Leather and its types:
Introduction:
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical
treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come
from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, and aquatic animals such as
seals and alligators.
History:
Leather can be used to make a variety of items, including clothing, footwear, handbags,
furniture, tools and sports equipment, and lasts for decades. Leather making has been practiced
for more than 7,000 years and the leading producers of leather today are China and India.
Critics of tanneries claim that they engage in unsustainable practices that pose health hazards to
the people and the environment near them.
Production process:
The leather manufacturing process is divided into four fundamental sub processes:
Preparatory stages
Tanning
Crusting
Finishing
Preparatory stage:
The preparatory stages are when the hide is prepared for tanning. Preparatory stages may
include soaking, hair removal, liming, deliming, bating, bleaching, and pickling.
Fig: Raw hide
Tanning:
Tanning is a process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw hide to
increase the thermal, chemical and microbiological stability of the hides and skins, making it
suitable for a wide variety of end applications.
Difference between raw and tanned hide:
The principal difference between raw and tanned hides is that raw hides dry out to form a
hard, inflexible material that, when rewetted, will putrefy, while tanned material dries to a
flexible form that does not become putrid when rewetted.
Different methods of tanning:
Many tanning methods and materials exist.
The typical process sees tanners load the hides into a drum and immerse them in a tank that
contains the tanning "liquor”. The hides soak while the drum slowly rotates about its axis, and
the tanning liquor slowly penetrates through the full thickness of the hide. Once the process
achieves even penetration, workers slowly raise the liquor's pH in a process called basification,
which fixes the tanning material to the leather. The more tanning material fixed, the higher the
leather's hydrothermal stability and shrinkage temperature resistance.
Fig: leather tanning
Crusting:
Crusting is a process that thins and lubricates leather. It often includes a coloring
operation. Chemicals added during crusting must be fixed in place. Crusting culminates with a
drying and softening operation, and may include splitting, shaving, dyeing, whitening or other
methods.
Fig: crust leather
Finishing:
For some leathers, tanners apply a surface coating, called "finishing". Finishing
operations can include oiling, brushing, buffing, coating, polishing, embossing, glazing,
or tumbling, among others.
Currying:
Leather can be oiled to improve its water resistance. This currying process after tanning
supplements the natural oils remaining in the leather itself, which can be washed out through
repeated exposure to water. Frequent oiling of leather, with mink oil, neatsfoot oil, or a similar
material keeps it supple and improves its lifespan dramatically.
Fig: finishing of leather
Types of leather on the Basis of Tanning methods:
Tanning processes largely differ in which chemicals are used in the tanning liquor. Some
common types include:
Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using tannins extracted from vegetable matter, such as
tree bark prepared in bark mills. It is the oldest known method. It is supple and light brown
in color, with the exact shade depending on the mix of materials and the color of the skin.
The color tan derives its name from the appearance of undyed vegetable-tanned leather.
Vegetable-tanned leather is not stable in water; it tends to discolor, and if left to soak and
then dry, it shrinks and becomes harder, a feature of vegetable-tanned leather that is
exploited in traditional shoe making. In hot water, it shrinks drastically and partly congeals,
becoming rigid and eventually brittle. Boiled leather is an example of this, where the leather
has been hardened by being immersed in boiling water, or in wax or similar substances.
Historically, it was occasionally used as armor after hardening, and it has also been used
for book binding.
Fig: vegetable-tanned leather in book binding
Chrome-tanned leather is tanned using chromium sulfate and other chromium salts. It is
also known as "wet blue" for the pale blue color of the undyed leather. The chrome tanning
method usually takes approximately one day to complete, making it best suited for large-
scale industrial use. This is the most common method in modern use. It is more supple and
pliable than vegetable-tanned leather and does not discolor or lose shape as drastically in
water as vegetable-tanned. However, there are environmental concerns with this tanning
method, as chromium is a heavy metal; while the trivalent chromium used for tanning is
harmless, other byproducts can contain toxic variants. The method was developed in the
latter half of the 19th century as tanneries wanted to find ways to speed up the process and to
make leather more waterproof.[8][7]
Aldehyde-tanned leather is tanned using glutaraldehyde or oxazolidine compounds. It is
referred to as "wet white" due to its pale cream color. It is the main type of "chrome-free"
leather, often seen in shoes for infants and automobiles. Formaldehyde has been used for
tanning in the past; it is being phased out due to danger to workers and sensitivity of many
people to formaldehyde.
Chamois leather is a form of aldehyde-tanned leather that is porous and highly water-
absorbent. Chamois leather is made using oil (traditionally cod oil)[9] that oxidizes to
produce the aldehydes that tan the leather.
Brain tanned leathers are made by a labor-intensive process that uses emulsified oils, often
those of animal brains such as deer, cattle, and buffalo. Leather products made in this
manner are known for their exceptional softness and washability.
Fig: Brain tanned leather
Alum leather is transformed using aluminium salts mixed with a variety of binders
and protein sources, such as flour and egg yolk. Alum leather is not actually tanned;
rather the process is called "tawing", and the resulting material reverts to rawhide if
soaked in water long enough to remove the alum salts.
Types of leather in terms of Grades:
In general, leather is produced in the following grades:
Top-grain leather includes the outer layer of the hide, known as the grain, which features
finer, more densely packed fibers, resulting in strength and durability. Depending on
thickness, it may also contain some of the more fibrous under layer, known as the corium.
Types of top-grain leather include:
Full-grain leather contains the entire grain layer, without any removal of the surface.
Rather than wearing out, it develops a patina during its useful lifetime. It is usually
considered the highest quality leather. Furniture and footwear are often made from full-grain
leather. Full-grain leather is typically finished with a soluble aniline dye. Russia leather is a
form of full-grain leather.
Corrected grain leather has the surface subjected to finishing treatments to create a more
uniform appearance. This usually involves buffing or sanding away flaws in the grain, then
dyeing and embossing the surface.
Split leather is created from the corium left once the top-grain has been separated from the
hide, known as the drop split. In thicker hides, the drop split can be further split into a
middle split and a flesh split.
Suede is made from the underside of a split to create a soft, napped finish. It is often made
from younger or smaller animals, as the skins of adults often result in a coarse, shaggy nap.
Fig:Different grades of leather
