Leather hand bags are made from different animal hides which include, cows, goats, ostrich, calf, kangaroos etc. Each one is tanned and constructed differently to create different looks and designs in hand bags. For example hand bags made of soft materials use full grain leather while leather bags having a shiny and glossy look to them use patent leather. Thus the way a leather bag is constructed also affects the various properties it has.
Tanning helps in making the leather material strong and stable for its particular use. Leather tanned with vegetable oils for example has the ability to cause the leather to stretch and change its shape accordingly. The vegetable oils are found in oak bark trees and many others. Some leather use alum tanning which is beneficial if the color of the leather is in light shades. Chrome tanned leather is also very popular but is not as stretchable as vegetable tanned leather, it has the ability to get dyed easily.
There are a number of different types of leathers available. The most common one is full grained leather which has not been snuffed or sanded to remove the original marks from the surface. This in turn causes the leather to be strong and durable. Top grain leather is the second top quality leather which is partially sanded and artificially grained to add durability to it. Other types of leather includes corrected leather and split leather.
Leather construction for hand bags follows three important stages which include the preparatory stage, tanning and lastly crusting. Preparatory stage includes various processes. One of which includes removing flesh and hair from the leather. It is also introduced to water for washing purposes. Another important method is known as degreasing which involves removing natural oils existing in the leather. Pickling is also done in order to lower the ph so different tanning agents can be easily absorbed. The whole purpose of the preparatory stage is to prepare the leather for tanning.
One this is done leather can be tanned using different materials. This is done in order to make sure that the leather does not decompose or gets destroyed if it is rewetted. As previously mentioned each material used for tanning changes the properties of the leather for its various purposes.
The third step is known as crusting and involves thinning, re-tanning and lubricating the leather. This is also involves dying the leather. In this process the leather is shaved to remove fibers, re-tanned in order to add certain tanning agents, whitened in order to lighten the color, and stuffed to add oils between the fibers. Some leathers are even surface coated to add a certain finishing to the leather. Some cow leather is even embossed in order to give it a feel and look of crocodile or snake skin. This makes it look unique and exquisite. Leather hand bags can either look shiny and expensive or have a rough worn out look to them. Thus various looks and designs are available to choose from.
Also see: Leather Bags > Why Choose Leather Handbags?
