Leather, simple as it seems, is a term that applies to any use of the skin of an animal. Typical usage of the word “leather” implies tanned (chemically-treated) skin from which the hair has been removed. Rawhide is a non-tanned, but clean, dehaired, and dried skin. It is hard and tough, but can be beaten to make it pliable. Rawhide is used for traditional drumheads, and beaten rawhide for moccasin soles. What many people refer to as “rawhide lace” is almost never rawhide, but latigo, a very tough form of leather achieved through a particular tanning process.

Common sources of the leather that interests us are cows and pigs. Leather from sheep, goats, horses, deer, elk, and buffalo are also fairly common, but have a particular feel and are generally not used for leatherman gear. Leather can be made from the skin of virtually any mammal, though some are better suited for fur or “hair-on” uses, and most reptiles. For our purposes, and with some exceptions, cows are the predominant and best source of leather. Cowhides can be used for any leather product. Pigskin is generally used as a less costly substitute for cow leather, though it is sometimes used in garments for its particular grain. Learn to recognize pigskin by it’s coarser, more widely-spaced hair pattern, which can sometimes be difficult to discern. You’ll most commonly see it in jackets, chaps, gloves, and other garment items. Over time, cowhide looks and wears better.

A hide can be tanned, or converted into workable, durable leather, through numerous processes, including oil, chemical, vegetable, and brain tanning. Each of these processes yields a product with a particular feel and usefulness, each has certain qualities, and each has certain drawbacks. Most of the leather we use commercially is either chemical- (“chrome”) or vegetable-tanned. Vegetable tanning produces the majority of what is used for leatherman gear. Sometimes this leather is referred to as “vege-tan.” Vegetable-tanned leather is the most diversely useable type of leather.

A tanned cowhide is uneven in thickness, from over a half-inch thick over the shoulders of the animal, to less than an eighth-inch over the legs. Once the tanned hide has dried, it is skived to an even thickness, in much the same way as lumber is planed. After skiving, the hide is split to produce a hide of top grain (the smooth side) and suede. A suede hide may also be called a “split.” The top grain hide can be split in any thickness from paper thin to over a quarter-inch. If it is truly top grain, you can see the hair pattern on the surface of the leather. The thickness of the leather is its ounce weight, and you will see leather referred to as 1-2 ounce, 4-5 ounce, 10-11 ounce, etc. Originally, this referred to the weight of one square foot of leather. By weighing a hide, and measuring its thickness according to a standard, the square footage could be calculated easily and more precisely. 2-3 ounce leather makes a nice jacket or wallet, 4-5 ounce does well for chaps, 8-9 ounce is a fairly stout belt, and 10-11 ounce will make straps to hold up your bearfriend in his sling.

A vegetable-tanned hide is a peachy, Caucasian flesh color, which darkens with exposure to sunlight (not for the same reason you do). Fairly stiff, it is also porous, and will instantly absorb any liquid it comes into contact with. It should only be handled with clean, dry hands or cloth gloves. This leather is priced by the square foot, but sold by the hide or, more often, by the side, which is one-half of a hide, cut from neck to tail. Most sides are 20 to 25 square feet. Depending on the ounce weight, you may pay $250 or more for a side of untreated, vegetable-tanned leather. This leather is ready to be cut, tooled, dyed, and used, but that is for next month.

Tags: Leather Care