A good quality leather piece will last a lifetime. Bags, boots, jackets, or wallets look stunning when crafted with animal skin and are tough as nails.
While leather is tough, we must remember that it is still only skin – without proper care, it can dry, crack, stain and warp over time. Depending on the type of leather, your piece will show varying levels of resistance and strength against sunlight, stains, and scratches.
Here we take a closer look at our genuine leather types:
Semi-aniline leather
Semi-aniline leather is made with a semi-aniline dye that contains just a tiny dose of pigment. This means the leather will have a more uniform colouring than full aniline leather. In addition, semi-aniline leather still maintains the natural markings present in the leather while adding a slim defensive layer which makes it the recommended leather type for areas with direct sunlight or heavy wear and tear.
Full-grain aniline leather
Full-grain aniline leather is a very high-quality leather type. It is made from the top part of the hide dyed using only soluble dyes. The animal’s hide is positioned in a large drum containing aniline dyes. Aniline dye is a particular type of dye with no pigment or colouring. This means the dye preserves the natural grain, marking, scars, and wrinkles in the hide without colouring it. In addition, during this process, the leather does not usually obtain a uniform colour because the hide absorbs the dye at different rates. Even though there is no pigment in the dye, the oils that the aniline is mixed with still change the colour slightly. This leather is not recommended for a room with direct sunlight.
Pull-up leather
This leather has been stained in a drum, but the oil and wax have been mixed with extra pigmentation and applied on top. This gives this leather type a beautiful aging effect over time in the form of colour variation. However, something notable to consider is that this leather is the most minor colour resistant of all types of leather and is not recommended if the furniture will be exposed to direct sunlight or heavy wear and tear.
Bovine Naku range
Our Naku range is a Kudu skin imitation. It is bovine/cow leather with a Kudu skin look with beautiful natural character marks and scratches.
We hope this guide provides a deeper understanding of the specifications of each type of skin we stock at African Leather & Skins.
We stock a variety of high-quality leather materials that we distribute throughout South Africa. Please speak to one of our knowledgeable sales agents that will be able to help you with your project.
