Leather Making Process and Types of Leather:
Like you, leather is inherently resilient, but will last longer and look better with a little tender loving care. Just like your skin, leather needs moisturising and caring for if it's to keep looking its best throughout the years. As smile lines tell a story of a life well lived, the lines and variations in our leather will tell their own story.
The leather ageing effect is called a bag's Patina. This effect makes each piece truly unique and should be embraced as a sign of endurance and the symbol of the alliance between owner and article. We kick start the ageing process with some of our bags with a stone wash treatment, however nothing looks better than the Patina of a bag that has been used and appreciated over the years.
The principles of leather care apply to all leather goods. What makes the difference in determining how to treat your individual piece is to know what kind of leather you have. Here are some of the terms used when discussing leather:
Tanning The process of converting an animal hide into usable leather. The leather will have different characteristics depending on the tanning process. The tanning process will determine how soft, shiny, stretchy, thick, etc. your leather will be.
Dyeing The process of giving the leather its colour. Dyeing can be included in the tanning process, however it can also be an additional separate process.
Full Grain A leather will a good thickness without many transformations
Vegetable Tanned Leathers that are tanned using only plant based tannins and other ingredients found in vegetable matter, such as wood bark, leaves, roots, etc.
Analine Leather that retains it's colour from the dye rather than the tanning pigment and as a consequence gives a more natural leather appearance. Analine leather is also referred to as pure, naked or natural.
We typically use a vegetable-tanned full grain leather.
To ensure that your leather remains well conditioned and protected, it's important to remember the basics of leather care. Keep the leather clean, avoid dirt and salt build up and avoid water damage. Your leather is rugged and robust and the patina will improve with use, but it appreciates being wiped over every now and again to extend the life of the product.
In our next post we will discuss in more depth these three steps to ensure the beauty, character and longevity of your leather item.