Guidelines in Choosing the Best Leather
Leather is the material made up of the hides of an animal with
the hair removed from it. This material may come in different
finishes, colors or textures. Leather is known for its sensuous
feel, strength and durability. It is resistant to destructive
factors like climactic conditions and punctures. Leather retains
its shape but can also be stretched and molded. Leather is used
for bags, shoes, belts, clothing and furniture. You may be often
confused when buying leather. Some may be priced higher and some
may be graded.
There are 5 types of leather that are used for furniture like
sofas. They are the Aniline, Full Aniline, Semi Aniline, the
Full Grain Leather and the Top Grain Leather. It is better that
you know these types to help you choose the best leather in the
market.
The aniline leather is for those who truly love natural
products. Materials made of the finest hides are fall under the
aniline leather. Only the best hides are used to make this type
of leather. This type of leather once placed in a room creates
beauty as it gets used through the years.
The full aniline is for products that are made from some of the
finest hides. Unlike Aniline, there are lesser choices of hides
that are used. There is also a slight protective finish that
gives the leather some serviceability.
The semi aniline is processed more. This is done dying the
material in large drums. This process will make the leather look
like Aniline or full aniline. They fall under the Grade B
category of hides and belong to next 15% of the supply. They are
also finished on top like the full Aniline. The tops of the
hides are sprayed with pigments to make an even finish and cover
some imperfections. Semi Aniline products are resistant to
scratch and light and can be easily cleaned.
The full grain leather has the natural markings and the grain
features of the animal from which the leather was taken. The
best leather of these types should be clean, supple and clear.
Some are also dyed with clear aniline dyes. When a full natural
grain is retained, that is the time you can consider it as a
full grain leather. The cheaper leather of these types has the
natural grains that were sanded away and the surfaces were
embossed with grains. They have thick coatings to cover the
imperfections, that is why they are stiff and look and feel like
plastic. If the full grain leather was made with hides, the
treatment is lesser and the natural grains should be exposed.
In choosing the best leather of this type, you should feel the
leather to test if it feels supple and natural to your touch.
You are sure that you chose the best leather if it smells good,
looks natural and soft to your touch. Make sure to make a
thorough inspection of the leather before you choose it and it
should have the full natural grain. Full grain leather should be
of the best quality.
The top grain leather is considered as the economy leather in
the market. Top grain leather is often misunderstood by a lot of
customers because of its name. The quality of this leather is
the contradiction of what the name implies. The leather of this
material is not genuine, which explains why it is called "top
grain". In this leather, the grains are only imitations stamped
on the leather since the original grains were sanded away. If
however, the genuine grains are still intact, the leather will
be called "full grain" or "full top grain". The top grain
leather is also considered the much weaker type of leather. Most
of the top grain leathers are graded lower but can be afforded
by many buyers.
When buying a leather of any type, be sure that you know the
grade of the leather you are buying. The leather