frequently tanned with oils.

CHROME TANNED: Leather tanned only with chromium salts or with chromium salts and very minute amounts of another tanning agent used only to aid the chrome-tanning process and not in sufficient levels to change the leather's basic chrome-tanned character.

CHROME OIL TANNED: Tanned with chromium compounds and treated with oil that helps preserve

the leather

COMBINATION TANNED: Leather tanned with two or more tanning agents, for example, chromium

and vegetable. Also known as RE-TANNED.

CORRECTED GRAIN: Corrected grain refers to the top grain layer of the hide being sanded down to reduce defects. After that, it's colored and embossed with an artificial grain before being sealed.

COMBINATION TANNAGE: Leathers that have been tanned with more than one tanning agent, such as chrome and vegetable, have a softness and body to them.

CORRECTED GRAIN: Buffed leather that has been embossed with a new, artificial grain made with pigments and other finishes to erase defects.

CROCKING: Removing the crock, or excess coloring, that rubs off of a newly-dyed hide.

CRUST: Leather that has been tanned (processed to make it nonperishable) but has not been colored or finished in any way.

D

DEGRAINED LEATHER: Degrained leather is leather that has had its grain removed after tanning (by sanding, splitting, abrasion, etc.).

DISTRESSED: Antiqued leather is referred to by another term. To achieve a worn, natural appearance, distressed leather is covered with a wax finish and then milled. Each hide will have its own color difference due to its natural appearance.

DRUM DYING: The method of dying leather by tumbling it in a dye-soaked spinning drum. This is a very effective way for getting the most dye penetration.

DEERSKIN : Deerskin leather that has been tanned with the grain side intact. Buckskin is the name given to the skin after the grain has been removed. The leather is quite supple and of excellent quality. There is very minimal wastage with chrome tanned entire hides. Used for clothes and accessories, it is soft but durable and water-resistant. Typically, hides are 8-10 square feet and weigh 2-3 oz.

E

EMBOSSED LEATHER: Under extreme pressure, leather is "stamped" with a design or fake texture. For example, it's been used to make alligator-like hides.

ENHANCED GRAIN: An artificial texture has been embossed on leather to resemble a natural grain.

EXOTIC LEATHER : This term refers to a variety of exotic animal/reptile skins that are primarily tanned for the small leather goods/accessory/shoe industry (i.e. lizard, snake, crocodile skins, etc.)

F

FAT TANNED: Hide or skin, which has been converted into leather by treatments, involving the

incorporation of soft animal fats.

FAT WRINKLE: Fat deposits in the animal form wrinkles in the grain of the leather, which add to the beauty of the leather. In imitation grain leather, fat wrinkles are not noticeable.

FINISH: Any enhancement to leather that occurs after it has been tanned. Dyeing, embossing, polishing, antiquing, waxing, waterproofing, and other techniques are examples.

FLESH SIDE: The inner side of a hide or skin.

FULL-GRAIN LEATHER: Leather that hasn't been tampered with save for the removal of hair. Full grain leather is the most authentic sort of leather since it keeps all of the original hide's texture and characteristics.

G

GARMENT WEIGHT LEATHER: It's thin and flexible enough to sew into clothing. It usually weighs between 1 and 3 ounces and is made from splits of lamb, goat, pig, deerskin, or cowhide. It's frequently done using a sewing machine rather than by hand.

GAUFRAGE: Upholstery leather with remarkable softness and beauty thanks to a special embossing method. An engraved roller transfers the design impression to the leather under high heat and low pressure, resulting in a soft natural hand with no pattern match lines.

GLAZED LEATHER: Aniline-dyed leather that has been polished to a high gloss by running it through high-pressure glass or steel rollers.

GOATSKIN: A soft, durable leather that is slightly thicker than lamb leather and is commonly used for clothing and minor accessories. The grain of goatskin is naturally pebbled, however it can be flattened during the tanning process. Hides are around 5-6 square feet in size.

