Leather Guide 101 By Krown Kouture

Leather, a material widely used and known! In fact, every person in this world owns leather in some form of the other. This is because of its wide usage in bags, shoes, belts, clothes and other goods. Also, this material has been around for ages. It’s an old craft with lots of tradition and terminology.

Moreover, there is a variety of leather types too. Each variety has its own unique characteristics, source and usage. Even the manufacturing process is different for each type. This results in various leather grades and tanning methods.

Krown Kouture gives you a two-part guide to leather. The first part gives details about the various sources of leather and their usage. While, the second part sheds light on the various tanning methods and leather grades.

Where is leather produced?

Undoubtedly, leather is present in every country. Yet, there are six major countries producing tanned leather. These are China, Italy, India, Brazil, Korea and Russia. Interestingly, 80% of the world’s leather goods production takes place in China. That’s quite a number!

Also, there are two types of leathers: real and synthetic. Real leather is usually made from animal skin. It can range from cow hide, buffalo to exotic leathers such as snake and alligator. These hides acquired from various countries and then shipped to other countries for the leather processing. 65% of leather comes from cows while 15% comes from sheep, 11% from pigs and 9% from goats. Less than 0.2% of leather comes from any other type of animal.

Common Sources

The most common sources of leather are Cowhide, Sheepskin, Pigskin, Goatskin and Horse Hide.

Cowhide

To start with, one of the most common sources of leather is a cow. A cowhide is quite thick. Eventually, it is made thin for its use in products. There are two layers to a cowhide. One of corium and the other is grain. Also, calfskins are thinner as compared to older cows. The very top part might contain hair, so buffing happens. It is durable and desired. This makes it an apt choice for leather jackets, coats and furniture as it is much sturdier. In fact, being the most common source, it is most commonly used too. It is an all-season leather. It is available in almost all shades. You can pair this up with any attire. Notably, with tan being the most common shade. Krown Kouture too uses this source of leather for its custom shoes, belts and jackets.

Other Cattle Skin

Another common form is sheepskin. Due to its fleece, slippers and rugs are made from it. The products come in soothing colors. And sheepskin rugs add to the aesthetic value of house or office. By the same token, Pigs create a much denser leather. It is very comfortable and water resistant leading to the production of gloves, shoes and sportswear. Most of the biker leather jackets are made from it. We suggest a pigskin black jacket to complete your biker look. On the other hand, is goat skin. It is characteristically thinner than cowhide and particularly soft and malleable to work with. Thereby, used to make bags and rugs. The bags made out of goatskin are very handy. A round the year, classy bag in every color!

Horse Hides

Next is the horse hides. Particularly durable leathers make use of it. Moreover, these hides are mostly solid colors such as brown or black. It is a very smooth leather. So, we don’t restrict it to a particular season. There is a form of horse hide, i.e, Cordovan leather. No doubt prized for its mirror-like finish and anti-creasing properties. High-end shoes use it. The production of this leather takes about 6 months. Not behind is the lamb and deerskin. Interestingly, used for soft leather in more expensive apparel. Deerskin is widely used in work gloves and indoor shoes

Exotic Sources

Furthermore, reptilian skins are the most exotic. This is because of their distinct pattern. Alligators, Crocodiles, Snakes, Ostriches and Kangaroos make up the exotic leather sources list. All these are available from exotic leather suppliers. And we suggest you carry these exotic leathers with custom and exclusive outfits.

Alligator

Uniquely, the scales of the species lend a distinct pattern. These are of high value! Shoes, boots, wallets, hats, belts and clothes, almost anything can be made from gator skin. In fact, gator skin is exclusive, and luxury intended. Many high-end brands and fashion designers implement crocodile. Alligator skin belts come in all colors, lengths, and thicknesses. Upholstery is a popular use and with the cost of Alligator Leather, it is reserved for very high-end applications, typically commercial or custom car interiors.

Crocodile Skin

Like gator skin, crocodile skin has wide luxury applications. The leather is durable and strong. is considered an exotic leather due to its relative rarity and the level of craftsmanship required to produce a finished crocodile hide for production uses such as handbags, apparel, furniture, and upholstery. The bespoke luxury handbags on the ramp are from croc skin.

Snake Skin

Snake leather is usually processed into bags, belts or shoes. As there are many snake species, there are also many snake leather types. The leather has various sources such as Python, Cobra, Water snake, Anaconda, Viper, Rattle snake, to name a few. Python leather is the most common due to its pattern. However, these species being endangered, causes an issue. Subsequently, making this category raise ethical concerns.

Ostrich and Kangaroo Leather

Another notable source is ostriches. Although originally raised for their feathers, ostriches are now more popular for both meat and leather. Ostrich leather has a characteristic ‘goose bump’ look because of the large follicles where the feathers grew. Also, different processes produce different finishes for many applications. Likewise, is kangaroo leather. Strong and flexible items make use of this. Mostly, used to make bullwhips. At times, it is also used for bike leather jackets, soccer footwear and boxing speed bags.

This is not the end! Stay tuned to Krown Kouture blog for the next part of this blog. Which will talk about the various tanning methods and leather grades.