Leather is made from tanned animal skins. It is available in all kinds of weights, types and tanning methods. Here are some of the terms used when talking about leather.

Bridle

Firm, rich-colored leather with just enough oils to withstand weather. Great feeling leather can be oiled for darker hues.
Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belts, straps, fine pet collars, leashes, gun belts.

Chrome Oil Tanned

Beautiful, durable leather has just the right amount of oil for a soft, supple feel.
Chrome-Tanned.

Great for: Chaps, cases & bags, boots.

Kipskin

Very clean piece of leather that dyes and stamps beautifully. Produced from smaller calf hides.
Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belt liners, personal leather goods.

Latigo

Latigo leather is combination tanned to make it rigid but very pliable, great for use on products in which strength and flexibility are needed. 
Chrome Veg Retanned.

Great for: Tack, straps, belts, pet collars, leashes, cinches.

Natural Vegetable Tanned Strap, Tooling & Molding Leather

Perfect leather for tooling, embossing, molding, dyeing & oiling. Uniformly absorbs dyes and oils. Dries to a firm, long-lasting shape. 
Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belts, straps, holsters & sheaths.

Shearlings & Sheepskins

Beautiful quality wool sheepskins in a variety of thicknesses. Available in both veg tan and chrome tan in a variety of shades and colors.

Great for: Lining saddles, padding, ect.

Suede

Finished by buffing the flesh side of the hide to produce a “nap”. 
Chrome Tanned.

Great for: Chaps, garments, trim.

Upholstery Leather

Soft, supple leather that is very strong and durable. Tanned in whole hides for little waste and for use in automotive and restoration upholstery where larges pieces of leather are desirable. 
Chrome Tanned.

Great for: Upholstery, garments.

Glossary of Leather Terminology

Aniline: A colorless oily liquid made from coal tar used in making dyes and resins in organic synthesis.

Aniline dye: The type of dye used to give the initial color to a skin.

Aniline leather: Aniline dying is the process of putting skins into a drum and allowingthe dye to soak completely through.

Semi-Aniline: Aniline leather to which a matching pigment is added to even out the color and add protection.

Back: A side with the belly cut off, usually 15 – 18 sq. ft on a cow hide.

Bark tanned: Leather which has been vegetable tanned mainly by means of tannins contained in the bark of trees.  

Belly: The lower part of a side, usually 4 – 8 sq. ft. on a cow hide.

Bovine: An animal belonging to the cattle or ox family.   

Buffed leather: Leather from which the grain is removed by an abrasive or bladed cylinder. This process is used in altered or corrected grain leather.

Combination tannage: Leather which receives chrome and vegetable tannage producing suppleness and body in the hide.

Corrected grain: Commonly referred to as top grain. Lacking an intact full grain surface. Usually heavily pigmented.

Cowhide: Term specifically applied to leather made from hides of cows, although the term is sometimes loosely used to designate any leather tanned from hides of animals of the bovine species.  

Drum dyeing: The application of dyestuffs to leather by the immersion of the leather in a drum that is tumbled. This process allows full dye penetration into the fiber.

Embossed leather: Usually corrected grain, in which a pattern is applied by extreme pressure in a press to give a unique design or imitation of full grain characteristics. Sometimes leathers are embossed to make them appear to be another leather, such as embossing an alligator pattern into cowhide.  

Fat wrinkle: Wrinkles in the grain of leather caused by fat deposits in the animal, that create beauty in the leather. Fat wrinkles are not visible in imitation grain leather.

Finish: Generally defines a surface application on the leather to color, protect or mask imperfections. More specifically, it refers to all processes administered to leather after it has been tanned.

Full grain: Leather in which the grain layer or dermis has not been altered. The grain layer gives each type of leather its distinctive appearance.  

Grain (leather): The outside of the hide or skin consisting of the pores, cells, wrinkles and other characteristics which constitute the natural texture of the leather. 

Grain, embossed: An artificial grain pressed into the surface of top grain leather from which the original grain has been removed.  

Hand: A leather industry term used to describe the feel, i.e. suppleness or fullness of leather. Leather can be soft, medium, and firm. 

Hide: The pelt of a large animal with the hair removed.

