Leather Terminology

There are various terms that belong to the good leather world. You may have heard many of them, but I bet you don’t know all of them. Covering all the terms related to leather in just one article is nearly impossible, as there are so many. However, most of the leather terms used in the English language are provided in this article by LeatherBlues. The leather terminology is listed in alphabetical order so that readers can easily find relevant terms without getting lost among similar groups of terms. So, let’s get started with A.

Aniline leather: Term mostly used for full grain leather that has been dyed with aniline dyes retaining the natural grain texture

Aniline dyed: Aniline dyed is the process of coloring the leather through a dye technique which involves putting skins into the drum containing colorants and allowing the leather to soak the dye completely

Aniline finish: Aniline leather has the most natural finish which involves the natural grain structure and is lightly coated if any extra finish is applied

Antiqued: An artificial leather finish that gives the leather an aged look. It involves finishing leather with one color over another, darker or lighter as desired so as to create some highlights of two-tone

Belly: The part of the animal hide that is the underside or between the legs of the animal

Buffed leather: The buffing process involves the removal of surface imperfections by removing the top layer of leather by abrasion or blade cylinder. Nubuck leather is a good example. Buffing can be done by hand or by machine

Burnish: the process of smoothing and polishing the cut edges of leather to achieve a finished look and enhance its durability

Calf: The skin of a young bovine animal such as a baby cow

Chrome Tanned: The process of transforming rawhide into leather by using chromium salts as the tanning agent. Chrome tanning is the most popular type of leather tanning

Chrome retan: Chrome retan leather is a type of leather produced using a combination tanning process

Combination-tanned: Combination-tanned leather, as the name suggests, is leather that has been processed using two different tanning methods. This allows manufacturers to create leather with specific properties that wouldn’t be achievable with just one tanning method. For instance, chrome tanned then vegetable-tanned

Corrected grain: leather whose grain layer has been modified by various methods such as buffing, coating, embossing, etc.

Cowhide: Leather made out of cow skin. It is often used for leather derived from any bovine animal in some countries

Crocking: Removing extra color that often rubs off in a newly dyed hyde

Crust: Leather that has been tanned and dyed but not further finished

Crunchy leather: Crunchy leather is a lightweight yet very durable leather known for its slightly stiff and textured surface having a pleasant “crunch” sound when squeezed or handled.

Distressed: Another name for antiqued leather

Drum dyeing: The process of dyeing leather by putting it in a rotating drum containing dyes. The method used to dye leather through maximum dye penetration

Embossed leather: Leather that has undergone the stamping process which involves pressing the plates that contain the desirable pattern on the leather using a press. For instance, embossing the crocodile leather pattern on leather by embossing

Eco tanned leather: The leather that has been tanned using an environmentally friendly tanning process such as vegetable tanning

Fat tanned: Leather that has been tanned by using animal fats as a tanning agent

Finish: The final process in leather manufacturing that involves the application of the final coating on the leather

Fleshing: process of removal of extra flesh from raw leather hides before tanning

Full grain: The type of leather with an original grain surface that has not undergone any surface modifications such as buffing and sanding

Fat liquoring: The process of replacing oils that have been lost during the processing of hide. Oils are essential for the longevity of leather

Fat wrinkles: Fat wrinkles are the uneven surface of animal leather due to the presence of extra fat in some areas. They enhance the beauty of real leather and synthetic leather material doesn’t have fat wrinkles

Full aniline: Another name for aniline leather that is full grain and dyed using aniline dyes

Grain: The term used to describe the natural texture of animal hide such as hair cells, pores, wrinkles, branding, etc.

Glazed leather: Glazed leather is a type of leather with a shiny, smooth finish. It achieves this look through a specific treatment applied during the tanning such as a glazing agent applied to the leather surface. This agent can be made from various materials, such as casein (a protein derived from milk) or synthetic resins.