GRAIN: The inherent qualities of an unprocessed hide, like as its pores, wrinkles, marks, and texture, are referred to as natural characteristics.

GRAIN CHARACTER: The natural markings on the surface of the leather.

H

HAND: A term for the feel (i.e. softness or fullness) of leather, particularly upholstery leather.

HANDIWORK/HAND ANTIQUE: Leather that has been colored over and over again to generate rich accents and an artificially aged appearance. This is done by wiping a darker color on top of a lighter base color or wiping the dark color away.

HIDE: (1) A mature or fully grown large mammal's outer covering, such as cattle, horses, camels, and elephants.

2) When used in this fashion, the name of the animal may be added. Leather manufactured from (1) that has not been split, or from the grain split of such skin.

HAIR-ON HIDES: Leather tanned without removing the hair from the skins or hide.

HORSE LEATHER: Extremely tough and abrasion-resistant. Made mostly for the gloving industry and chrome tanned for a silky texture. Ideal for use with gloves, mitts, and clothing. Horse leather can be vegetable tanned for a more lasting belt weight. Ideal for razor strops, gun holsters, and other such items.

I

IMITATION LEATHER: Imitation leather, often known as "Fake," "Faux," "Vegan," or "Synthetic" leather, is a synthetic substance that looks and feels like leather.

K

KANGAROO LEATHER: These skins are extra strong and durable with a soft, supple feel.

KIDSKIN: leather made from the skin of a young goat.

L

LEATHER: A broad phrase for hide or skin that has retained its natural fiber structure and has been tanned to be imperceptible. It's possible that the hair or wool was removed, but it's also possible that it wasn't. Before or after tanning, hide or skin can also be separated into layers or segments to make leather.

LEATHERETTE: Man-made or fake leather is also referred to as leatherette.

LEATHERY: A term for the sensation of leather or something that resembles leather.

LIMING: The process of using chemicals to remove hair from a leather.

M

MATTE FINISHING: A flat or dull finish.

MILING: To soften the hand or accentuate the grain, tanned skins are tumbled in spinning drums using a combination of heat and a sprinkling of water.

MINERAL TANNED: When aluminium, chromium, or zirconium salts are employed in the tanning of hides.

METALLIC LEATHER: Metallic foils or powders are used to give leather a metallic luster.

MULLED: Treated to make softer.

N

NAKED LEATHER: Aniline-dyed leather with no extra treatment that might obscure or alter the leather's inherent nature.

NAP: When polishing or brushing leather, it creates a soft, "fuzzy" look.

NATURAL GRAIN: A leather that displays its original grain.

NAPPA: Nappa leather is a silky full-grain apparel or gloving leather made from unsplit sheepskin, lambskin, or kidskin. It's usually coloured all over and browned with aluminium and chromium salts.

NUBUCK: The surface of this leather has been cleaned and brushed to give it a silky, velvety appearance. Nubuck differs from suede in that it is made from the grain (outside) side of the hide, rather than the flesh (inner) side, providing it greater strength and durability.

O

OAK TANNING: Originally, leather was tanned almost entirely with oak bark; later, the word was extended to any tannage that included oak tannin. It is now applied haphazardly to any tannage of strong leather containing vegetable extracts.

OIL TANNED: Leather that is tanned using oils to create a very soft, pliable finish.

P

PATENT LEATHER: Leather that has been given a high-gloss polish to give it a lustrous, gleaming appearance

PATINA: The aura or luster that develops in a quality piece of leather with age.

PEARL/ PEARL CRUST: Chrome-tanned leather that has not been dyed or otherwise treated. The light blue (pearl) tint of tanned hides is caused by chromium salts.

PERFORATED: Leather in which a pattern of small holes is stamped using a die.

PIGMENTED LEATHER: On top of or instead of the standard dye finish, leather that has been treated with a flat surface color. To improve durability and cover natural flaws, leather is generally dyed.

