leather
Action Leather
Action leather is split grain leather that has been coated with Polyurethane and has the appearance of full grain leather.
Alligator Skin
Leather made from an alligator's skin. Often embossed leather is designed to look like alligator skin.
Aniline Calf Uppers
Also known as: Aniline Leather
Very high quality chrome tanned calf skin is used for finished calf-upper leathers. The finish is completely transparent and shows the unique detail of the calf leather grain. Only the best blemish-free skins can be used.
Category: leather, materials, shoe parts, shoemaking
Bark Tanned Leather
Bark tanned leather is leather that has been vegetable tanned using tannins contained in the bark of trees. The leather comes into direct contact with the raw bark during the bark tanning process.
Category: leather
Bend
Sole leather made from the rear portion of a heavy cattle hide divided along the line of the backbone, after the removal of belly hide and shoulder hide.
Boarding
Boarding is the term which describes the process of stamping a surface finish on leather to give the impression of a different grain to the natural one. Boarding is commonly used on side leather and split leather to make them resemble calf leather or even kid leather.
Category: leather, materials, shoemaking
Brushed Pigskin Leather
Pigskin leather that has the display surface finished with a velvet- like nap. This is achieved by rubbing with fine sandpaper.
Category: leather
Calf Leather
The skin of very young cattle which offers fine grain, suppleness and exceptional durability. A versatile leather that can be used for virtually every type of shoe.
Calfskin
Leather made from the skin of young cattle. Soft, pliable, light and with few surface flaws. Among the highest quality of all leathers.
Cape Leather
A very soft leather often used for comfort shoes. It is also used for gloves, and is often referred to as glove leather.
Carnauba
Carnauba is a hard wax coating material made from the leaves of certain Brazilian palm trees. Carnauba is an expensive material used as a component of high-grade shoe polishes and creams enabling them to produce a lasting high gloss shine on leather shoes.
Chrome Tannage
A method of turning hide into leather using a chrome based tanning liquor. Use is made of mineral salts, such as Chromium Sulfate, to produce a tanning liquor. This process takes 24 hours and initially gives the leather a pale duck egg blue colour. The type of leather produced is soft and resilient. Leather produced this way is used for shoe uppers, leather, glove and soft sole leathers (for example, ladies shoes or slipper soles) to provide enhanced flexibility.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Cobbler
An old word for someone who makes shoes and also a rich shine leather, which requires little polishing.
Category: leather, materials, shoemaking
Cordovan
Cordovan is a leather used for some men's high-grade shoe uppers. Cordovan is tanned from the shell of a horse butt, a kidney shaped very compact layer isolated by removing the skin layer above and the flesh layer below.
Corrected Grain Leather
Leather from which the outer surface of grain has been removed more or less by lightly sanding it with an emery wheel and upon which a new surface has been built up by various finishes.
Croc Embossed Leather
Leather that has been embossed or stamped in a pattern simulating crocodile skin.
Crocodile Skin
Leather made from a crocodile's skin. Often times embossed leather is designed to look like crocodile skin.
Curing
The application of chemicals to animal hides in preparation for the tanning process.
Category: leather
Curried Leather
Curried leather is leather that is finished by impregnating it with oil or grease to render it waterproof. Curried leather is used for agricultural footwear and other heavy footwear worn in very wet conditions.
Diamante Patent Leather
Diamante patent leather is a coloured translucent patent leather that allows the leather grain to show through the finish and adds a sparkling effect.
Distressed Leather
Leather that has been rubbed, scratched, or treated for a stylish effect.
Electrostatic Precipitation
A process whereby a surface is electrostatically charged and particles are drawn to it, causing the particles to spread over the surface very closely and regularly. Electrostatic precipitation is used for making synthetic suede leathers and for colouring shoe components.
Category: leather, shoe parts
Faux Leather
Simulated non-animal leather-like material, usually polyurethane.
Flesh Side
The inner side of an animal skin or piece of leather; opposite to the grain, grain side, or outer side.
