DIXIE LEATHER

Dixie Leather Presents.......

"LEATHER UNIVERSITY"

Care and Cleaning of Leather

Avoid cleaning Leather if possible.

NEVER DRY CLEAN LEATHER!

Do not wash as normal clothing.

If you must clean Leather use a mild soap and a damp cloth, do not rub it may change the appearance of the Leather.

Rinse well with clean water and a damp cloth, pat dry with a clean towel.

Use a commercial Leather moisturizing product [lanolin based] on sealed Leather to remoisten and make it supple again.

Do not use any moisturizer on unsealed Leather [Naked Leather] that may seal the Leather again.

Avoid getting Leather overly wet. If it does get wet let it air dry completely before storing.

Store in a cool closet with low humidity.

Storing Leather in damp areas may cause mildew on the Leather products.

Hang on wooden or plastic hangers or carefully fold Leather ware.

Do not store Leather in plastic bag.

Avoid storing or using chemicals, solvents or paints on or around Leather products.

Never Dry Clean Leather it will remove the natural oils from the Leather!

Enjoy your Leather Products.

Thank You for shopping with “DIXIELEATHER.COM”

A short and Comprehensive look at the most commonly used Leathers in Leather garments.

First of all -

All leather used by the manufacturers on this site use only the best available quality leather of the types and grades listed.

Whole books are available on the origin and manufacturing of leather and leather products. This addresses what you will be concerned with when purchasing products on this site, mainly the level of quality of the leather used. Of course price always reflects quality.

Naked Leather - Top Quality, shows the natural grain of the leather and may show some imperfections encountered during the life of the animal. Thicker and heavier providing excellent protection, but still has a very buttery soft feel, that has been described a squishy, and breathes very well for comfort in varying temperatures.

Buffalo Leather - Very soft, generally thick and heavier providing excellent protection, but still very soft and comfortable, and breathes well. Grades A & B only, the top 2 grades.

Analine Leather - Second in quality to Naked leather and generally less thick than Naked, still comfortably soft and breathes well, but does not have the buttery texture.

Soft Milled Cowhide - Mid quality and mid priced for those who are looking for a soft comfortable feel, and breathes. Only top quality is used for the products on this site.

Split Cowhide - Economical, less thick and has a more stiff feel. Comes from the inside layer that is next to the animal and plates, either smooth or textured, are used on the finished surfaces. Only top quality is used for the products on this site.

Lambskin: Lambskin is very supple but generally has less tear resistance than goatskin, cowhide, or horsehide.
It will "break-in" and age rapidly, becoming softer as you wear it.

ABOUT LEATHER

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. The leather and the fur industries are differentiated by the manufacturing importance of the raw materials used to make the wares. In the leather industry, the skin and rawhide are by-products of the meat industry, because the meat has greater commercial value than the rawhide and skin. In the fur industry, the meat is a by-product, because the skins and hides have greater commercial value. Moreover, in taxidermy, the raw materials usually are only the animal’s head and back; hide and skin also are the raw materials for manufacturing animal glue and gelatin.

Leather types

IMPORTANT WARNING........

You may see extremely LOW prices on "Genuine Leather" clothing from some dealers.
It looks good and seems VERY affordable, but then you find it is what we call PATCHWORK LEATHER.

It is recognizable by the multiple "pieces" of leather stitched together like a rag-tag Frankenstein's Monster.

It is cheaply made, thin, usually is poorly sewn together, and will last about 0.1 SECONDS if it ever comes into contact with pavement.

I SELL NO "Patchwork Leather".

PATCHWORK LEATHER is CRAP. Pure and simple.

If you see "Patchwork Leather"..... RUN...., Run FAST....., and keep your hand on your wallet.
Because someone is trying to cheat you out of your money.

That said, Lets get into the "Educational" part of this.........

In general, leather is sold in four forms:

Full-grain leather refers to the upper section of a hide that previously contained the epidermis and hair, but were removed from the hide/skin. Full-grain refers to hides that have not been sanded, buffed, or snuffed (as opposed to top-grain or corrected leather) in order to remove imperfections (or natural marks) on the surface of the hide. The grain remains in its natural state allowing the best fiber strength and durability. The natural grain also has natural breathability, resulting in less moisture from prolonged contact. Rather than wearing out, it will develop a natural patina over time, with some cracking and splitting. The finest leather furniture and footwear are made from full-grain leather. For these reasons, only the best raw hide is used to create full-grain leather. One way to test if leather is full-grain is to lightly scratch its surface with your nail. If it leaves a lighter-colored streak, it's full-grain. Full-grain leathers are typically available in two finish types: aniline and semi-aniline.

Top-grain leather is a misnomer: it gives the false impression that it is "top" quality. In fact, full-grain is the highest quality. Top-grain leather is the second-highest quality. Its surface has been sanded and refinished. As a result, it has a colder, plastic feel, less breathability, and will not develop a natural patina. However, it does have 2 advantages over full-grain leather: it is typically less expensive, and has greater resistance to stains.

Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a middle split and a flesh split. In very thick hides, the middle split can be separated into multiple layers until the thickness prevents further splitting. Split leather then has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is embossed with a leather grain (Bycast leather).
Splits are also used to create suede. The strongest suedes are usually made from grain splits (that have the grain completely removed) or from the flesh split that has been shaved to the correct thickness. Suede is "fuzzy" on both sides. Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede from full-grain. For example, in one operation, leather finish is applied to one side of the suede, which is then pressed through rollers; these flatten and even out one side of the material, giving it the smooth appearance of full-grain. Latigo is one of the trade names for this product. A reversed suede is a grained leather that has been designed into the leather article with the grain facing away from the visible surface. It is not a true form of suede.

Other less-common leathers include:

Buckskin or brained leather is a tanning process that uses animal brains or other fatty materials to alter the leather. The resulting supple, suede-like hide is usually smoked heavily to prevent it from rotting.

Patent leather is leather that has been given a high-gloss finish. The original process was developed in Newark, New Jersey, by inventor Seth Boyden in 1818. Patent leather usually has a plastic coating.

Deerskin is one of the toughest leathers, partially due to adaptations to their thorny and thicket filled habitats. Deerskin has been prized in many societies including indigenous Americans. Most modern deer skin is no longer procured from the wild, with deer farms breeding the animals specifically for the purpose of their skins. Large quantities are still tanned from wild deer hides in historic tanning towns such as Gloversville and Johnstown in upstate New York. Deerskin is used in jackets and overcoats, professional sporting equipment for martial arts such as kendo and bogu, as well as high-quality personal accessories like handbags and wallets. It commands a high price due to its relative rarity and proven durability.

The vast majority of leather is sold according to its area.

The leather is placed through pin-wheel or electronic measuring machines and its surface area is determined. The unit of measurement is square meter, square decimeter or square foot. The thickness is also important, and this is measured using a thickness gauge (the unit of measurement is millimeters, e.g., 1.8 mm is a standard thickness for a school shoe).

In some parts of the world, top-grain thicknesses are described using weight units of ounces. Although the statement is in ounces only, it is an abbreviation of ounces per square foot. The thickness value can be obtained by the conversion: 1 oz/ft² = 1/64 inch (0.4 mm).

Hence, leather described as 7 to 8 oz is 7/64 to 8/64 inches (2.8 to 3.2 mm) thick.
The weight is usually given as a range because the inherent variability of the material makes ensuring a precise thickness very difficult. Other leather manufacturers state the thickness directly in millimeters.

Leather from other animals

Today, most leather is made of cattle skin, but many exceptions exist. Lamb and deer skin are used for soft leather in more expensive apparels. Deer and elk skin are widely used in work gloves and indoor shoes. Pigskin is used in apparel and on seats of saddles.

There is quite a wide range of different animal leather used both for leather garments as well as leather goods, such as handbags, wallets, purses, belts, bags and other customized leather articles.

The most commonly used leather types are cow leather, sheep leather, buffalo leather and ox leather.

Of these, the most expensive is cow leather, followed by buffalo leather, ox leather and sheep leather respectively. Sheep leather is quite famous for its softness and mostly used in leather garments; however due to its smaller overall size, it cannot be used for the long coats for which cow leather and buffalo leather are widely used.

HOW SHOULD THIS AFFECT MY LEATHER PURCHASE ????

While some leathers are known for their strength and toughness, others are known for their softness.

Base your decision on how you plan on wearing your jacket.
Note: leather is a natural material and will contain naturally occurring blemishes.

Goatskin: Goatskin is a very good all-around leather.
It can be worn for dressy or casual wear, but it is also durable enough to handle the abuse of a "working" jacket.
It is lighter than cowhide and is generally quite supple, requiring little break-in time.
Goatskin has a pleasing "pebble" grain.

Lambskin: Lambskin is very supple but generally has less tear resistance than goatskin, cowhide, or horsehide.
It will "break-in" and age rapidly, becoming softer as you wear it.

Cowhide: Cowhide is well known for its toughness, which is why most motorcycle jackets are made from cowhide.
It's very strong and tends to be heavier than goatskin.

Horsehide: Horsehide is well known for its rugged durability.
The overall weight is greater than goatskin.

Buffalo leather: differs from cowhide in thickness and flexibility which translates into exceptionally comfortable upholstered furniture.
Buffalo leather “grain” is more pronounced. The fibers are thicker and more widely-spaced.
Buffalo leather products conform to your body but will not stretch out of shape.

The durability of leather is legendary.
It is one of the strongest upholstery materials known to man; its strength and elasticity give it high resistance to ripping.
It is flame resistant and will not readily burn or melt.

As man-made materials are wearing out, leather becomes more supple and comfortable throughout the years.