PLATING: The act of rubbing leather against a hot plate. To hide flaws in upholstery leather, it's commonly utilized.

PULL-UP: Describes the behavior of leather that has been treated with oils, waxes, and dyes in such a way that the finish becomes lighter in the stretched areas when the leather is pulled or stretched (i.e. on upholstery). It is regarded as a symbol of great quality.

R

RAWHIDE: A hide which has only been treated to preserve it prior to tanning.

RETAN: After primary tanning, a modifying secondary tannage is applied after intermediate procedures.

RE-TANNED LEATHER: Additional tannage with identical or other tanning ingredients has been applied to leather.

RECONSTITUTED LEATHER: Reconstituted leather, often known as "BONDED LEATHER," is manufactured from shredded leather or leather fibers glued together with polyurethane.

ROUND HAND: Round hand leather is another way to define "full hand" leather since it is full-bodied and sturdy.

S

SADDLE LEATHER: Saddles and harnesses are manufactured of vegetable-tanned cattle skin, which is usually a natural tan color and is fairly flexible.

SAUVAGE LEATHER: An aniline leather with a top grain that has been tumbled and colored sequentially with two colors. It has a marbled appearance in two tones.

SAMMIERING: The process of pushing water out of skins in tanning.

SEMI-ANILINE: A matching pigment layer is applied to aniline leather to balance out the color and give protection.

SIDE LEATHER: One half of a whole hide, or "side," is used to make leather. Usually refers to leather that has had the top grain (outermost layer) left intact.

SKIVE: To shave, slice or divide, to peel into a thin layer.

SPLIT LEATHER: Leather manufactured by splitting the bottom (inner or flesh side) layers of a hide away from the upper (grain) layers. Split leather is more delicate than side leather or full-grain leather, and it's usually found in suede.

SUEDE: Split leather with a fuzzy surface that has been buffed and brushed.

SQUARE FOOT: The unit of measure of a skin by which all leathers are purchased from tanners by manufacturers.

T

TABLE DYEING: Brush colouring is the process of dyeing leather by laying it out on a table and applying the color with a brush.

TALLOW: A hard fatty substance made from rendered animal fat that is used in the production of candles, soap, and tanning leather.

TANNING: The transformation of perishable raw hides and skins into a permanent and irreversible form of leather by the use of tanning ingredients.

TOP COAT: A clear, protective coating put to the leather's surface that can give it a shine or gloss.

TOP FINISHED: A leather that has been given a final coating of a finish to confer unique attributes like as shine, level color, wet rubbing fastness, waterproofness, and so on.

TOP GRAIN: Leather whose top (outermost) layers have been left intact, in contrast to split leather.

U

UNFINISHED LEATHER: Naked or aniline dyed leathers have had no extra treatment or application to polish or color the leather in a way that would affect the inherent features or look.

UNPROTECTED LEATHER: There is no protective coating on this leather. Unprotected leather has more natural properties than treated or protected leather, and it is often softer. They are more prone to fading, staining, and soiling than other fabrics.

UPHOLSTERY LEATHER: Leather made from the entire hide and intended for use in furniture, cars, planes, and other upholstery applications.

V

VEGETABLE TANNING: Tanning procedure that uses only vegetable tanning agents or small amounts of other agents to aid the tanning process or to improve or modify the leather, but not in significant levels to change the leather's core vegetable character.

W

WATER RESISTANT LEATHER (repellent leather): Leather that resists water penetration, commonly chrome or combination tanned, and initially strongly oiled, but other water-repelling (repelling) chemicals may be employed.

WAXY LEATHER: Upper leather that has been coloured and finished on the flesh side; vegetable tanned with a high quantity of hard grease, but not necessarily wax.

WET BLUE LEATHER: Leather that has not been processed further after chrome tanning and is offered in its natural state.

WEIGHT: Leather's weight is expressed in ounces per square foot.

Y

YIELD: The amount of leather that can be used from a hide.