My Journal

  Leather is a perfect material for making accessory items. The durability and appealing richness of leather make it the best choice for gloves, shoes, handbags, briefcases, belts, and jackets. The many techniques for creating leather products have existed for centuries, but their modern refinements have made today's huge selection of fantastic leather items better than ever. Leather is the result of the tanning process applied to animal skins. Cowhide is used for most leather products, but pigskin, deerskin, and lambskin also are made into fine leather items. Animal hides are tough in their raw form but will decay rather rapidly unless they are processed and tanned. Leather tanning is the process of using chemicals to alter the protein structure of the raw animal hide to make it more stable, more durable, and longer lasting. There are roughly four stages in the tanning process. First, the hide is prepared by removing any remaining flesh and fat and then applying one of several met...

  There is a lot of mis-information on the internet concerning the best way to clean leather. People who unwittingly take bad advice seriously can damage their fine leather furniture. Recently, in an Internet posting a supposed expert recommended using bleach to clean leather. Most people instinctively know that to be wrong. However, there may be some who unwittingly take that advice and ruin their leather in the process. But wait, there's more. Another article appeared in a highly respected print magazine with specific suggestions. In the article it is recommended to use household cleaners on leather. While bleach isn't considered a standard household cleaner, other chemistry found under your sink may be as serious a problem. Here's a fact: using a household cleaner can easily discolor or worse permanently damage fine leather furniture. A minor lesson in basic chemistry will make this problem clear. It has to do with a little known leather attribute - the pH of leather. Wh...

  Generally luxury leather goods have always been trendier with women that like to boast the hottest leather gifts to their friends. But lately, the passion for men's leather goods such as leather jackets, wallets and bags has certainly increased. In the past, women had always adored having luxury leather accessories like shoes, fine belts or fashionable handbags hanging over their shoulder but men in comparison were less demanding. The desire for men's leather goods in the past was never very high but recently, even men are taking more interest in fashion and here is the latest trend of leather goods being treated as a designer accessory. As a matter of fact, men's leather goods such as wallets and belts are enjoying the success due to its increased availability across most luxury stores. A man now enjoys the classic, sporty or trendy look with the help of leather accessories. Gone are the days when trendy leather wallets or other leather accessories were associated with w...

  Leather History and Uses Have you ever been interested in where leather originated from and how it is processed? There are many things out there on leather history and the process of making leather. Leather goods served many purposes in ancient times and leather also serves many purposes in the day and time. There are also methods of processing leather, such as the method of tanning leather. Some things have changed in the processing of leather in today's time then how it was processed in ancient times. Ancient Times: The earliest records date from the Paleolithic period on the use of leather. In ancient times leather was used for many things in peoples lives. Leather clothing served great proposes for harsh winters. Ancient times people would use the leather clothing to keep their bodies warm during these harsh winters. These people would use the leather as a source of clothing do to the weight and stability of the leather. The leather clothing was lighter and stronger then the ...

  Leather care is easy if you get the basics right. Leather can be restored, but regular maintenance is highly recommended and more cost effective. Leather surfaces, are just like beautiful delicate skin. Leather care is basically a four-step process of cleaning, conditioning, polishing and finally adding a moisture barrier to your fine leather products. Any leather care enthusiast will tell you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If cared for properly, your leather will last and stay in good shape for years, even decades. Even if you only have one leather handbag or leather product; proper maintenance is critical. You have already made an investment in your leather handbag, briefcase or accessory and want to protect your investment. For cleaning you can use any of several good leather cleaners on the market; just follow the manufacturer's directions. Always rub in the direction of the leather grain, being careful not to rub too hard. A mild dish washing liquid mi...

  You left the car window down or the sunroof open and there's a   water stain in your car's leather seat ....or your girlfriend spilled here red wine in your   leather car seat   on a night out on the town....or your kids decided they were a soon to be artist and tried their techniques out on your   leather car seat   with a pen, arrggg. Got kids myself, so feel your pain. Stain removal in leather seats can be tough, here's a few tricks to help get you going. As a professional leather repair specialist I'm here to tell you that there are not to many products that can be used on a  leather car seat  that won't remove the finish before  removing the stain . Most leather in today's cars is a  finished leather  with a water borne urethane  leather dye  applied to it and is pretty susceptible to chemicals and can be removed pretty easily with a solvent cleaner. So when in doubt call a professional. Water stains in Leather Seat...