Hump Hole: A narrow slit occasionally found along the spine area. The holes are due to certain breeds of steer having a “hump” on the spine that must be cut/slit so that the hide will lay flat during the tanning process. Commin to certain breeds of cow the split typically does not effect yields.

Kip: The hide from a grass-fed, immature bovine.

Leather: An animal hide which has been preserved and dressed for use. Typical hides include

• Cowhide
• Elkskin
• Water Buffalo
• Deerskin
• Goatskin
• Pigskin
• Lambskin
• Sheepskin

Matte finish: A flat or dull finish.

Milling: The leather is tumbled or “milled” in a large drum to produce a softer more pliable product. Many times this operation can create a slight “pebble” appearance in the surface of the leather.

Naked leather: A dyed leather which has received no topical application that may mask or alter the natural state of the leather.

Nubuck: A leather whose surface has been buffed and brushed to create a soft, velvety effect. Differs from suede in that while suede is created from the flesh (inner) side of a hide, nubuc is created using the grain (outer) side, giving it added strength and durability.    

Patent leather: Leather with a glossy impermeable finish produced by successive coats of drying oils, varnish, or synthetic resins.

Patina: A natural characteristic that develops on full grain leather through normal use over a period of time.

Pelt: Usually refers to the hide of a small to medium fur bearing animal with the hair left on.

Perforated: In leather, this is the process of die-cutting small holes to form a pattern. The holes can vary in size, density and pattern.

Rawhide: Untanned or partially tanned hides. Usually the hair is removed, the hide is stretched and allowed to dry and nothing is applied to the hide.  This produces a stiff hide that softens when put back into water. It can then be cut unto strips for lacing things together or into shapes to make something like a saddle bag or moccasin soles.

Retannage: A modifying secondary tannage applied after intermediate operations following the primary tannage to further enrich and enhance the quality of the leather.   

Shrunken grain leather: A full, natural grain leather which is shrunken to enlarge and enhance the grain character of the leather.

Side: Half a hide cut along the back bone.  

Skive: The shave, slice or divide to peel into a thin layer, or to reduce leather to a specific thickness.  

Split leather: Leather made from the bottom split, or reticular layer of the hide, which has an imitation grain embossed into a heavily finished pigmented surface to simulate papillary leather.

Suede: A fibrous leather, typically made from the reticular part of the hide.

Sueding: The process of raising fibers on the grain side of a hide or skin to give a velvet nap effect. This is generally called “nubuck” or “grain sueded.”  

Tannage:

• Brain Tan – The brain of any animal is enough to tan its hide. This is also referred to as Smoke Tanned because in this tanning method, the hide is held above a fire and smoked to prevent shrinkage and/or stretching if it gets wet.
• Chrome Tan – Leather tanned with chromium salts resulting in soft, mellow hides receptive to excellent color variety.
• Vegetable Tan – The conversion of raw hide into leather by use of vegetable tannins. This process produces leather with greater body and firmness than the more general method of chromium tanning.

Tannin: Any various solvent, astringent substances of plant origin used in tanning leather.

Temper: Defines the pliability or softness of the leather.

• FIRM – Leather that has hard and rigid characteristics. Firm leather represents products requiring very little flexibility. Belt, straps, ect.
• REGULAR – Leather is slightly firm and having no rigid qualities. When worked, regular leathers display smooth, even folds. Shoes, boots, ect.
• MELLOW – This type of leather is very limber and pliant. No snap when worked, tends to lack firmness. Hand bags, sneakers, ect.
• SOFT – Leather that is extremely flexible and pliant. Garments, upholstery, ect.

Top grain: An over-used term commonly used to refer to corrected grain leather. See Corrected Grain.

Trim: The removal of the outer edges of the hide not suitable for making leather.

Tumbled: The leather is tumbled or “milled” in a large drum to produce a softer more pliable product. Many times this operation can create a slight “pebble” appearance in the surface of the leather. 

Upholstery leather: A general term for leather processed for many uses, including furniture, automobiles, aircraft, architectural applications, etc.

Weight: The thickness of leather is measured by it’s weight in ounces per square foot. Weight’s are approximate and may fluctuate up to 1oz depending on the type of hide.