Leather Basics

It is always nice to know a little more information about the products that we are buying, so here is a small info on leather. (Where the leather used is different, I will provide specifics on the descriptions.) 

 

Leather is skin, it is an animal hide that we use to create long lasting, luxurious items with a distinct colour, smell, hand (this is how we refer to how leather feels to us) and weight. 

Without going too much into detail, some of the leather used for creating the items in store are:

vegetable tanned leather: or tooling / molding leather. A commonly used leather that is used for tooling, embossing, painting and dyeing. Available in different weights (the thickness of leather), depending on usage.  

 

chrome oil tanned leather: not suitable for tooling due to the oils added int he tanning process but is great for bags, boots, chaps. Soft and supple feel, durable and water repellent. 

 

Suede splits: These are leathers made from the underside / flesh side of hides, split away. Polished for a lovely soft surface, these make perfect liners for our products. 

 

Dye: oil or alcohol based dye / colourant used to colour veg tanned leathers. Quickly absorbed, giving a uniform finish. Available in many colours/shades.

 

Antique / Hi-liter: surface stain, usually not oil or alcohol based, used for accentuating tooling or carving patterns. Available from many suppliers in a wide range of colours/shades.

 

Finish: many products are available for finishing a project, ranging from Tan-kote to resolene and such. They are used to achieve various finishes on a project, depending on the desired result and materials used. Most common finishes in our products are Aussie Leather Conditioner, Tan-kote, Resolene, Snow-paste, Super Sheen. 

 

Tooling: using various tools, stamps and specialized equipment, tooling is used to create a three-dimensional finish to patterns, art carved into the surface of leather. 

 

Stitching: just like in sewing, securing the pieces together. Most commonly used stitch is the saddle stitch when stitching done by hand. For all other, I use an industrial leather sewing machine.