Leather Facts
TOP GRAIN LEATHER
The most confusing term used in the furniture industry is the term ” top grain’. It can be a contradiction because it often implies what it is not. “Top grain”, is the definition that is generally used when the grain is not genuine: when the real grain is sanded away and an imitation grain is stamped into the leather. When the genuine grain remains, the leather is called, “full grain,” or ” full top grain, ” not simply” top grain.”
Webster dictionary offers nearly a hundred definitions for the word “top”. They include: the highest point,the summit, the best, the upper-surface, the lid, the supreme, the choicest part, the cream, the pick. It also means to excel, to surpass, to dominate or to be superior to the rest.
When one hears the term “top grain” it’s reasonable to assume it’s the best. But, if the real grain is gone, can that be true? If the real grain was removed and replaced by an imitation grain, the result is neither the best nor the uppermost.
If you want the best, insist upon leather which retains the entire original grain. Insist upon receiving the full grain.
Top grain is generally not the tops!
FULL GRAIN LEATHER
Just as the grain , texture and markings of wood should reveal the nature of the tree from which it came, leather should display the natural markings and grain characteristics of the animal from which it was taken. The best upholstery leathers are clear,clean, and supple. They are also dyed through with transparent aniline dyes. The full natural grain is retained and they are called “full grain leather.”
Cheaper leather have the natural or genuine grain sanded away and an imitation grain pressed or embossed into the surface.They are stiff and “boardy” with a heavy coating of pigmentation to cover up imperfections and they look and feel much like plastic.
The better the quality of hide or skin, the less it has to be treated. The natural grain variations should be exposed. One should see the “fat wrinkles” and the feel, or hand, should be supple and natural to the touch. So when choosing your leather, make sure it looks natural, smells good, and has a soft hand. Inspect your leather carefully. Make certain that it retains the full natural grain.
Full grain leather - it is the tops!
Hides selected for furniture are sliced to a uniform thickness on precision machines. Only the surface (top grain) is used. The lower portions or splits are weaker, due to the elongated cell structure. Splits are subject to stretching and therefore provide an unstable base which results in cracking of topcoat finishes. The familiar “chamois” used in auto care is an example of split leather.
These terms below are classified at the tannery level and are not grades of leathers used by manufactures. For furniture manufacture grades, see individual companies for their leather grading structure.
“This information listed here is a grading structure used at the tannery level and are not grades of leather used by manufactures on their furniture.
For the production of every kind of hides for furnishings, from the most prized to the most ordinary, hides from various countries and regions are used. Pig hides are also used in the furniture industry, but this sort of leather does not meet durability requirements or quality. The place of origin of raw hides can be divide into three groups.
A. Hides from Southern Germany, Hides from Swiss pastures, Scandinavian Bull hides from Norway and Finland. Hides from Northern Italy.
B. Hides from Northern Germany, English hides, Dutch hides, and North American US hides.
C. Australian Hides, African hides, South American hides, Hides from Asia.
This entry was posted on 10. March 2008 at 00:00 and is filed under Site Links. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.