This guide identifies different leather types, their uses and qualities. Particularly useful if you are buying leather furniture…

The 2 extremes: Analine v Bicast what you need to know…

Analine:

Analine leather is a top quality full grain leather. It is thoroughly treated with chemicals and dyes and that is it. This leather is typically soft and pliable; it is durable and loved by upholsterers for its give and easy to work with quality.

An analine leather is usually only made with the best available hides simply because it shows up any faults in the animals skin – such as scratches and cuts. Often the colour will vary across the hide as the dye is absorbed differently by different parts of the hide. This is known as a “naked hide” any naturally occurring marks should not be regarded as faults but as part of the natural beauty of the material. That said, upholsterers will try to work around natural marks placing them in less obvious parts of the piece of furniture.

You will find aniline hides used on only the best furniture. A typical analine hide will cost around £400.

Bicast:

Bicast leather is not a hide. It is produced from reconstituted finely ground off-cuts from the tanning process. This is bonded together under pressure using glue and then coated with a polyurethane layer. This material derives nearly all its strength and colour from the polyurethane coating. Once this coating is damaged then the material loses its strength.

Bicast leathers are found on the majority of leather sofas that retail at under £1000. A bicast leather is not necessarily a bad thing for some applications. The polyurethane coating can be made to a variety of specifications and thus the properties of the whole material are varied. Some bicast leathers will be very robust, others will be more soft and pliable. Because of this bicast leather is available in a wide range of forms – it is also not constrained to the limits placed on other hides by the size of the animal they came from.

The grain or texture of a bicast hide is embossed into the material under pressure during the bonding process. Because of this a bicast is highly uniform in appearance and may be sold in sheets or rolls.

Other leather types:

Full grain

Full grain is made from the top side of the leather or the outside of the skin. The surface is treated to be smooth – it can often be polished.

Suede

Suede is made from the underside of the skin and the nap is created by buffing the material, the nap can range from a fine texture to so long it appears to be almost hairy.

Pigmented

This is a process that can be applied to different leathers – the pigmented leather has the surface colour altered by spraying on a dye. Typically this is close to the through dyed colour of the leather and is used for slight colour changes. You can tell a pigmented leather by comparing the colour of the back and front surfaces. Normally a pigmented leather will have a very uniform colour.

Corrected grain

When done well a corrected grain leather can be durable and have all the quality of a top aniline leather. The difference is that the outer most layer is scrapped away revealing a uniform surface below. This is then pressure embossed with an artificial grain. This removes any surface imperfections. A better solution where faults can’t be tolerated – e.g. clothing or shoes. Corrected grain leathers may also be subject to other treatments such as pigmentation.

Nubuck

A full grain leather but with the surface worn back to a fine nap – this gives a uniform appearance

Bonded leather

This is similar to bicast leather but the application of a polyurethane coating is less important. This material gains more strength from the adhesive used to bond the reconstituted leather. This is at the direct expense of any flexibility. You might find bonded leather in applications such as book covers and coasters where pliability are not important. This material is typically very difficult to work and thick examples are cut with saws not scissors.

Printed

An embossing process where a printed design is fixed to the surface of the leather. This is normally done under pressure and usually involves a corrected grain to give a uniform surface for the design to sit on.

Foiled

Used in dancing shoes the foil is applied under pressure to give leather comfort but with a man-made finish.

Oiled and waxed

Used in things like saddles the treatments vary depending on the intended use. Adding an oil or wax makes the leather supple or more resistant to water ingress. It can also be used to create better friction for applications such as sports gloves.

Laminated

Any number of laminates can be applied to leather to create a range of materials with varying properties.

Patent Leather

Originally invented by a New Jersey man, Seth Boyden in 1818 this gained a highly polished surface. Now this is usually achieved with a plastic coating.

Buckskin

Buckskin or brained leather is a tanning process that uses animal brains or other fatty materials to alter the leather. The resulting supple, suede-like hide is usually smoked heavily to prevent it from rotting.

Shagreen

Shagreen is also known as Stingray skin/leather. Used in art deco period furniture and occasionally seen even today.

Vachetta

Louis Vuitton poularised the use Vachetta leather, seen in the trim of luggage and fashion accessories it is an untreated natural hide. Susceptible to staining and water marks this leather will also darken or gain a patina when exposed to sunlight.

Slink

Used for making gloves this comes from the hide of the unborn calf. Prized for its soft pliable properties. Only found on top end products.

Deer Skin

One of the most robust leathers comes from deer. Normally these are purpose bred deer from New Zealand or Australia the leather is highly sought after for use in wallets, handbags and jackets. It is an expensive leather commanding a high price. The quality and longevity of the material reflects the price.

Belting leather

Belting leather is a full grain leather that was originally used in driving pulley belts  and mechanical applications subject to high wear. It is a robust smooth finished leather that has the ability to retain its shape due to its rigidity – so particularly useful in wallets and folders. Normally produced using natural tanning methods involving vegetable and organic tanning materials.

Nappa

Nappa leather is a high quality soft finished leather found in high end fashion accessories.