GLOSSARY
BUFFED - leather which has been smoothed by mechanical sanding to get rid of faults in the leather surface before finishing and embossing.
ChROME TANNING - 99% of all upholstery leather is chrome tanned
Chrome Tanning involves drumming the hide in a bath of chrome liquor
After this process the hide is termed ' wet blue' leather.
CORRECTED GRAIN CROCKING - transfer of a colour or finish from a leather to other materials by rubbing or abrasion .
CRUST - leather that has been through the tanning progress, aniline dyed, milled and dried but with no surface finish at all.
DRUM DYED - a dyeing process in which the leather is immersed in Aniline dyes
The leather is placed in a drum with dyes and tumbled to ensure the complete absorption of colour.
FULL ANILINE - leather receiving its colour only from Aniline dyes , may however have top coats of wax or oil.
FULL GRAIN - the outer surface of a hide or a skin - the pattern of the outer surface after the hair has been removed
the grain maybe very natural as in Full Grain or maybe an imitation achieved by Grain Correction or Embossing.
HIDE - term used for the skins of large animals such as cows , buffalo or horse.
LIMING - the process of removing the hair from a raw hide through the use of chemicals.
MILLING - process in which tanned hides are tumbled in rotating drums usually as a softening processing during the tanning and finishing process.
NATURAL GRAIN - leather whose grain has not been altered in any way and the natural appearance of the grain is apparent.
NITRO CELLULOSE - a finish which is applied to aniline leather - nitro-cellulose is less durable than polyurethane , but it is softer and retains many of the aesthetic characteristics of Aniline leather.
NUBUCK - A Top Grain Aniline leather with a 'suede like' nap effect created by lightly buffing the surface - the finest quality Nubuck would retain the full grain pattern of the leather ; poorer qualities are heavier buffed.
PEARLISED - a special finish created by adding a fine refelective powder ( usually gold or silver in colour ) to the finishing product - the effect is a slightly reflect quality that shows slight colour changes with changes in light direction.
PIGMENTED - known as ' Protected ' , leather whose surface is coated with a material containing pigment or other opaque materials as a colouring process . It will then be sealed with a polyurethane style coating.
POLISHING - removal of the grain , scars and blemishes from a hide - can be known as buffing.
PULL-UP ------ the term Pull-Up refers to the shoe industry term pulling the leather onto the last . When this was done the colour ' pulled out or faded ' ! Generally they are an aniline dyed leather with a wax or oil surface treatment . Often the finish product will have some colour content as well , the stronger this is the more the dramatic colour change will be . Also as the waxes and oils are not fixed they scratch very easily . although this is very easily remedied and is deemed a feature of this leather type.
SPLIT - the split of a hide is the lower part when the top grain ( hair ) side is cut ( split ) off - it is of poorer quality than the top grain and when processed should not be used in high wear areas of furniture . Its because the grain has been removed the split has no natural features or grain pattern , so its surface has to be prepared and embossed to give a ' leather ' or ' top grain ' appearance . As the fibre structure is looser than the top grain it stretches more and lacks the elasticity of top grain to return to shape . It will tear much more easily even after coating .
SUEDE - two versions - Hunter Suede and Split Suede , Hunter Suede is any piece of top grain leather reversed , so it will be the same quality as the piece of leather without the issue of surface scarring.. Split Suede is unfinished split leather , so will be poor quality - the colour of suede comes from aniline ( or through ) dying of the leather - the surface of suede will be more of a course texture than Nubuck , be careful not to confuse the two .
TANNING - the process of turning raw hide or skin into the product called leather . This process uses tanning agents to convert the hide into a stable non-perishable material .
TOP GRAIN - the outer most layer of the hide which is left after the splitting of the hide into layers, the top grain of the hide is strong, flexible and the most breathable part of the hide . It is also the part of the hide which will allow the life of the animal through natural marking - Top Grain depending on its quality and its intended market , may be either ( full grain ), corrected, or embossed.
WET BLUE - the name given immediately after it has been tanned , but has had no other treatments . It is usually pale duck egg blue ( hence the name ) and very stiff . In this state it completely unworkable for upholstery use and has to go through re-tanning and finishing stages.