Leather is a material that is created through the tanning and processing of animal hides or skins. There are several types of leather, each with its own characteristics and uses. Here are some of the most common types of leather:
Full grain
Full grain is the best of the best when it comes to leather. It is the most natural, in terms of look and performance. Essentially, full grain leather is an animal’s hide that goes immediately into the tanning process once the hair has been removed. The hide’s natural charm is kept intact, so you may see scarring or uneven pigmentation throughout your piece.
This type of leather will develop a beautiful patina over time, too. Patina is a natural aging process where leather develops a unique sheen due to its exposure to elements and general wear and tear. This gives the leather a character that cannot be achieved through artificial means.
It is also among the more durable versions of leather and - barring any unforeseen instances - could last a very long time on your furniture.
Top grain
Top grain is a very close second in quality to full grain. The top layer of the hide is corrected by sanding down and buffing out imperfections. This thins out the hide slightly which makes it more pliable, but a little bit weaker than full grain leather.
After top grain leather has been corrected, other textures are sometimes stamped on to give the leather a different appearance, like alligator or snakeskin.
Split/genuine leather
Because a hide is usually pretty thick (6-10mm), it can be split into two or more pieces. The outermost layer is your full and top grains, while the remaining pieces are for split and genuine leather. Split leather is used to create suede and tends to be more prone to tears and damage than other types of leather.
Now, the term genuine leather can be quite deceiving. You are getting real leather, that’s not a lie, but ‘genuine’ gives off the impression that it's top-tier quality. That’s simply not the case. Genuine leather often has an artificial material, like bycast leather, applied to its surface to present a grainy, leather-like look. Bycast leather, by the way, is a faux leather, which is explained below.
Both split and genuine leather (which are often interchangeable) are commonly seen on purses, belts, shoes, and other fashion accessories.
Bonded leather
Bonded leather is fairly new to the upholstery world, actually, and it’s made by bonding together leather scraps, plastic, and other synthetic materials to make a leather-like fabric. Real leather is in bonded leather, but it’s usually only in the 10 to 20% range. And rarely will you find high-quality (top or full grain) leather used in the scraps to form bonded leather.
Faux/vegan leather
This type of leather, well, it’s not leather at all. No animal products or by-products are used in the making of faux and vegan leathers. Instead, you’ll see leather-looking materials that have been manufactured from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PU).
Post time: Dec-30-2023
