LEATHER
Leather is a durable and flexible material created by tanning animal rawhide and skins. The most common raw material is cattle hide. It can be produced at manufacturing scales ranging from artisan to modern industrial scale.
​
The earliest record of leather artifacts dates back to 2200 BC.
​
The leather manufacturing process is divided into three fundamental subprocesses: preparatory stages, tanning, and crusting. A further subprocess, finishing, can be added into the leather process sequence, but not all leathers receive finishing. The preparatory stages are when the hide is prepared for tanning. Preparatory stages may include soaking, hair removal, liming, deliming, bating, bleaching, and pickling.
Tanning is a process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw hide to increase the thermal, chemical and microbiological stability of the hides and skins, making it suitable for a wide variety of end applications. Crusting is a process that thins and lubricates leather. It often includes a coloring operation. Chemicals added during crusting must be fixed in place. Crusting culminates with a drying and softening operation, and may include splitting, shaving, dyeing, whitening or other methods.
​
For some leathers, tanners apply a surface coating, called "finishing". Finishing operations can include oiling, brushing, buffing, coating, polishing, embossing, glazing, or tumbling, among others.
​
Leather can be oiled to improve its water resistance. Frequent oiling of leather, with mink oil, neatsfoot oil, or a similar material keeps it supple and improves its lifespan dramatically.
​
Today, most leather is made of cattle hides, which constitute about 65% of all leather produced. Other animals that are used include sheep, goats, and pigs. Horse hides are used to make particularly durable leathers. Lamb and deerskin are used for soft leather in more expensive apparel. Reptilian skins, such as alligator, crocodile, and snake, are noted for their distinct patterns that reflect the scales of their species. This has led to hunting and farming of these species in part for their skins. Kangaroo leather is used to make items that must be strong and flexible. It is the material most commonly used in bullwhips.
​
Some motorcyclists favor kangaroo leather for motorcycle leathers because of its light weight and abrasion resistance. Kangaroo leather is also used for falconry jesses, soccer footwear, and boxing speed bags. Ostrich leather has a characteristic "goose bump" look because of the large follicles where the feathers grew. Stingray leather is tough and durable. It is often dyed black and covered with tiny round bumps in the natural pattern of the back ridge of an animal. These bumps are then usually dyed white to highlight the decoration. Stingray rawhide is also used as grips on Chinese swords, Scottish basket hilted swords, and Japanese katanas.
​
​
