Overview On Aniline, Chrome Leathers?

[DavidL]

Im having trouble figuring out the hand of leathers like aniline and chrome leathers.

I've only dealt with chrome upholstery leather and never dealt with aniline tanned leathers.

1.In general how is the stiffness of leather like aniline or chrome leathers - do certain processes change the stiffness?(How can I tell if the leather drapes or has no shape like fabric, without having samples at hand)

2. If I take a hide and turn it into aniline upholstery leather (no shape, drapes) and take a similar hide and turn it into slightly stiffer aniline shoe leather

if they are both aniline dyed how come one is softer and the other is stiff (what is the step/ingredient that makes the leather stiff or soft in aniline leathers).

[Hi Im Joe]

I've found that websites like this:

http://www.leatherhidestore.com/leather-remnants-leather-pieces/stonewash/stone-washed-orange-leather-cow-hides-upholstery-skins-craft.html

help to show you the leather's temper and hand. The worst is when they just take a photo of a square of leather. It tells you almost nothing other than the color.

[Hunhunt]

I think there may be confusion here with regards to the term "aniline". Aniline dye is used in coloring the leather (or wood). It is a dye that is very clear when applied so that the leather surface is not obscured. Another option would be pigmented stains but they tend to muddy the leather (or wood when used in staining wood). Pigmented stains can be used to hide surface defects. The actual hand of the leather is more a function of the tanning process. I use some very soft hand chrome tanned leather for upholstering chairs. The upholstery leather is relatively thin also (around 3 oz). On the other hand, for shoes I use a stiffer hand chrome tan that averages 5 to 6 oz thickness. For shoes the leather needs to stretch and mold particularly in the toe box area. I have used some very oily, relatively soft chrome tan for some shoes but the toe box tends to collapse more. I have used a relatively hard temper S.B. Foot chrome tan for some shoes but it takes a lot of grunting to get the leather to stretch as described. Some Crazy Horse leather I recently tried is another chrome tan that has a medium to softer temper and very nice stretch. It's probably the easiest leather I have worked with for shoes. Finally, I have been working with some Horween Chromexcel that is combination tanned (chrome and veg tan). It is hot stuffed with oils and waxes after tanning. It has a medium to stiffer temper but molds beautifully. You might visit Horween's website as they have a wealth of information available. Each company has their own recipes for processing, tanning and treating and each can result in different "feel" in the final product. When in doubt ask for samples of the products you might be interested in. Some vendors have very good descriptions of the feel of the leather on their websites or can give you a good idea if you call them (Waterhouse Leather for example). Hope this helps answer your question.

[DavidL]

thanks guys.

So anything under the name aniline leather I can assume 90 percent of the time its chrome tanned? and the 10percent, veg or combination tan?

[Hi Im Joe]

Aniline dyes have no correlation to the type of tannage.