Category: leather
Full Grain Leather
Leather that shows a natural texture or "grain". The entire thickness of the hide is used, unlike suede, top grain or nubuck. Benefits are: waterproofing in outermost layer of the hide, and strength and durability in the lower layer.
Glace Kid Leather
Also known as: Glazed Kid Leather
Leather with a high gloss finish that is made from goatskin by chrome tanning. Used for making upper end shoes.
Glazed Goat Leather
Glazed goat leather is similar to glace kid leather, but made from an adult animal. The grain is coarser, and the leather is more inclined to crease.
Category: leather
Grain
The pattern of pores and other surface characteristics of leather, visible on the outer surface of a hide or skin after the hair or wool has been removed. The grain pattern provides an easy means of identifying different types of leather.
Category: leather
Grain Layer
The grain layer is the layer of a hide or skin extending from the surface after removal of hair or wool and epidermis down to about the level of the hair or wool roots.
Category: leather
Grain Leather
Any leather on which the original natural grain has been changed or altered to any degree by any process.
Category: leather
Helcor Leather
Helcor-Leder-Tec's brand name for a carbon or ceramic coating added to leather during the tanning process. This coating makes the leather puncture resistant, tear resistant and helps reduce abrasion scuffs.
Category: leather
Imitation Leather
Any man-made material designed to look and feel like leather.
Interlaced Leather
A sheet made by interlacing strips of leather. Interlaced leather is used for making the whole or part of an upper of a piece of footwear.
Iron
A unit of measurement for the thickness of leather. One iron is equal to 0.53 mm.
Category: leather
Kid Leather
The skin of young goats, which offers fine grain and suppleness, predominantly used for casual and lightweight shoes.
Kidskin
Leather made from young goats or 'kids' hide. Kidskin is very soft.
Lambskin
Leather used in shoe manufacturing made from a young sheep's or lamb's skin.
Lap Iron
A small slab of iron approximately of the same shape as a half sole, that is held in worker's lap to serve as a kind of anvil, on which leather can be hammered.
Category: leather, shoemaking, tools
Leather Board
Sheet material made by shredding pieces of scrap leather, suspending it in water together with a small percentage of rubber or synthetic binding material
Category: leather, materials, shoemaking
Leather Shoe Cleaning
Good calf, grain and kid leathers deserve good treatment. Always clean regularly with a brush or damp cloth to remove all traces of dirt before applying a good quality shoe cream or polish of the correct colour.
Lifts
Layers of leather or leather board composing the heel of a shoe, the lift in contact with the ground is called the top-piece and is frequently of rubber or plastic
Category: heels, leather, shoe parts, shoemaking
Lizardskin
Leather made from a lizard’s skin that is used to make or decorate shoes.
Category: leather, materials, shoemaking
Metallised Leather
Metallised leather is leather that has been given a lustre finish by the application of metallic powders or foils.
Mineral Leather Tanning
Turning hide into leather by dipping in a tanning solution containing salts of chromium, aluminium, iron and zirconium.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Nap
The term used to describe a velvety surface of leather or cloth. In leather the nap is created by buffing with sandpaper.
Nappa Leather
Skins, normally from lambs, which are remarkably soft and supple; primarily used for shoes where comfort is the key.
Nubuck Leather
Nubuck is a grain leather that has been slightly brushed on the surface to create a very fine velvet-like appearance. A superior brushing technique than that which is used for suede, the texture of Nubuck is finer than suede because the natural grain pattern is left intact.
Oil-Tanned Nubuc
Oil-tanned nubuc is nubuc leather that has been tanned with an oil process to create a mottled, distressed appearance. Most oil-tanned nubuc leathers have minor surface imperfections or finish variations for a casual style.
Patent Leather
Fine grain leather which is specially treated with polyurethane to create an exceptionally gloss finish, especially suitable for evening wear. Patent leather can also be used in conjunction with other leather to produce eye catching results.
Category: dress shoes, leather, materials
Pearlised Leather
Pearlised leather is leather that is finished to give it a lustrous appearance similar to the appearance of a pearl.
Pebbled Grain Leather
Leather embossed to resemble a bumpy or "pebbled" surface.
