Below you will find a list of commonly used leather terms that describe the various types of describing words you may find in product descriptions or when discussing custom projects.

Types of Tan

Aniline Dyed – Leather that is dyed all the way through with a transparent dye. Because the finish is transparent and shows the natural markings of the leather, only the best quality hides can be used.

Bark Tanned – Also known as vegetable tanned. Leather tanned by the tannins extracted from the bark of trees. The tanning utilizes materials from organic materials instead of the traditional chemicals.

Chrome Tanned – This process uses soluble chromium salts, primarily chromium sulfate, to tan leather. Most commonly used for garments, footwear and upholstery.

Aniline Dyed – Leather that is dyed all the way through with a transparent dye. Because the finish is transparent and shows the natural markings of the leather, only the best quality hides can be used.

Distressed – Leather that is aniline dyed with one color over another (usually darker over lighter) so as to create rich highlights and an artificial aged appearance. This finishing process is intended to emphasize the characteristics of the hide such as scars, scratches and wrinkles. Also called “antiqued leather”.

Types of Leather

Vegetable Tan – This is natural  unfinished leather, where the hide may be stamped, tooled, wet molded and dyed.

Latigo – Cowhide leather tanned for outdoor use. Utilized for cinches, ties, and other saddlery work as well as many outdoor/construction utility tool belts.

Milled – During the tanning process, the leather is tumbled in a large drum shaped container to make it softer.

Nubuck – Leather buffed on the grain side to give a velvety surface.

Oil Tanned – Leather that is tanned using oils to create a very soft, pliable finish.

Rawhide – Hides that have only been dehaired and cured but not tanned.

Describing leather 

Grain Side – This is the hide’s surface that had the hair of the animal. The grain side is used for leather carving and stamping by leather workers.

Flesh Side – The underside of the animal’s hide. When looking at a piece of veg-tanned tooling leather, this will be the rough side.

Pebble Grain – A cosmetic character resembling small pebbles on the leather’s top side.

Printed Leather – Leather that has been “stamped” with a design or artificial texture under very high pressure.

Pull-Up Finish – Describes the behavior of leather that has been treated with oils, waxes and dyes in such a way that when pulled or stretched, the finish becomes lighter in the those areas. Considered a mark of high quality.

Weight – A term which describes the thickness of leather in ounces. One ounce equals 1/64th (0.4 mm) of an inch in thickness. See the chart below.

Cuts– A term which describes what part of the hide the leather comes from. See the chart below.