KNOW YOUR LEATHER:
PIGMENTED LEATHER

June 9, 2021 / By admin

In our tannery, we are finding ways to make our manufacturing process more sustainable as possible. We make the most out of every part of the hide we can acquire from full-grain down to split. we work our best to fulfill the needs of our clients. One repercussion of sustainable manufacturing is the challenge to make a material as strong and appealing despite its conditions.

Most of our acquired hides especially the local cattle from the abattoirs are smaller compared to imported ones. These cows are usually left to graze the fields and tend to grasses on local farms and that is why they are often found to have more skin defects like scars, tick bites, dark spots, and more. With this, we focused on improving our work on corrected leather to get the best quality out of our acquired hides especially through the use of pigments.

Split leather is the type often undergoing pigmentation because there's just so much you can do with its abundance. It is accessible, affordable, and closely durable to any other upper grains. Just like top grain and full grain, split leather is dyed to the closest color the hide can achieve. All blemishes and imperfections are removed through buffing or sanding and are then embossed with an artificial grain. It is then treated with a spray coating to make it more durable against water and dust.

However, as durable and thicker the pigment and finishing can be, it is still susceptible to cracking especially when exposed to an environment with dust, extreme heat, and moisture. That is why when you see cracks on your furniture or bags, it is best to have them refinished right away. It is not the leather that cracks but the pigment and finishing. Meanwhile, this can be easily fixed by your local tannery.

One thing you should love about pigmented leather is that it's easy to work with and it is great for crafting as it offers variety and more depth to design with all the available colors you can do it with. Its fibers are also easier to manipulate and are cheaper compared to other leather types. Commonly used in upholsteries especially by large companies to cut costs in production. Full-grain for the parts that are used, while split on the other parts which doesn't usually receive as much wear through contact with the skin is the wisest thing to do.

Pigmented leather is often prejudiced because of its unnatural appearance but the truth is it still does the job as effectively as other leather types. Leather after all is a very sturdy material and it is still the same skin that was used for the upper grains. Supporting these materials which are readily available in the environment because of the flourishing industry in livestock is one of the first sustainable moves of our civilization. Nothing is a waste as long as we keep finding ways to use it.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply