Sandy's Furniture Blog

Sandy’s Glossary of Commonly Used Leather Terms

June 27, 2012

Sandy’s Glossary of Common Leather Terms

Aniline Dyed

The process of colouring leathers using non-toxic aniline dyes. The dye is transparent and therefore allows nature’s signatures to remain visible.

Bi-cast Leather

This product comes in roll form like a fabric. Split leather is used as a backing for this product  so a customer can neither see or feel the leather. A finish is created by applying a sheet of plastic on the front surface, usually polyurethane (PU), to provide the color, texture and strength.

Bonded Leather

A polyurethane product is used and leather shavings are sprayed onto the back.  The purpose of bonded leather is to reduce cost.

Grain

The natural or embossed pattern and texture of a hide's surface.

Hide

The skin of an animal.

Leather-Match

Leather-match combines top-grain leather seating with skillfully matched vinyl on the sides and back of the furniture. Leather-match looks and feels like leather, at a more affordable price.

Polyurethane (PU)

This is a very effective form of plastic that can be applied to fabric or other products to create beautiful and durable surfaces. The product is considered safe if appropriate materials and dyes are used, and is recommended for applications that are price-sensitive and require a high degree of durability.

Protected Aniline

Leather that has been aniline dyed and then slightly pigmented to ensure colour consistency this also makes the surface more durable than a more natural and less-processed leather.

Split Leather

The process of tanning leather involves reducing the hide to the thickness required for upholstered products. The back of an animal has a thicker skin, so it is “split” to create a piece of leather out of this extra thickness. This is real leather but it has a stamped and painted surface in order to have the appearance of top grain leather. This is often use on the sides and back of the furniture to allow a more affordable price point. 

Top-grain leather

This leather comes from the outermost upper layer of the cowhide, and is the only leather recommended for all high quality sofa leather. This is the most durable part of a leather hide due to the strength of the fibres and the best top-grain hides reflect that the animal has lived in an environment that resulted in limited scratches, insect bites or other damage.

Vinyl

A product similar to PU but normally not as durable or versatile. It is normally lower in cost than PU so is used for “match” applications where strength is not an issue. This is often use on the sides and back of the furniture to allow a more affordable price point.