What is good Leather?

[CactusArmy]

Is there any pointers when looking at leather? How to tell if it's good or not?

[showbiz00ditc]

close your eyes and walk right by

[weiyung]

you probably mean close your eyes and touch it....

for me, i like the way the leather looks...is it crinkly, or smooth w/o wrinkles

and how it feels, tough or soft.

usually the really nice leather are soft but can be wrinkled or not, just depends on your taste

[WhiteTrashAnth]

if you can smell it wen u get in the room, its amazing leather,.

[Paul T]

Cheaper leather has the grain printed on. After a while you will recognise this. Good leather is irregular, and might even have marks from barbed wire etc. It will tend to be more of a matte finish, and the texture will be less plasticky. And yes, it will smell more like... leather. But beware, even some expensive leather stuff won't lost. I bought my girlfriend a Tanner Kroll bag, and it hasn't worn well. Bill Amberg stuff, in comparison, is far hardier.

[Geowu]

Italian leather is usually better, because they have a lot of know-how, and good leather costs a lot. Cheap leather means cheap quality. That's because the best leather needs several expensive processes, and cannot be mass-produced. Just like denim. You (normally) get what you pay for.

Naturally tanned and dyed leathers often have varying shades through the leather. This can be seen as a plus as it is an easy method of identifying premium quality leather. If the leather looks too perfect with a 'plastic' feel it is cheap. It should have a natural color and imperfections, it should be warm and soft, like your skin. When it feels cold, that means there's a film over it.

"Full-grain leather is an original, unaltered hide that has had the hair removed. It shows the full grain of the animal skin. Split leather is when the hide is sliced into pieces to give uniform thickness and the underside is finished as suede. Top grain leather is slightly confusing. It usually means that the grain is not real – it has been altered or sanded away and the imitation grain has been stamped on the leather. Full grain or full top grain indicates that the original grain remains."

You should buy only full grain, preferably vegetable tanned, ostrich leather is better than cow, crocodile, snake, etc. but costs more.

I usually stay away from leather because I don't want to buy garbage and I don't have the money to buy the real thing.

[CactusArmy]

Thanks alot for all the help everyone!

Is there any brand out there that does leather especially well?

[oatmealmary]

The best leather jackets are by Aero leather clothing of Scotland,horsehide is their speciality.