Glove leather: Soft leather such as lambskin that is typically used for gloves

Hand antiqued: A process in which contrast color is applied by hand rubbing to keep hide natural grain

Hand: A term used to describe leather’s softness and feel

Hide: Term used to describe whole animal skin

Imitation leather: A kind of synthetic leather that is produced by plastic polymers that mimics the surface look of real leather

Leather: The animal skin that has undergone tanning to make it imperishable

Liming: The process of removing hair from animal skin by using chemicals such as calcium carbonate

Milling: The process of tumbling the leather in a rotating drum with heat and water to make it softer, and flexible and improve the grain

Natural grain: Term used to describe the leather that has the natural texture of animal skin that has not been modified by any means

Nubuck: Top grain leather that has undergone buffing to remove the outer smooth finish. It has a velvety and napped surface

Naked: Naked leather refers to leather that has undergone minimal processing after tanning. Unlike other types of leather that might have a finish applied for shine, protection, or altered texture, naked leather remains in its most natural state

Nap: The soft fuzzy surface just like velvet that can be achieved by buffing or splitting

Oil leather: The type of leather that has been tanned or finished with oil. Also known as oily pull up leather

Oily: Another term sometimes used to describe oil leather in some countries. For instance cow oily leather

Patina: The surface finish and luster that develops as the real leather ages

Pigment: An additional coating that is added to leather to protect it from damage. However, pigment often hides the natural surface finish of the leather. Leather is known as pigmented leather

Printed leather: Leather with a special surface pattern often achieved through embossing or printing by colors

Protected leather: Pigmented leather is known as protected leather

Pull up: Leather that has been treated with oils and waxes. It tends to change color under tension or when pulled

Pure aniline: Another name for full aniline leather

Patent leather: A leather with a high gloss finish that resembles the glass surface. Gloss is achieved by special oil and resin coatings

Perforated: Leather in which a small hole pattern is stamped using a die

Plating: Process used to mask imperfection in upholstery leather which involves pressing it under heated plates

Rawhide: Animal hide that is ready for tannin but has not been tanned yet

Re tanned: Leather that has been tanned and has been subjected to additional tanning

Sauvage/Kela: A two-tone effect for added depth and character

Sammiering: The process of removing excessive water from hides by pressing

Semi-aniline: The leather that has been aniline dyed but also contains a small amount of pigment

Shrunken grain: Leather that is deliberately tanned in such a way as to shrink the natural grain and create a grain surface with uneven folds and valleys

Saddle leather: A tough leather such as full grain leather that is used to make saddles and harness

Saddle soap: Saddle soap is a cleaning and conditioning product specifically formulated for leather

Side leather: Half of the animal hide that is divided along the line of the backbone

Split leather: The underlayer of animal hide after the top layers are separated

Suede: Leather made from split leather

Synthetic leather: Another term for imitation leather

Synthetic tanning: A type of chrome-free leather that has been tanned using aromatic polymers. It is a kind of alternative to chrome and vegetable tanning

Tanning: Process of transforming raw animal skins into durable material called leather using tannin

Top finished: Another term for finish

Top grain: The top portion of leather that has been treated with surface enhancing methods to get the desired surface such as buffing, sanding, or spiting grain layer

Top coat: Another term used to describe the final finish, sometimes also refers to the application of synthetic resins to protect leather or to get a desired glossy finish

Two-tone: Another term for antiqued leather

Upholstery leather: Leather used to make seating of airplanes, automobile interiors, furniture, and other upholstery applications

Vegetable tanned: A type of leather that has been tanned using natural tanning agents derived from plants. It is environmentally friendly leather that is dyed with natural dyes

Vegan leather: Another term for synthetic and imitation leather that is made out of plastic polymer

Water resistant: Leather which is coated with waterproofing layers such as resins and oils

Waxed leather: Kind of pull up leather that has been treated with wax to enhance the water resistance and appearance

Wet blue: After chrome tanning, leather is wet and its color appears blue before further processing. It is also the inspiration behind the name of our brand, LeatherBlues.

Weight: The term to describe the density and thickness of leather in some countries. Typically given in ounces per square foot or millimeters (thickness).

Whole hide: A leather created using whole animal hide. Typically smaller animal skins such as goat, calf, lamb, etc. is used as a single piece

Whole grain: Another term for full grain leather