Buying leather for your final product can be a complicated task mainly because there are many types of leather and many technical aspects that you need to be aware of.
As we know, leather is known for its unique characteristics and for being a quality material. This is why it is often used in clothing, footwear, accessories and even upholstery.
However, since not all leather is the same, when it comes to choosing the leather for your project, you need to take some essential aspects into account.
To make sure that you are satisfied with your final product, get to know in this article some tips for buying leather.
Selecting the leather
The tips we would like to discuss go towards choosing the right leather for the type of product you want to produce. In this case, there are 6 aspects to take into account, and they are:
- Raw material: the choice of raw material is one of the most important stages of the leather buying process. At this stage you must be absolutely sure of what you want, namely what your final product will be and how you idealize it. For example, if you want a lighter garment, sheepskin will be the most appropriate to use. However, if you want to produce suede shoes, it will be bovine leather, such as cowhide, that should be chosen. Therefore, our tip when buying leather is on the one hand to know what your final product will be and on the other hand to know the different types of raw materials and their characteristics. You can consult our article on the types of leather most commonly used in footwear, if the footwear industry is of interest to you.
- Types of finish: another aspect that you should consider when buying your leather is the type of finish you want. We recommend that you read our article on types of leather finishes, as you will understand that there are different types of finishes that will match what you want for your final product. If you want a finish that is as natural as possible, you may want an aniline finish; however, if you want a leather that is easy to care for and durable, you may want a Pigmented Leather finish. We suggest that you keep in mind how your product will look and learn about the types of leather finishes, so that you can choose the one that best suits your project.
- Quality of the leather: as we know, quality sometimes pays for itself. There are different raw materials at different prices, but when it comes to leather, the highest priced leathers turn out to be leathers of excellent quality. This means that your final product will also be of higher quality and will therefore be a product with more durability. So if you really want a quality and durable product, you should not economize on leather.
- Samples: when it comes time to receive your samples make sure you get the leather you have chosen, always mentioning what you do not want for your product. Also, make sure that the sample is a good size.
- Quality: when buying leather, you need to know that leather is sometimes graded. The grades of leather ultimately give you an idea of the quality of the leather you are buying and can be a great help in knowing which grade of leather is best for your product. However, it is important to note that grades are a subjective evaluation and can vary according to the tannery, the region, or even the person evaluating.
- Variations: finally, since leather is a natural product, it is normal that there are some variations between leathers. This means that there can be seasonal variations that can interfere with the quality or even the size of the leather. It is important that you know and define well what variations you are willing to accept so that there are no surprises.
