Welcome to the Leather Skins leather glossary, an A-to-Z guide to leather terminology. We created this guide to help our customers explore the different types of leather and learn about their unique characteristics.
A
Aged Leather: Leather that has been treated or naturally developed a patina over time, showing character and wear.
Aniline Leather: Leather dyed with soluble dyes that preserve the natural surface, including marks and imperfections, for a soft, natural look.
Antiqued Leather: Leather treated to have a worn, vintage appearance, often with two-tone color effects.
Artificial Grain: A surface pattern applied to corrected-grain leather to simulate the natural texture of full-grain leather.
B
Blemish: Natural or accidental imperfection on the surface of leather, such as scars, scratches, insect bites, or stretch marks, that occurs during the animal's life or processing.
Brand: Permanent mark or scar on a leather hide caused by branding the animal, typically for identification purposes.
Buffed Leather: Leather that has been sanded or polished to create a smooth surface or remove imperfections.
C
Chrome-Tanned Leather: Leather tanned using chromium salts, resulting in a soft, flexible, and water-resistant finish.
Corrected Grain Leather: Leather that has been sanded or buffed to remove imperfections and embossed with an artificial grain.
Crust Leather: Leather that has been tanned but not yet dyed or finished, leaving it in its natural, unfinished state.
D
Defect: An imperfection or flaw in leather that may occur naturally, such as scars, or during processing, such as uneven dyeing or holes.
Distressed Leather: Leather that has been intentionally treated to give it a worn, aged, or rugged appearance.
Drum-Dyed: Leather dyed in a rotating drum for deep, even color penetration.
E
Embossed Leather: Leather that has been stamped with patterns or textures, such as crocodile or floral designs. Embossed leather is used for crafts, garments, upholstery, and luxury goods and accessories.
Eco-conscious Leather: This usually refers to vegetable tanned leather, which is tanned using natural tree barks, tannins, and other natural ingredients, as opposed to chrome-tanned leather, which is tanned using chemical formulations.
F
Fat Wrinkle: Natural creases or ripples in leather caused by the animal's fat deposits during its life. These wrinkles are most commonly found in full-grain leather and are considered a characteristic that adds to the leather's authenticity and unique appearance.
Finish: The surface treatment of leather, including coatings, embossing, or dyes that define the final look and feel.
Floater Leather: Named for the way its grain layer "floats" or moves freely above the flesh layer due to a specific tanning process. This loose grain structure creates a soft, pliable, and naturally pebbled texture that can be dyed in bright colors.
Flesh side: The underside of the leather hide that's closest to the muscle or flesh of the animal. The bottom side of the leather is the flesh side, while the top side of the leather is known as the grain.
Foil Leather: Leather with a metallic or foil-like finish applied for a decorative effect.
Full-Grain Leather: The highest quality leather that retains the natural grain and imperfections of the hide, known for durability and aging beautifully.
G
Glazed Leather: Leather with a shiny finish achieved through polishing or adding a clear coat.
Glazed Calf: Calfskin leather that has been treated with a high-gloss top coat, delivering a luxurious look with high shine. Glazed calf leather is suitable for shoes, boots, apparel, accessories, and more.
Genuine Leather: A leather industry term that usually describes inexpensive, low-quality leather. Genuine Leather is one of the lowest grades of leather, while the highest grade leathers are top-grain or full-grain.
Grain: The natural surface texture of the hide, including pores, wrinkles, and patterns.
Gum Tragacanth: A special liquid that is applied to leather edges prior to burnishing to achieve a smooth, uniform, slicked edge.
H
Hair-On Hide: Leather with the animal’s hair left intact, often used for rugs or decorative purposes.
Hand: Term used to describe the feel and texture of leather when touched.
Hide: The entire skin of a large animal that has been processed and tanned to create leather.
L
Leather Split: The underside layer of leather, often used for suede or as a base for embossed textures.
Latigo Leather: Latigo is a combination-tanned leather that has been infused with oils and waxes, enhancing its water resistance and durability. Latigo leather is commonly used for products requiring strength and flexibility, such as equestrian latigos, saddles, belts, straps, and dog collars.
M
Matte Finish: A non-shiny, flat finish often used to give leather more natural, understated appearance.
Metallic Leather: Metallic leather is created through methods like foil stamping or pigment application, giving it a shiny appearance. Often seen in fashion and interior design for products such as bags, shoes, and upholstery.
