What Type Of Leather Is This?

[xscott]

Hello LWers, Im new here and would love to get into the art of crafting.

I notice many of the people here are using veg tan leather which is beautiful in its own but why do I see a lot of leathers look like the type attached below.

From what I read are they veg tan that has been tooled with the wrinkled type texture? or is it a process at the tannery that does this? It is the photo that has the smooth leather and textured leather next to each other.

Sorry told you it was a noob question,

Second question is what type of edging is on the wallet? Is that raw or burnished?

Thanks!! Hope to learn a lot here!

Edited September 23, 2011 by xscott

[BillB]

Leather is the skin of a animal. If the animal has a smooth skin, then when tanned, it will have a smooth surface. If the skin has a pattern to it like alligator, ostrich, etc, then the tanned hide will also have that pattern. That is, of course, assuming that the hide was not put through a roller press to change the surface texture. The smooth leather in the picture looks like cow, the I don't know what the textured one is but it does look natural.

I would say that the edge of the wallet is not properly burnished. It has the same look and texture as the rest of the leather. If you go to the top of the How Do I Do That section of the board, you will find a thread that has been pinned called "Finishing Edges" by Hidepounder. In that thread he posts a link to a pdf file that explains how to burnish and edge.

BillB

[xscott]

Billb, Thank you for the reply!

I see that its either natural or a roller press that will give the leather texture. Why is it that almost all veg tan natural hides I see are always smooth and never with texture?

Do they sell a roller press for the hobbiest? I notice there are tools but they are tiny?..

[BillB]

When I started doing leather in the 1960's there were a number of animal hides,like alligator, that were still readily available through Tandy. As those animals got over harvested, they became protected and the hides became illegal. Today, there is limited harvesting and the skins are available but for a price.

Today you will see a number of hides listed as alligator embossed or ostrich embossed. Embossing is the process of pressing a design or pattern onto a hide., in this case a roller type press for high rate production.

The tanning process has gone through a number of changes over the centuries. In a push to be more Eco friendly and to reduce the chemical damage to the fibers there has been a slow move towards the VegiTan process. Again, when I started in the 60s there was only the chemical or chrome-tanning process used in production tanning. There has always been low production brain tanning being done by specialized Tanneries. If you are into Native American regalia, or reenactment period clothing from Voyagers to revolutionary times, then brain tanned hides (deer, elk, etc) is the preferred leather. If you want really soft deer and elk hides for clothing, brain tanned is the way to go.

As for why we have so much smooth surface hides, I would have to guess that it is because: 1. the availability of cow and pig hides in this country;

2. the high demand for a smooth surface (saddles, tooling, belts, car seats, etc);

3. costs

that would be my guess. I have seen the styles and types of hides available change over the years, but the one constant demand is for smooth surface hides. Today I am see more hides with hair on than I have seen in the past, it may just be the current trend.

That is my opinion at least.

BillB

[TwinOaks]

You can take a look at different type of textured leather by visiting Springfield Leather. They have pictures showing the different types available. Specifically, check out the lining leathers, and the one's called "mission grain".

[xscott]

Thank you BillyB and TwinOaks, Super informative!