As it is commonly known, leather is a very flexible and durable material, created through the process of tanning of animal skin. The most widely used type of animals for this purpose is the cattle. This material, leather, can be formed by using various processes. The manufacturing procedure involves cottage industry as well as the heavy industry.
The history of leather dates back thousands of years. The first people to use leather for the purpose of protecting or covering their bodies with the skins of animals lived in The Ice Age some 500,000 years back. Those ancient people used leather as a by-product, just like the modern man does today. Our ancestors used to hunt animals for the prime purpose of getting food. But after they had fed themselves with the meat of the particular animal, they would clean its skin, scrape off the unnecessary fat and dirt, and use the skin for different functions. For instance, they would use the skin as a covering for their body or coat, which would protect them from the harsh weather conditions. The Ice age people were clever enough to use the skin of the animal as footwear to prevent their feet getting damaged from thorns or the hard ground; they would tie a loose, small piece of animal skin over the foot with a string made from the same animal skin.
Such was the height of cleverness showed by our ancestors. But then again, given the absence of civilization, their mind was bound to experience some hindrances or problems. The animal skins that they used to utilize for useful purposes, would rot away or decay after a short period of time. Due to the lack of knowledge, our ancestors did not know how to preserve those animal skins. But with passing time, those Ice Age people discovered several ways to do that. For example, they found out that if the animal hide was stretched taut and laid under the sun, it would stiffen and dry, and last much longer. Similarly the use of certain oily substances to function for the conservation of the animal hides was another of the discovered methods. And then there came a time when the smart Iceman uncovered that “tannic acid” could be found in the barks of certain trees. This acid could be used to convert raw animal hide into what we call “leather” today. It is hard to trace the exact age in which this useful tanning method was discovered, but nevertheless, an important exposure was made which still benefits the modern man of today’s time.
A similar tanning method was used by the American Indians to soften their animal hide and make it useable. They would soak the animal skins into a mixture of campfire ash and water. This solution would turn the animal skin soft and clean to use. After this method would take a few weeks, the clean animal hide would be then worked on by hand to make it into different forms of usage.
Also see: Leather History > The Development of Leather
Many of us have one or two leather accessories. Items made of leather are cherished by many people because of their beauty and high durability. There is nobody who will not like to have things made of leather. Despite the high cost of leather accessories, people are still buying them. However, there is no doubt that many people do not know what leather is, how leather is made, and how its use for the production of fashion accessories and other items started. Definitely some people may think that leather and the use of leather in fabricating things are the inventions of the modern man. No, this is far from the truth. Leather and the use of leather for the making of things have a history that dated back to the pre-historic time. Indeed, leather is one of the inventions of the pre-historic man that has not gone into extinction or has not been brushed aside by the wave of history. The fact remains that leather has contributed greatly to the development of civilisation. Let us begin our discussion on the history of leather by knowing what leather is.
What is Leather?
Leather is a material from animal skin. The animal is killed and then skinned. The skin is processed by tanning it. The end product of the tanning process is what is known as leather. If you are observant, you would have noticed that leather products in the market today are not of the same quality and durability level. This is partly because of the fact that there are different kinds of animal hides that can be used in the fabrication of leather. These animal hides differ greatly in their strength, toughness and durability and so the items made with them also differ in their strength. The most popular used leather is the leather gotten from cow hide. It is in fact the best type of leather because of its durability and other admirable qualities. Animals whose skins can be used in the fabrication of leather are goat, sheep, pig, antelope, etc. Leather can also produced with the hides of birds, yet such leathers are not very popular.
The use of Leather across Different Generations
The pre-historic man made use of leather. During those times, when the building technology has not been conceived, fashion unknown to mankind, the pre-historic man was using leather material to make provision for the basic needs of man. Leather was specifically used by the early man for shelter, clothing, decorative attire and mats. Though the type of leather the early man used was very crude and unrefined compared to what we have today. It could still be regarded as leather because it is used from animal hide.
Leather has come a very long way since early civilization. The uses for leather may have dramatically changed, the durability and beauty of real leather hasn’t changed. It continues to be one of the most luxurious materials known to man.
Reference: Leather History > The Beginning of Leather
The usage of animal hides for basic survival items and clothing can be traced back to Early Man in the Paleolithic period. Cave paintings were discovered in caves in Spain which depicted the use of leather clothing by early man. Early man used to kill animals for their food but they would skin the animals they killed and then used the hides for clothing. They also used them for crude tents and footwear.
