What is full grain leather?

Hi my dear Muses,

I am the designer of the customizable leather goods brand ALIS MITA, and I am pleased to meet up with you again in this 2nd episode of “Plein Fleur” (Full Grain) where we will discover together the secrets and the world of leather.

In the previous episode, we found out what leather really is. Today, we are going to demystify this beautiful expression: the “full grain”.

So, what is full-grain leather?

To better understand, it is necessary to know that, in the field of leather, we call grain the upper or external part of the leather on which the hairs of the animal skin are originally located. This side of the leather can have several aspects: smooth, grained, or have printed patterns. We thus differentiate the grain of the leather from the flesh of the leather, the part of the bottom which has a more fibrous aspect, a bit frayed in the raw state.

To return to the grain of leather, you should know that leather can have several thicknesses. Each leather can be “split”, i.e. thinned and separated into several layers depending on what you want to do with it.

When separating the leather into several layers, the bottom part (the crust) can be reworked and covered with different pigments and finishes to obtain a leather that is no longer full grain.

A “full-grain” leather is therefore a leather that has retained all its grain, of its outer layer. It is more noble and more resistant because the fibers on the surface of the leather are finer, denser, and more elastic than those below.

So how can we differentiate a full grain leather? With the naked eye, it is extremely difficult, almost impossible. Professionals can recognize it by the touch, the way it behaves when forced, or it bends and reacts during manufacture.

I hope you liked these new discoveries on leather; like, comment and share it with your friends. See you soon!