LEATHER TERMINOLOGY

Bellies – Part of the hide from the underside of the animal.

Belt Blanks – Pre-cut belt blanks ready to be customized with your selection of hardware and custom touches. 

Branded – Hides featuring one or more brands which are marks made with a hot iron on a cow’s skin to indicate ownership. Brands add unique character and may be desirable depending on your project.

Carving – Decorative cuts applied to the grain side of dampened leather to outline a pattern that can be embellished with stamping, tooling and modelling to give a three-dimensional appearance.

Chrome Tanned – Tannage of leather with soluble chromium salts, primarily chromium sulfate. Small amounts of another tanning agent may be added, but not in amounts sufficient to change the chrome tanned character of the leather.

Distressed – This leather comes in a myriad of colors and pull-up finishes that add character and vintage style to your project. It’s tanned specifically to exhibit a distressed look reminiscent of leather that has aged beautifully with time and use.

Domestic Hides – Hides originating from the United States.

Embossing – A texture or pattern imprinted on the surface of leather by the tannery. In leather work, it refers to embellishing leather by exerting pressure on the flesh side so a design stands out in relief.

Finished Strap – Leather finished with a rich, deep color and a top coat that eliminates the need to dye your project.

Flesh Side – The inner side of a hide or skin.

Full Grain – Leather taken from the top layer of the hide that includes all its natural grain.

Grain Side – The outer side of a hide or skin. Also the pattern of the outer surface after the hair or wool have been removed.

Hair-on-Hides – Leather tanned without removing the hair from the skins or hide.

Harness – Stuffed with heavy tallows, harness leather offers exceptional weight, thickness, ease of cutting and durability. Its self-explanatory name sometimes expands to include collar and saddlery leathers. All harness leathers are generally made from vegetable tanned cattlehides.

Hot Stuffed - Hot stuffing is a process that dates back hundreds of years. The tanner utilizes heat to stuff the leather with a blend of natural waxes and tallows to impregnate it to the core ensuring a supple, weather-resistant finish. Hot stuffed leathers may bloom, or develop a cloudy, hazy look as the oils come to the surface. This bloom can be easily buffed away or will wear away as the item created from this leather is used.

Leather Pieces – Smaller pieces of leather perfect for smaller projects and repairs.

Milled – Hides are "milled" or tumbled in drums, increasing suppleness and pliability.

Modelling – A design impressed in low relief without cutting.

Nap – A process in which the natural grain layer of the leather is removed and the outer surface of the leather is then given a napped finish. See also "suede."

Nubuck – Buffed on the top grain with an oil to produce a subtle "nap" for a matte, sueded look.

Oil Tan – The process of tanning with animal oils, which is used in the manufacture of certain soft leathers, particularly chamois, and certain kinds of buckskins. Fish oil is generally used.

Patina – The unique character leather develops over time as it is exposed to the elements, regular use, and oils from the skin. A look that is coveted by many, some new leathers are finished by the tannery to mimic this effect.

Pebble Grain – An embossed leather grain finish resembling a pebbled surface.

Pigment – Leather coated with a material containing pigment or other opaque substance.

Piping – Creasing or wrinkling that appears on the grain side of leather after it is bent.

Pull-up Leather – The tannery applies a base dye before layering additional dyes and oils to achieve a uniform, darker look. As this leather is handled and the final product undergoes regular use, the character of the base dye is revealed and a well-worn finish emerges.

Shoulders – The part of the hide between the neck and the main body.

Side – Half a hide cut longitudinally or down the spine.

Skirting – A specialized cattlehide leather used for skirts or hanging portions of saddles that come between the legs of a rider and a horse. It molds and forms to seat, readily accepts tooling or embossing, and oils and dyes evenly for a uniform appearance.

Skived – Cutting off a thin layer to bring it to uniform thickness.

Splits – A term used to describe the under portion of the hide or skin, split into two or more thicknesses.

Stamping – Also known as tooling, stamping is a process used to adorn a leather’s surface with decorative designs using stamping tools.

Suede/Splits – Made from leather’s inner splits, suede is sanded to separate the fibers to produce suede’s trademark "nap." While it’s possible for the grain side to be suede finished, it’s more common for the flesh side to receive this treatment. The term suede refers to a finish, not a particular type of leather.

Tooling – Another term for stamping.

Top Grain – Grain leather from which the hair and natural grain have been sanded away. The leather is then stamped with an imitation grain for a consistent finish.

Vegetable Tanned – The process of making leather by the use of tannins obtained from barks, woods or other parts of plants and trees, as distinguished from "mineral tannages." Also referred to as veg tanned leather, it is prized by leather artisans for its exceptional beauty and workability.

Weight – Denoted in ounces with one ounce equaling 1/64" (.016 decimal inch) in thickness. One square foot of a 3 oz. leather will weigh 3 oz. This unit of measure is derived from one square foot of leather having a uniform thickness for its weight. Europe generally refers to leather in millimeters and one ounce converts to .41 mm. For easy measuring, we recommend investing in a gauge like this one that displays thickness in both ounces and millimeters.

Wet Molding – Shaping wet leather to create a three-dimensional design.

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*Descriptions are provided by Weaver Leather Supply