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Terms in General Use In the Leather Industry     Part 1

In describing various classes of leather, the name of the animal from which the skin or hide was taken is generally used. Certain exceptions, which have become established trade practices, are cited in the definitions which follow. Otherwise, adequate explanation should be made.

Alligator  A general term used for leather made from the skins of all aquatic species with a grain similar the American alligator.

Alligator Grained Leather This term is used to distinguish the alligator grain effect, which is embossed on various types of leather, such as calf, sheep, or cattlehide, from the genuine reptilian leather. Terms such as “alligator calf” are not permitted by the Federal Trade Commission.

Alum Leather Leather produced by alum tannage usually in combination with other substances but which are not in sufficient amount to alter the alum tanned character of the leather.

Aniline Dyed Leather Leather which has been colored by dyes as distinguished from leather treated by pigments or other opaque materials.

Antelope Finish Suede Term applied to lambskin, goatskin, or calfskin, sueded and finished to resemble antelope.

Antelope Leather A fine, soft leather made from an antelope skin, velvety in texture and sheen, sueded on the flesh side; so rare, that for practical purposes, it is virtually non-existent.

Automobile Leather see “upholstery leather”.

Back A “back” is formed by first cutting the hide longitudinally along the backbone, then trimming off head and belly, leaving a “bend” and shoulder.

Bag Leather See “Traveling Bag, Suitcase and Strap Leather.”

Baseball Leather Leather used as the cover portion of a baseball. The better grade of balls have covers of alum tanned cattlehide or horsehide front leather.

Belly A “belly” is that part of the hide from the under side of the animal.

Belt Leathers Leather that goes into waist belts, as distinguished from Belting Leather, which is used for the transmission of power in machinery. Belt leather is usually considered a sub-class of fancy leather. It is made of various leathers, with cattlehide the most common, for men’s belts; sheep and goat skin for women’s belts. Often specially treated on the flesh side in unlined belts.

Belting Leather Leather used for the manufacture of leather belts for transmitting power in machinery. It is made from the butts of high-grade cattlehides.

Bend A sole-leather “back” with shoulder trimmed off.

Bleeding Transfer of materials exuded from leather to other materials coming in contact with it.

Blue Term usually found in the phrase “in the blue.” It is applied to hides or skins that have been chrome-tanned but not finished.

Boarded Leathers Sides or skins finished by folding with the grain side in and rubbing the flesh side with a cork-surfaced instrument known as a hand-board. Machinery is not also used. The effect is sometimes imitated by embossing. Also called “box” or “willow” finish.

Bookbinding Leather Bookbinding leathers can be made of skivers, cattlehide grains, cattlehide splits, sheepskins, goatskins, calfskins and pigskins.

Box Calf or Sides See “Boarded Leathers.”

Bridle Leather Term refers to a harness-finished strap leather.

Buck Sides Cattlehide upper shoe leather, with grain surface buffed to simulate genuine buckskin. Sometimes designated by proprietary trade names, such as “Nubuck,” “Rybuck,” etc.

Buckskin General term applied to leather from deer and elk skins; used for shoes and gloves, and to some extent in clothing. Only the outer cut of the skin from which the surface grain has been removed may be correctly defined as “genuine buckskin.” Leather finished from the split or under cut of deerskin must be described as “split buckskin.”

Buffalo Leather Leather tanned from domesticated land and water buffalo of the Far East (not the American Bison).

Buffing Buffing leather is a Very light cut of the grain portion of a cattlehide and used mainly for bookbinding and fancy leather goods.

Butt Part of the hide or skin covering the rump of hindpart of an animal; for example, a “horse butt.” A Belting Butt is a cattlehide tanned for leather belting after the head, belly and tail have been trimmed off. A Butt Bend is what remains of a Belting Butt after trimming off a double shoulder.

Cabretta Leather Leather from the skin of hair sheep. Cabretta leather is largely used for the glove and garment trade.

Calfskin Leather Leather made from the skins of the young of cattle and characterized by distinct grain and fiber structure.

Capeskin or Cape Leather Terms used for the glove and garment leather made from sheepskins, with the natural grain preserved. The term should be confined to leather from South African hair sheep. Genuine capeskin from South Africa makes a light, flexible, fine grain, durable leather, generally superior the that made from wool sheepskins. When used to designate sheepskin or other than the South African product, it should be qualified as “Domestic Capeskin,” “Spanish Capeskin, “ etc. Term should never be applied to a skiver.

Carding Leather A special type of side leather used on the cards of textile machinery. The leather lies flat against the beds of the cards, the teeth being forced through it.

Carpincho A leather made from the hide of a water rodent indigenous to Argentina and Uruguay. More elastic and softer than that of peccary, carpincho is chiefly used in the manufacture of men’s fine dress and sport gloves. Generally chrome tanned and washable; classed as a pigskin.

Case Leather See “Traveling Bag, Suitcase and Strap Leather.”

Cattlehide Leathers Leathers made from the hides of cows, steers, and bulls; sometimes includes kipskins.

