Facts about Grain Leather Quality
FULL GRAIN LEATHER
Just as the grain, texture and markings of
wood should reveal the nature of the tree from which it came, leather should display the natural markings and grain characteristics of the animal
from which it was taken. The best upholstery leathers are clear, clean, and supple. They are also dyed through with transparent aniline dyes. The
full natural grain is retained and they are called "full grain leather." Cheaper leather have the natural or genuine grain sanded away and an imitation
grain pressed or embossed into the surface.They are stiff and "boardy" with a heavy coating of pigmentation to cover up imperfections and they look and
feel much like plastic.The better the quality of hide or skin, the less it has to be treated.The natural grain variations should be exposed.
One should see the "fat wrinkles" and the feel, or hand, should be supple and natural to the touch. So when choosing your leather, make sure it looks natural, smells good, and has a soft hand. Inspect your leather carefully. Make certain that it retains the full natural grain.Full grain leather is the best quality!
TOP GRAIN LEATHER
The most confusing term used in the furniture industry is the term "top grain". It can be a contradiction because it often implies what it
is not. "Top grain", is the definition that is generally used when the grain is not genuine: when the real grain is sanded away and an imitation
grain is stamped into the leather. When the genuine grain remains, the leather is called, "full grain", or "full top grain", not simply "top grain."
Top grain is a generally regarded as a economy leather!