  There is a common misuse of the word "dye" in the leather repair and restoration business. There are two methods for coloring leather. 1. Dyes. 2. Dyes and then pigment coated. It is very rare that leather would be pigment coated without having been dyed first. Starting with the basics - Animal skins are tanned. This process converts the skin to leather. The main purpose of tanning is to preserve the hide. It stops the natural degeneration or rotting process. At the end of the tanning procedure and before the color step, the hide is called a "crust." The crust is highly absorbent. Think of a chemise. The crust is infused with a dye which we all know to be a coloring element. The actual dye molecule is very small. It penetrates into the fiber structure of the crust (leather) and establishes the color. Typically it penetrates completely through the leather (struck through) so looking at a cross-cut, you see the same color from front to back. The dye is not molecular...

  Upholstery grade leather has about 25% moisture content as it leaves the tannery. This moisture content is typically natural oils like neetsfoot that is infused into the fiber structure imparting suppleness. These oils are volatile, meaning they evaporate away overtime at a rate dependent on heat and humidity. If you are in a very dry climate and the leather is exposed to direct sun or other heat source then the evaporation rate is considerably accelerated compared to a damp climate or where the leather is not exposed to a direct heat source like the warming sun. As moisture evaporates from leather two things happen: 1. the leather shrinks due to lose of mass, and 2. the leather loses is internal lubrication. In either case the effect is stiffening. At some point, where the moisture content drops below 5% or so, the leather feels and behaves like a piece of cardboard. This is its demise. Leather conditioners contain replenishing oils. The goal of conditioning leather then is inst...

  Leather has been around for a very long time, about 5,000 years. It is resilient, versatile and if cared for property can last for a lifetime. If you are looking for a particular feel or appearance, the type you choose will be very important. Leather is an agricultural bi-product of the food industry. Leather quality can be pre-determined by genetics and by the food supply. The wonderful thing about leather is that each piece is unique, no two pieces are identical (because it is a natural product) and, of course, it can not be duplicated. Leather can usually fall into one of three categories: 1. Aniline - (Also called Natural, Pure, Naked or Unprotected) these leathers are colored with transparent dye stuff, enabling you to see the actual surface grain and markings. This category of leather has little or no protective treatments applied to them. Commonly a spray with a wax finish is sprayed on giving them a short term water repellance. For care and maintenance purposes you need t...

  Leather Processing is considered a Traditional job and the methodology involved differs from country to country. The process depends upon mainly the experience, and the available resources to treat the skin and making it utilize in a day-to-day life style. Animal Leather is used from the Stone Age in all countries for various purposes such as clothing, bed spreads, floor spreads for comfortable sitting, to draw water from wells and to fetch water from distant places. Hence, the process differs from place to place, people to people, who were involved in hunting, chopping and de-skinning the animals. Ever since, man found alternatives to his clothing needs, the animal skin found its way to various other utilities such as garments of various designs, shapes and sizes, bags, pouches and wallets, hand gloves, footwear, saddles and belts, etc. Here is the method of leather processing in my own experience. Normally, the skin after stripped off the slaughtered animal, finds its way in th...

  The leather odors may be relatively easy to deal with on a small scale, but on a large scale they can seem altogether impossible. Good quality leather will smell quite strong for several years, really. So the real question that should be asked is: Are you sure you want to remove the leather smell from your leather products? Some people actually find the smell of leather rather sexy, and it's a good indicator that your leather is of high caliber. Who doesn't want to have that leathery smell on their leather items? But to each his/her own, and if you'd rather that your leather product (whether it's a jacket, car upholstery, the sofa or even your handbag) smells something else entirely, then follow the tips and advice below. For what it's worth, you have something made of animal hide. You should probably expect it to smell like animal hide. Leather Smell Removal * The only true cure (sorry for that pun) for leather musk is age; wait for the smell to go away as the le...

  Shopping for motorcycle leather jackets require many factors to be kept in mind, like, style, color, design, cut and fabric. Buyers should be very clear about all these subjects, as then only he or she will be successful in purchasing the best piece. Though, nowadays, motorcycle leather jackets are greatly looked upon as fashionable piece of clothing due to their availability in many trendy styles, but still their main purpose cannot be neglected. Whatever said and done, biker leather jackets are mainly made for safety and protection purposes only. All are very well aware of the fact why leather is preferred over other fabrics for the making of biker jackets? Durability, resistance to tear, and protective quality are the reasons. Leather is of various types and all differs from each other. Even, not all leather fabrics are perfect for the making of biker jackets. This article is about the same. Here are mentioned names of different types of leather fabrics perfect for the making ...