Petrol Patent Leather
Petrol patent leather is black patent leather which has been finished to give a subtle multi-coloured, prismatic effect resembling petrol spilt onto a wet surface.
Piping
A thin strip or 'pipe' of leather that made by placing string under leather, and stitching along it. Piping is often used to decorate the seam of a shoe.
Category: handbags, leather, shoe parts
Pleating
A process used in shoemaking where upper leather is gathered then sewn producing a gathered, pleated effect.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Porvair
Porvair is a synthetic upper material made of microcellular polyurethane with no fibrous base layer. It has a finish coat simulating the grain of leather. A thin layer of Porvair is used by tanners in combination with leather splits to make a tough breathable upper material.
Python Leather
Leather made from a large snake known as a python which bears a distinctive and attractive marking that shows through after drying. Python leather is used for making shoes, or more commonly on account of its high cost, for insets and trims. As the size of the scales and the markings vary across the skin, care must be taken in clicking to match the pieces used. Python leather, in common with most other reptiles leather, tears easily, and should therefore be backed.
Scotch Grain Leather
The embossing of leather to create a heavy, pebbled look.
Semi Chromed Leather
Also known as: Semi Chromed Leather
Leather which has been tanned with vegetable salts and then re-tanned with chromium salts.
Category: leather
Shearling
Lambskin or sheepskin with its wool still attached, often for warmth and decoration. Shearling is popular for coats and boots.
Sheepskin
Leather made from sheep. Sheepskin with the wool still attached is known as shearling.
Skive
Also known as: Skiving
An operation in shoe manufacture where edges of leather are trimmed so that the edges are thinner than the body of the leather allowing for thinner seams when pieces are joined together.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Smooth Leather
Any leather that is smooth on the surface, without pebbling, or noticeable grain.
Category: leather
Softee Leather
A general term used to describe leather that is both soft and flexible.
Sole Leather
Leather used for soles of boots and shoes. Sole leather is generally made from thick hides such as those of buffalo or ox. Generally sole leather is vegetable tanned.
Category: leather, shoe parts
Split Leather
When thick cattle hides are machine split to obtain two layers of leather, the bottom layer is referred to as the split layer. Generally thinner & lighter in weight, split leather is used to make lower-priced shoes or linings.
Stacked Heel
A heel that has horizontal lines, indicating that it is made up of stacked layers of leather, or a heel with that appearance.
Category: heels, leather, shoe styles
Suede Leather
Leather that has been sanded or roughed to produce a surface with a soft texture or "nap". Leathers in which the fibres on the flesh side are cut very short by means of buffing wheels so as to prevent a velvety appearance.
Synthetic Leather
Materials other than genuine leather, which are designed to look or function like leather.
Tanned Leather
Tanning is the process of conversion of putrescible skin into non putrescible leather. Putrefaction is the decomposition of animal proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. Material that is subject to putrefaction is putrescible. Leather thus formed is called Tanned leather.
Tanning
A hide or a skin is converted into leather by a chemical process known as tanning utilising a process of soaking in liquid containing tannic acid or mineral salts.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Upper Leather
Leather for making uppers of shoes and boots usually manufactured from calfskin, goatskin, cattlehide etc.
Vegetable Leather Tanning
A process of turning animal hide into leather using vegetable ingredients. Use is made of water containing natural tanning extracted from plant leaves, bark, etc to produce a tanning liquor. The most commonly used tanning liquor is made from mimosa or from wattle trees.
Category: leather, shoemaking
Vegetable Tanned Leather
Leather that has been tanned with vegetable materials that are derived from certain plants and woods, often called "bark" tanning. This tanning process ensures that the leather won't stretch out after wear. Vegetable tanned leathers are ideal to produce footwear for those with allergies to chromium or other tanning chemicals.
Water Resistant Leather
Leather resistant to the penetration of water usually chrome tanned or combination tanned first, and then heavily greased. Other water repelling agents may be used during production to produce the same effect.
Zug Grain Leather
Leather that is produced using a method that makes it both water resistant and hard-wearing.
