The first word that usually that comes into our mind when we mention term leather is luxury. Leather is also associated with high quality, lavish, and strength. The KevianClean Leather Cleaner and Conditioner can help maintain your leather and keep it in good condition. However, there are many details that we are not familiar of.
Here are some facts about leather:
- Where does leather come from? It is interesting to know that leather is produced from animal skin. The earliest recorded use of leather was during the Paleolithic period where it was worn as clothing.
- A consumer uses an average of at least 4 leather items in a given time. This includes shoes, belt, wallet, watch strap, and other items.
- There are several kinds of leather which include aniline, nubuck, suede, pigmented, and pull up to name a few.
- Exotic animals are used to produce leather such as ostrich, alligator, deer, and stingray.
- The most widely used leather skin is the cowhide. This material has the thickest leather and is easy to use. Cowhide is also easy to maintain especially when you coat it with a protective layer or a waterproof finish.
- How is leather made? Leather makers go through these process in order to transform animal hide into leather: curing, soaking, painting, liming, fleshing, deliming, bating, pickling, degreasing, and tanning.
- The largest tanning industry in the world is in Italy. They process around 60% of adult cattle and owns 20% of the industry production. Italy exports Italian tanned leather to an estimate of 120 countries worldwide.
- Beware when shopping for items that contain the term “genuine leather.” Most often than not, it is not true. A genuine leather can be attributed to items that have a surface coating up to 0.15 mm or less and should not exceed 30% of the overall thickness.
- How can you identify if the leather is real or fake? The best way to determine is to touch and feel the leather. Cheap and artificial leathers have a smooth and plastic surface.
- If you try bending the material in different angles, you can see that they have the tendency to easily crack. An artificial shine is also a good indicator if the leather is fake. You can also check the surface for imperfections. A real leather is not 100% smooth and blemish-free.
- In the early years, Egyptian women already used leather as part of fashion and trading. Panther and leopard hides were exchanged for fabrics and beadwork.