About the leather we use

The leather characteristics we use:

  • Vegetable tanned square shoulder
  • Premium Italian quality
  • Oiled leather (Vacchetta) 
  • Aniline (Full Grain) finishing

What is Full Grain Leather?

Full-grain leather is the toughest kind of leather and has the most character. It’s the entire hide of the animal once the hair is removed and the material is tanned.

How Full Grain Leather is Made

Full-grain leather is made from the whole hide of the animal, whether it is cow (cowhide) leather, kangaroo, or any other animal. The hide of an animal is strongest and most durable just below the hair. Once the hair is removed during processing, the natural grain pattern is visible. The leather made with this part of the hide is called full-grain leather, and because the grain is tighter at this layer, it resists moisture very well. Full-grain leather incorporates the entire grain of the hide with all the imperfections and inherent toughness of the material. 

Quality

The properties of full-grain leather are derived from the skin of the animal it comes from. Because it is not trimmed or shaved to remove imperfections or make it thinner, it displays any scratches, imperfections or damage on the animal’s hide while it was alive. Full-grain leather is usually hard and tough since it is thicker than other leathers like top-grain. It is harder to work with as well, resulting in the higher cost of the end product. Full-grain leather looks better with time as it absorbs oils and develops a patina from being handled.

Appearance

All full-grain leather will be marked with the scratches and imperfections that result from wear and tear from the animal’s activity, like insect bites and rubbing against a fence. The high-end manufacturers do not use hides with obvious defects, but even the best quality hides will have minor imperfections. These imperfections add to the individuality of each leather product and are an indicator that it is genuine full-grain leather. The leather’s appearance will tell the story of the animal it is from, by tracing the history through the marks and blemishes that each event has left upon it.

Vegetable Tanning

Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest methods of leather tanning and consists in transforming a raw animal skin into a material that respects its original characteristics as much as possible, using, as chemical reagents, only substances found in nature (in particular in the bark of some trees) called tannins. The so-called "vegetable tanned leather" derives from this complex transformation process.

Vegetable tanning is a natural process that respects the animal and the environment and exploits the substances present in nature to give unique characteristics to the leather. Furthermore, this process takes place without upsetting the leather and without treating it aggressively. Finally, we would like to underline the fact that the raw hides used for tanning are a recycled material as they derive from cattle and sheep raised not for their skin but for the food industry. This aspect means that no animal is killed in order to benefit the tanning process.

For all these reasons, vegetable tanned leathers not only do not contain toxic substances that are harmful to humans and the environment, but are also usually well tolerated by people allergic to heavy metals.

What does it mean Aniline Leather?

Aniline Leather is a type of finishing that keeps the surface of skin (also called full grain or top grain) uncovered and visible to the naked eye. The treatment is done through the immersion of the skin in transparent tanks that gives the product color while maintaining the typical visible pores and skin of the animal. In this guide we will see an overview of this type of finishing, its history and all necessary advice, before and after purchase of the products. In the world of leather, aniline has always been synonymous with refinement and represents the best kind of leather that the tanning industry has to offer. This production process brings some advantages and disadvantages.

 

Advantages of Aniline Leather hides

  • Very natural to the touch and to the sight

  • Luxury effect

  • Keeps intact the characteristics and signs that make each skin unique and different from other skins

  • Only the best hides can be used

Disadvantages of Aniline Leather hides

  • More delicate than other kinds

  • Higher Prices

 

aniline leather

Main features of aniline leather

Aniline leather, as already said, is one of the finest leathers and refined, mainly used to create valuable objects in the field of leather goods production. You can in example realize handbags, wallets, belts, clutches or other small, high-quality objects with this kind of leather. This type of tanning gives to the skin a very natural look and it is possible to see with the eyes the natural grain on the skins in all its splendor.