Chamois Leather A soft leather, sometimes called chamoise, originally made from the skins of the Alpine antelope, or chamois, but presently from the fleshers, or under-splits of sheepskins. Oil tanned and suede-finished, they are principally used for cleaning and polishing, and in the manufacture of gloves and garments.

Chrome Retan – Leather which has been first chrome tanned and then retanned with vegetable and/or synthetic extracts.

Chrome Tannage – Tannage of leather with chromium compounds, sometimes with small amounts of some other tanning agent but not enough to alter the chrome tanned character of the leather.

Clothing Leathers – Name covers material for leather coats, jackets, hats and breeches made from sheepskins, cabretta, cattle and horsehides.

Colorado Steers – Term refers to side-branded steerhides; not necessarily from Colorado.

Comber Leather – Used on combing machines in the textile industry, this is a soft, mellow and tough leather, which is tanned from steerhides, heavily stuffed with grease, and usually hand boarded or otherwise softened.

Combination Tanned – Term refers to tannage of two or more agents, such as chrome and vegetable.

Cordovan – The name cordovan is applied only to leathers made from the shell of horse butts and used for shoe uppers. It is known for its non-porosity and durability.

Corrected Grain – See “Snuffed Finish.”

Country Hides – Term refers to hides removed by butchers and farmers. The quality is usually lower than meat-packers’ hides because they are removed by less skilled hands and are not cured as well.

Cowhide Leather – Term specifically applied to leather made from hides of cows, although it is generally loosely used to designate any leather tanned from hides of animals of the bovine species.

Crocking – Term refers to the rubbing off of colored or other surface substances from leather onto other materials.

Crop – Term applied to a “side” of leather with belly trimmed off, retaining both head and shoulder.

Croupon – Term refers to an untanned, whole cattlehide with belly and shoulder cut off, comparable to a butt bend in tanned leather.

Crushed Leather – Term applied to leather which has the natural grain accentuated during manufacture by plating, boarding or other process. Term also applied to leather which has been “grained” artificially.

Curried Leather – Any leather that has been subjected to the currying process.

Currying – The process of incorporating oils and greases into leather after tanning and otherwise preparing if for specific purposes, such as for the manufacture of transmission belts, shoe welting, etc.

Cut Stock – Term generally applied to bottom stock for shoes, such as soles, taps, lifts, blocks and strips cut from sole leather. Also applied to cut-to-pattern leather.

Deacon – The skin of a newborn calf.

Deep Buff – The first cut under the Top Grain, Hand Buff or Machine Buff. No traces of grain remain.

Deerskin – Leather tanned from deerskin with the grain surface intact, not with grain removed as in buckskin.

Degrained Leathers – Genuine suedes, finished on the flesh side of skins from which the grain has been removed after tanning by splitting, abrading or other process.

Drumhead Leather – Parchment or rawhide for percussion instruments such as drums.

Ecrase – French for “Crushed”

Electrified Lambskins, Electrified Shearlings – Term applied to dyed and processed sheepskin shearlings finished to resemble furskins.

Elk – A trade term for cattlehide shoe leather of a special tannage and finish. Genuine elk leather is designated by the term “buckskin.” “Smoked elk” or “elk side” leather is cattlehide shoe leather, but should be qualified as “elk-finished cowhide,” “elk-finished kip,” etc.

Embossed Leather – Hides or skins finished with designs stamped on my etched, engraved or electrotyped plates or rollers. Used extensively on fancy pocketbook leather, upholstery and bag leathers, as well as splits and on shoe upper leather. Embossed designs may be an imitation of the natural grain of different animal skins, or designs of an artificial nature.

Facing Leathers – A lightweight leather generally used for facing seams and binding the edges of shoe uppers. Term also applied to lightweight smooth calf and lamb, and to skivers, of which the inner surfaces of billfolds and wallets and frequently made.

Factory Sole Leather – Sole leather used in shoe factories as distinguished from leather used by shoe repairmen.

Fancy Leather – Leathers made from hides and skins of all kinds which have commercial importance and value primarily because of grain, or distinctive finish, whether natural or the result of processing. Such processing may be graining, printing, embossing, ornamenting (including in gold, silver, and aluminum finishes), or any other finishing operation enhancing the appeal of leather.

Finders Sole Leather – Very heavy, firm and dense vegetable tanned sole leather, used by shoe repairers.

Flesher – Term used to describe the flesh-side or under-cut of a sheepskin, split before tanning. See “chamois”.

Football Leather - Leather used as the cover portion of a football. Now generally made of embossed or printed cattlehide leather.

Formaldehyde Tanning – A method of tanning by using a formalin solution in the manufacture of white leathers and washable glove leathers.

French Kid – Leather tanned from kidskins by an alum or vegetable tannage.

Frizing – A process for removing the grain by liming in making Mocha glove leather.

Front – Term applied to horsehides to distinguish the forepart of hide from the butt or hind portion. A whole front is about two-thirds of the area of the hide.

Full Grain – Outer cut taken from the hair side of the hide from which nothing except the hair and associated epidermis have been removed.

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