Early man realized that animal skins eventually become useless due to the skins becoming rapidly putrefied. So they needed a way to preserve the skins and hides. One of the earliest methods was to stretch the skins on the ground for drying and then rubbing the skins with animal brains and fats while the skins and hides dried. But this method had a limited preserving action and preserved the hides for a short period of time. Then the primitive man found out that the smoke of the wood burning fires could help preserve skins and hides. Also treating the skins and hides with infusion of leaves, fruits, twigs and tannin-containing barks could also preserve them. It seems as if the man first found out how to produce leather when he discovered that leaving animal skins on a wet or a damp forest floor can actually tan them naturally through chemicals that are released by decaying vegetation.
Later by using earth salts that contain alum as a tanning agent used to produce white leather was finally discovered by man. These alum leathers were dyed with dyestuffs that occur in various plants. During Egyptian times people used leather for clothes, buckets, gloves, shrouds, bottles and sandals which was used for their military equipment and to bury their dead. Egyptian tombs, artifacts and wall paintings depict their use of leather.
Leather was also used by Romans on a large scale. Leather was used for their clothes, footwear and military equipment which included saddles, harnesses, and shields. When the Roman sites were excavated in Great Britain they yielded huge amounts of leather articles for example clothing and footwear. Manufacture of leather was then introduced by the roman religious communities and invaders to Britain, and the monks of the religious communities were expert and perfect at making leather, especially parchment for writing purposes and vellum.
The primitive Britons used leather for many purposes from footwear, to articles of warfare clothing and leather bags. Hulls of the ancient boats, popularly known as coracles, were also made and covered in leather. Throughout the centuries, the manufacture of leather expanded slowly and by the mediaeval times majority of villages and towns had a tannery, on the local river or stream which was used as a source of power for their machines driven by water and a source of water for processing. Most of the tanneries exist even today, but now in many cities and towns the one and only evidence that remain is in the names of street, like Bark Street, Tanner Street, and Leather Lane.
Also see: Leather History > Facts about Leather
We are all familiar with leather because there are a number of things that are produced with leather such as handbags, wallets, purses, shoes, travel bags, belts, sandals and the likes. Leather items are special because they are highly durable, sleek and pretty. However, despite the fact that we are familiar with leather items only few people know how leather is made or where leather is gotten from. Some may even think that leather is made with plastic material or any other similar material. But this is far from the truth. In this article we are going explain what leather is all about, how it is made and its types. Let us begin by knowing what leather is.
What is Leather?
Leather is a highly flexible and durable material that can be used in the fabrication of a number of things and it is made through the tanning of animal skin and hides that are capable of decaying. The common animal hide that can be used in the procession of leather is cattle/cow skin. However, there are other animals whose skin can also be used in the fabrication of leather such as goat, pig, antelope and other animals. However, cow/cattle leather is better in quality than all of them. Today, there are leathers that are artificially made.
There are different tanning processes that can be employed in the procession of leather. Below are some of the tanning processes.
Vegetable Tanned Leather
In this tanning process, tannin which is a chemical gotten from plants are used in the tanning of leather. There are also other elements gotten from plants that can be combined together with tannin in the tanning of leather here. Typical example is tree bark. The leather gotten through this process is normally brown in colour. However, the shade of the brown depends on the mixture if chemicals used and also on the colour of the animal skin that is being tanned. Vegetable tanned leather is the only suitable leather utilised for leather stamping or carving. However, the drawback of this type of leather is that it is easily affected by water. Exposure to water can cause the discolouration of the leather. It will also make the leather to shrink and lose its strength. It is used traditionally for the fabrication of armour and also for book binding.
Chrome-Tanned Leather
Chroming of leather is discovered in 1858. As the name suggests, in the tanning process of this type of leather, chromium sulphate as well as other chromium salt is used. Chrome-tanned leather has an edge over vegetable leather because they are more pliable and supple. Secondly, they do not easily discolour when exposed to moisture. They have the ability to resist water more than vegetable-tanned leather. It does not lose its shape or shrink when it is exposed to water. Owing to the fact that the colour of this leather is derived from the chromium sulphate, it is also called wet-blue leather. However, with chrome tanning, there is the possibility of getting other esoteric colors.
