Finishing is the last stage in the leather production process, after river work, tanning, sorting and currying. The aim of finishing is to strengthen the leather and give it the desired final appearance. Depending on the initial quality of the hide, the tanner will improve the hide.
There are 3 types of finishing: unfinished, velvet and finished. Presenting the characteristics of each type would be too long and tedious. So we've decided to answer two of the most frequently asked questions.
What is full grain leather and embossed leather?
Suede, split suede, nubuck: what's the difference?
For each question, we explain the different characteristics of each leather so that you can learn more about them and refine your needs.
First of all, we think it's important to tell you about the different possible materials: full grain leather, corrected grain leather and split leather.
The grain is the structure of the dermis where the hairs are implanted; it is the top of the skin. It can be used in its entire thickness and exposed on the grain side: this is called full grain leather. This is a hide with little or no surface defects. Full grain leathers are high quality leathers.
Corrected grain leather, on the other hand, has more surface flaws and requires preparatory sanding of the grain. This sanding is carried out with sandpaper. The leather will retain its quality properties after this correction.
Finally, the leather crust is obtained by splitting or deep sanding a lower quality hide. This produces the flesh side of the dermis.
Whatever the type of leather, finishing involves applying layers of primer to the surface of the substrate. This primer is made up of resins, dyes and water.
Most of our leathers in stock are full-grain leathers. You can find them on our e-shop.
We will also be offering crust leather in the near future.
What are tumbled and embossed leather?
Once the hide has been prepared as described above, it is possible to obtain various surface finishes: authentic ‘natural’, satin, grained or smoothed.
There are two methods of obtaining leather with relief: embossing and fulling.
Tumbled leather is leather that has been passed through a fuller, i.e. stirred in a vat, to soften it and give it a veined, crumpled or crinkled appearance, accentuating the natural grain.
Dry tumbling consists of creasing the leather by placing it in a dry tumbler. This process can take between 1 and 8 hours, depending on the suppleness required.
This process adds very fine texture to smooth leather and gives the grain a natural appearance.
Leather stamping is a way of applying a design of any shape to leather. This method involves marking the leather using pressure or heat.
Thanks to this technique, a simple cowhide can look like crocodile leather and have the appearance of a very rare and precious leather.
Suede leather, split suede, nubuck: what's the difference?
After discussing leathers with a finish, let's move on to velvet finishes. There are three types of suede: nubuck, suede leather and suede crust. What they all have in common is a velvety touch that is both pleasant and sensual.
Source : CTC
Nubuck is obtained by very light sanding on the grain side (outer surface of the hide). The sanding is done with a grinder or sandpaper, giving a velvety appearance and a soft feel. Sanding does not hide any defects in the skin.
With its peach-skin appearance, this leather is of very high quality and very hard-wearing.
The hide can be treated to make it waterproof or stain-resistant, and can also be dyed.
Suede leather has been sanded on the flesh side.
It is the most luxurious and resistant leather because it has retained all the dermis. Some use it without a lining.
Finally, there is velours crust, which is obtained by sanding a leather crust. You need to be aware of possible stains.
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