How to identify high-quality leather items? At tanneries, people are often scammed by selling low-quality leather at high prices.
You should be well aware of the difference between high-quality goods and scams. Having compact knowledge about the quality of leather can save plenty of time and energy.
A leather product should be closely analyzed before buying to avoid getting deceived. In this blog, we will dig into seven steps of identifying high-quality leather from poor ones.
Step 1. Examining the Leather Grade
There are various grades of leather and products are made by different grades according to the manufacturing needs of products.
Grades are differentiated based on how the leather has been bonded. Low-graded leather is bonded with glue and then painted to give a compact look. Hence, high-grade leather should always be preferred.
Best grade leather is full-grain leather while top-grain leather is of moderate quality.
Step 2. Knowing the Origin of the Leather
One must ask the seller about the leather’s origin. So far, European leather is considered the best leather among all as it is made with vigilance by following environment-friendly practices.
Step 3. Smelling the Product
Original leather has its unique leather smell whereas synthetic leather smells like plastic or chemically treated material. Low-quality leather also has a lighter leather smell because it is taken from the cheap hides of animals. High-quality leather has a pungent smell.
Step 4. Feeling the Leather by Touching
High-quality leather has natural patterns whereas machine-made leather has a smooth layer and it feels like plastic.
Synthetic leather is made with PU coating over split leather, any leather looking like this should be avoided. Products with lots of blemishes should also be avoided.
Bonded leather is made by attaching layers of leather which should not be chosen for shopping. Always go for fine textured natural-looking leather.
Step 5. Checking the Stitching of the Product
High-quality products are stitched by hand whereas machine-made leather goods are stitched by machines. Hand-stitched products are highly durable and stitching is very clear.
They are made with unique styles whereas machine-made products have a uniform look. The bottom thread of stitching must be checked because it says a lot about the quality.
Therefore, always go for hand-made leather products as they are certainly of high class.
Step 6. Analyzing the Edges of the Product
Edges are painted to hide the blemishes which shows that the tannery has not properly tanned the leather.
If the edges are blue it is a sign of improper tanning. To differentiate between low-quality and high-quality edges, you should gently run the thumbnail on the edges and make sure that the paint is not lifted.
Good quality leather products have perfectly made edges which also show the skills and hard work of the craft men.
Step 7. Checking the Thinness of Leather
High-quality and skilled craftsmanship reduces the bulkiness of leather by creating a fine and thin layered product. However, poor leather products fail to attain a delicacy having a rough and sturdier look.
Furthermore, even if we have purchased a top-quality product, leather goods need additional care to increase their life. This purpose is achieved easily nowadays with the help of various products available in the market like cleaning and conditioning sprays and color restorers.
Conclusion
Grabbing a great quality leather product becomes easy if all these points are kept in mind and it saves money, time, and energy.
Asking the shopkeeper about the origin of leather, examining the grade, smelling, and touching the leather helps a lot in differentiating between top-class and poor leather.
Moreover, the stitching, edges, and thinness speak clearly about the quality. Along with that, leather items demand additional care every so often.
Frequently Asked Questions.
What is a 100 % leather called?
The highest quality leather that is 100 % leather is called ‘full-grain leather’.
How can we identify cheap quality leather?
It looks machine-made with a uniform and smooth grain texture. Real leather is taken from animals that have imperfections on the layer.
What is synthetic leather?
It is a poor-quality leather that is made of synthetic components including PVC, nylon, and PU. These chemicals give it a real look.
What does the term ‘genuine leather’ mean?
Unlike the name, it is a low-grade leather with a small percentage of leather.
Is full-grain leather expensive or synthetic leather?
Synthetic leather is not expensive because it does not have high production costs whereas full-grain leather is the most natural form of leather and is very expensively sold by the seller.