Also see: Types of Leather > Leather Types
From prehistoric times, people have already worn leather clothes. They remove the animal’s skin and use it as coverings to protect themselves. Leathers are worn by different people from soldiers to wood workers, blacksmiths, and even cowboys.
They were able to use leather because of leather tanning, a process that was practiced thousands of years ago. The skins used as clothing and tents would become stiff when exposed to low temperatures and with heat they deteriorate. It was then when people find ways to make them pliable and sturdier by applying animal fats; hence the first tanning process was conducted.
Another process that was discovered by accident is smoking. Ancient people found out that the decaying progression is slowed down when the material is dried or when applied with salt then dried under the heat of the sun. Vegetable tanning was also used and known during the old times as well as tanning with the use of alum.
Later on, all the tanning methods that were discovered and practiced by ancient people slowly became polished thus making it more effective. Prehistoric people used skins to make clothes, gloves and even shoes. Through centuries, manufacture and demand for leather increased and by medieval, majority of the people are using leather products. Because leather is such a versatile and durable material, until now it is widely used for different products.
The earliest productions of crude leathers were made primarily by submerging the hides and skins in a fermenting solution. The fermenting solution contains organic matter rich in bacteria which matures and attacks the raw material thus it loosens the hair or wool. The hair and wool that is still stuck to the hide after fermenting, is manually removed by scraping. Once fermenting is completed, the material then undergoes tanning process where mixture of chemical is applied to the hide or skin. The tanning solution is given a specific time to penetrate the material.
The processing of leather has come a long way and today there are various modern ways to make the process faster and more effective. Now, there are countless manufacturers who utilizing leather in their products and although it is used for centuries now, leather is still preferred by most consumers.
Now, leather is used for furniture such as sofa. With its elegant look and feel, it creates a particular aura in a room. It can be used for modern or conventional look hence it is a very flexible material. In today’s houses we would often see leather furniture be it a couch, an ottoman or a settee. There are still clothes made from leather such as jackets and also shoes. These items made of leather are one of the most expensive materials ever used.
In addition to all those leather pieces, leather bags are manufactured. You can find all kinds of leather bags in the market with different style and sizes. There are also leather accessories created to complement your leather bags. With good quality leather you will not only look good but feel confident as well.
References: Leather Products – Men > What to Look For in a Leather Wallet
Leather is a highly versatile material, which is made from natural sources. It is extremely flexible and durable and hence it finds use in a large variety of things starting from garments like jackets, coats, trousers to accessories like gloves and caps to showpiece models and toys to shoes to many more things. But one may be curious about the methodology that goes behind the manufacturing of this remarkable material. Let us delve deeper into how leather is made.
Leather manufacturing is a long and laborious process and in most cases it is highly labor intensive, meaning there is a great deal of human element that is required in its manufacturing. It undergoes a long process before it is finally ready to be dispatched to manufacturers of leather goods. This process includes cottage industry and goes on to involve heavy industry as well.
Leather manufacturing is different for different kinds of leather. However, there are three basic stages that are involved in the entire process. These are: preparatory stages. Tanning and crusting. The preparatory stages mainly include cleansing the hide or the skin of the animal and getting it ready for tanning. The hide may be from reptiles like crocodiles or from sheep, goats, cows etc. The preparatory stages can include the following methods: preserving, soaking, liming, getting rid of the hairs, fleshing or cutting and splitting the body or the flesh, liming, re-liming and de-liming, getting rid of the greasiness, de-pickling and also bating. Each of these processes are critical to make sure the hide is properly prepared for tanning and leaving out any of these stages would mean that the hide is not ready for tanning.
Tanning is a crucial part of the process of manufacturing leather. Tanning is a process that aims at removing the protein from the hides or the skins, so that the hide becomes more stable as a material and does not putrefy when wetted or rewetted. This also happens to be the key difference between tanned and untanned hides – while the former will not putrefy even on wetting or rewetting, the latter will get putrefied on wetting or rewetting. So naturally tanned hides are more preferable, as they then can be used in a wide range of applications. And that is why tanning is such an important part of the whole process of manufacturing leather.
The most commonly used tanning material is chromium and chromium sulphate is also used. After tanning the material with chromium, the hide assumes a pale blue color and this is why it is called ‘wet blue’. Once the pickling process on the hides has been finished, the pH levels (which indicate the level of acidity or alkalinity of a solution) vary between 2.8 and 3.2, meaning that they are still highly acidic. Then the hides are put inside a drum, in which there will be the tanning liquor and the drum will be capable of turning about an axle. This will ensure that the tanning liquor gets uniformly distributed all over the hide.