Milled Leather: Leather that has been worked or tumbled in a drum to soften it and enhance its natural texture. Milled leather often has a a pebbled texture and a soft hand.
N
Nappa Leather: A soft, supple, luxurious leather, usually made from sheep or goat hides, with a silky smooth surface that's perfect for garments, linings, and small goods. Drum Dyed Lamb Nappa is our staple article, also available in Heavy Weight Lamb Nappa, and Spray-back Lamb Nappa which has a delicate coating on the flesh side, and our Drum Dyed Cow Nappa, which has the same silky smooth texture, but in much larger skins suitable for upholstery, automotive, and interior design.
Nubuck: Leather with a soft, velvety texture created by lightly sanding the outer layer of the hide.
O
Oil-Tanned Leather: Leather treated with oils during the tanning process to create a soft, pliable, and water-resistant finish.
Open Grain: Leather that retains its natural surface texture and visible pores, meaning it has not been sanded, buffed, or coated to conceal blemishes or imperfections. This allows for the unique grain patterns, natural scars, wrinkles, and other characteristics of the hide to remain clearly visible.
P
Patent Leather: Leather with a glossy, high-shine finish, often created by adding a coating of lacquer or plastic.
Patina: The natural sheen or darkening that develops on leather over time with use and exposure.
Pebbled Leather: Leather with a raised, textured surface that mimics small, rounded bumps, often created through embossing.
Perforated Leather: Leather that has been evenly punched with small, spaced holes in a specific pattern.
Pig Suede: A thin, garment weight suede made from pigskin. Pig suede is naturally strong, lightweight, and highly breathable, and takes dye extremely well, making it a great choice for bright aniline dyes.
Pigmented Leather: Leather coated with pigments for uniform color and added durability.
Pull-Up Leather: Leather that lightens in color when stretched or bent, giving it a distressed, rugged appearance.
Q
Quills: The distinctive raised bumps or dimples visible on the surface of ostrich leather, created by the areas where the ostrich's feathers grew, known as feather follicles. Natural quill marks give ostrich hides a unique, one-of-a-kind appearance.
R
Rawhide: Untanned hide, typically stiff and used for non-leather purposes like drumheads or furniture accents.
S
Semi-Aniline Leather: Leather dyed with soluble dyes and finished with a protective coating for added durability.
Shearling: Leather with the wool from the animal left intact on one side, often used for garments and accessories.
Shaving / Skiving: The process of thinning leather to achieve a consistent thickness.
Small Skins: Leather hides that come from small animals like sheep, goat, kangaroo, etc., usually in the 5-7 square foot range, as opposed to whole cowhides, which can measure up to 55 square feet or more.
Split Leather: The lower layers of a hide separated from the top grain, often used for suede or embossed leathers.
Suede: A soft, velvety leather made from the underside of the hide.
T
Tanning: The process of treating animal hides to produce durable leather. Common methods include chrome and vegetable tanning.
Thickness (Ounces): Leather thickness is measured in ounces, where 1 ounce equals approximately 1/64 of an inch. Common thicknesses are 3-4 oz for garments and 8-9 oz for belts. Originally used to describe the weight of one square foot of leather, with thicker leathers literally weighing more than thinner leathers.
Top-Grain Leather: Leather that has been sanded or corrected to remove imperfections while maintaining a durable and high-quality surface.
Tooling Leather: Vegetable-tanned leather that is firm enough for stamping or carving designs.
U
Upholstery Leather: Leather specifically processed and finished for furniture, car seats, and other heavy-use applications.
V
Vegetable-Tanned Leather: Leather tanned using natural tannins from tree bark, resulting in a firm texture and natural, earthy look. Vegetable tanned leather is widely considered to be the highest quality leather available.
Vegan Leather: A textile industry term used to describe manmade chemical materials that vaguely resemble leather, but lack the durability, beauty, and sustainable nature of traditional vegetable- and chrome-tanned leather.
W
Waxed Leather: Leather treated with wax for a glossy finish and water resistance.
Wet Blue: Leather that is chrome-tanned and still moist, ready for further processing.
Weathered Leather: Leather intentionally treated or aged to create a distressed, rugged look.
Whole Hide: The full, uncut piece of leather from a single animal.