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Leather is definitely one of the most commonly used materials in the world. Even in the ancient times the use of leather was not too uncommon. Leather straps were used to hold the hide in place but due to no or bad processing of the hide it would become unusable after some time. Prehistoric men and some Eskimos were known to chew the hide to make it soft and remove the hair. In different civilizations, different preservation techniques were used to process the leather. Leather was soaked, beaten and lubricated using different items. Ancient Hebrews are known to be the inventors of the first tanning process. American Indians also had their own tanning method, which was different from that of the Hebrews.
The tanning method is long and complicated. It usually takes several days to make the hide fit for the factory. Several ingredients were used in this process. First the hide is soaked in water. Then after several hours during which the water drains off fresh water is poured and the hide is limed using lime and sodium sulphide. This liming process is an important stage of tanning and in this process the fiber structure opens up and the hide is rid of unwanted protein and hair. This process takes several hours to finish.
After the hide is limed it needs to be de-limed using ammonium sulphate. Then it is bated. Bating is an enzymatic treatment of the hide which involves enzymatic bating agents. After bating the hide is treated with fresh water, sodium chloride and sodium formate buffer. Then sulphuric acid is added. The common tanning agent is chrome tanning salt which is used at this point. This entire tanning process has specific requirements such as temperature, adding of ingredients at fixed time intervals etc. after the hide is tanned, it is neutralized, re-tanned and dyed. Then it is drained, squeezed, split and shaved after which it is dried. There are three methods of drying, viz. paste drying, toggle drying, and vacuum drying. After drying the hide is staked, that is, softened through a machine. Then corrected grain sides are buffed, or smoothened. Full grain sides do not need buffing. Then the finishing touch is given to it which involves several chemicals and machines.
Leather is used to make several products. It is used both indoors and outdoors. The most popular use of leather is in the clothes industry. Leather jackets, coats, gloves and belts are very popular. Leather purses, wallets and bags are also very much in demand. Leather shoes are known to be durable and comfortable and elegant. Leather is very breathable and it is easy to dust. It is also used in furniture because it is warm, cozy and soft. It is fungus-resistant and part water resistant which makes it a preferred material for many things. It is natural which makes it more preferable than synthetic materials. Leather is used to make dog collars, tobacco pouches, briefcases, interior decorator items, folders, sports items etc. Leather is usually made from goatskin, cowhide, sheepskin and crocodile skin.
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Human life varies in different phases and aspects which can be in the form of deeds and doings. The important of some necessities in life cannot be neglected because without using them one cannot be very successful in his life. Some of the commodities and utilities have great value in the life of humans and they have a great reputation as well. Most of these commodities or goods have been obtained after a complete process known as manufacturing. Human nature has some sort of resemblance with animals and plants as well. They are also part of our lives and a number of things have been made with the help of animals and plants. There are many things which can be obtained with the help of them and one can easily get benefits from them in many ways.
This concept is very old and a person started benefiting from animals and plants a number of years ago. The value of some specific items which have been obtained with the help of animals has great importance. There are numbers of things which can be obtained with their help and leather is one of them. People started using leather many years ago and this was regularly being used all around the world for different perspectives. It was first used in 1300 B.C and the value of leather has been increasing since that time. There are many people who have import and exports businesses regarding leather. It has been used worldwide due to its versatility and great charm along with the level of productivity being obtained with the help of leather. Leather was first used in Egypt when people used to tear the skin of animals and made their own necessities with the help of leather.
The animal’s skin has great benefits and it can also be used in many circumstances. One of the basic uses of leather was for clothing and it was considered to be one of the best benefits of leather. Later clothing was more enhanced with the help of leather and now leather clothing is known as the best type of clothing all around the world. Another major use of leather in the past was shelter and it was regularly being used to provide shelter to people. Most of the people made a complete shelter for their family and they also used it for longer period as well. It was well modified later and now the use of leather in shelter primitives has been deceased, a lot due to the introduction of many other items available in the market for shelter. One of the major uses of leather all around the world is in the form of shoes. People who were using leather in the previous decades introduced this concept and they started to use the skin of animals to protect their surroundings.
Reference: Leather History > Uses of Leather in the Early Days