Different Types Of Leather

[trustsome1 0]

Have heard there are many types of leather when shopping for bed frame and sofa.

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each type of leather...?

1) PVC

2) Polyurethane Leather

3) Synthetic Leather

4) Vinyl Leather

5) Half Leather

6) Full Leather

[anja98 0]

interested to know as well.. anybody?

I am looking in terms of comfortability.

Durability wise, I guess full leather is the way to go. Half leather, their color will be uneven over time if getting lighter colors...

[waileong 0]

Have heard there are many types of leather when shopping for bed frame and sofa.

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each type of leather...?

1) PVC

2) Polyurethane Leather

3) Synthetic Leather

4) Vinyl Leather

5) Half Leather

6) Full Leather

Most of the above are not leather.

Pros and cons are easy. Cheap is lousy. They stick to you when hot, they don't look as good as real leather, etc.

Real leather has many types too. From different parts of the cow, different treatments, etc.

The more you pay, the better quality you get.

[Perfect 0]

I think how you maintain the leather do play a major role. Generally leather will start to have crack line after 2-3 yrs if there's no maintenance at all.

It's just like car leather seat, need to maintain once in a while.

[Curious_Chap 0]

I'm also looking for a leather sofa. From the IKEA brochure their leather sofa are mostly split leather, other furniture shops are only refering to half leather and full leather. What are the difference here?

[hawthorne 0]

full leather means every 'leather' part is made from real leather.

half leather means certain parts of the sofa is synthetic material. Usual places like behind the sofa where there are minimum human contact. since not every part is real leather, half leather sofas cost less.

You can ask the salesperson what type of leather when you talk to them. so far most of what I've seen are cowhide leather.

Edited December 14, 2009 by hawthorne

[htng 1]

full leather means every 'leather' part is made from real leather.

half leather means certain parts of the sofa is synthetic material. Usual places like behind the sofa where there are minimum human contact. since not every part is real leather, half leather sofas cost less.

You can ask the salesperson what type of leather when you talk to them. so far most of what I've seen are cowhide leather.

Most are cowhide leather. If you want to be safe, get from HTL or Domicil. HTL is a listed company so they wont pull stunt

[fierydragon 1]

Bought brand new sofa leather set from Defu Furniture for $1000+

After 10 months, leatherr start to blister and peel.

It seems this is made from cardboard from China.

[htng 1]

Bought brand new sofa leather set from Defu Furniture for $1000+

After 10 months, leatherr start to blister and peel.

It seems this is made from cardboard from China.

? Leather made from cardboard? Impossible. Leather is from cow/ baffalos etc..If it blister and peel, probably it is PU?

[bentoon 0]

Adapted from Wikipedia:

Full-grain leather refers to the upper section of a hide that previously contained the epidermis and hair, but were removed from the hide/skin. Full-grain refers to hides that have not been sanded, buffed, or snuffed (as opposed to top-grain or corrected leather) in order to remove imperfections (or natural marks) on the surface of the hide. The grain remains in its natural state allowing the best fiber strength and durability. The natural grain also has natural breathability, resulting in less moisture from prolonged contact. Rather than wearing out, it will develop a natural patina (a sheen on produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure over time) with some cracking and splitting. The finest leather furniture and footwear are made from full-grain leather. For these reasons, only the best raw hide is used to create full-grain leather. One way to test if leather is full-grain is to lightly scratch its surface with your nail. If it leaves a lighter-colored streak, it's full-grain. Full-grain leathers are typically available in two finish types: aniline and semi-aniline.

Top-grain leather is a misnomer: it gives the false impression that it is "top" quality. In fact, full-grain is the highest quality. Top-grain leather is the second-highest quality. Its surface has been sanded and refinished. As a result, it has a colder, plastic feel, less breathability, and will not develop a natural patina. However, it does have 2 advantages over full-grain leather: it is typically less expensive, and has greater resistance to stains.

Nubuck is top-grain cattle hide leather that has been sanded or buffed on the grain side, or outside, to give a slight nap of short protein fibers, producing a velvet-like surface.

Corrected-grain leather is any leather that has had an artificial grain applied to its surface. The hides used to create corrected leather are of inferior quality that do not meet the high standards for use in creating vegetable-tanned or aniline leather. The imperfections are corrected and an artificial grain applied. Most corrected-grain leather is used to make pigmented leather as the solid pigment helps hide the corrections or imperfections. Corrected grain leathers can mainly be bought as two finish types: semi-aniline and pigmented.

Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a middle split and a flesh split. In very thick hides, the middle split can be separated into multiple layers until the thickness prevents further splitting. Split leather then has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is embossed with a leather grain (Bycast leather).

Splits are also used to create Suede. The strongest suedes are usually made from grain splits (that have the grain completely removed) or from the flesh split that has been shaved to the correct thickness. Suede is "fuzzy" on both sides. Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede from full-grain. For example, in one operation, leather finish is applied to one side of the suede, which is then pressed through rollers; these flatten and even out one side of the material, giving it the smooth appearance of full-grain. Latigo is one of the trade names for this product.

The following are not 'true' leathers, but contain leather material. Depending on jurisdiction, they may still be labeled as "Genuine Leather."

Bonded leather , or "reconstituted Leather", is not really a true leather but a man-made material. Some types of bonded leather are composed of 90% to 100% leather fibers (often scrap from leather tanneries or leather workshops) bonded together with latex binders to create a look and feel similar to that of 'true' leather at a fraction of the cost. This bonded leather is not as durable as other leathers, and is recommended for use only if the product will be used infrequently. An example for the use of this type of bonded leather is in Bible covers. The term "bonded leather" when used to describe upholstered furniture is a different product and construction. Bonded leather upholstery is a vinyl upholstery that contains about 17% leather fiber in its backing material. Hence, there is no leather in the surface of this product. The vinyl is stamped to give it a leather-like texture. Bonded leather upholstery is durable and its manufacturing process is more environmentally-friendly than leather production.

Bycast leather is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently was adopted by the furniture industry. The original formula created by Bayer was strong, but expensive. Most of the Bycast used today is very strong and durable product. The result is a slightly stiffer product that is cheaper than top grain leather but has a much more consistent texture and is easier to clean and maintain.

Faux Leather It is man made leather, and is durable because of the synthetic materials used.

• Polyurethane is washable, can be dry-cleaned and allows some air to flow through.
• PVC pleather in contrast does not "breathe" and is difficult to clean.

[bentoon 0]

Tips on buying sofas:

Full leather sofas would likely to mean Top Grain is on anywhere your body touches...the cushions, backs, armrests. Anywhere else (the back, sides and bottom) will use split-grain. Full grain everywhere would be extremely expensive.

Half leather would mean leather is used only where it touches the body, the other areas is upholstered in synthetic material such as vinyl or PVC. This option is meant to provide the same look and feel as a full leather product, but at a lower price.

Be sure to check what is the type of leather used in Full leather sofas. If you ever see any piece of furniture marked "100% leather" and nothing else, LEAVE. Once a piece of furniture says that, there's nothing good left to say about it. 100% leather (esp. in furniture) means they've gathered all the scrap pieces of split leather (and you can split leather for awhile), mix it together with glue and essentially "stamp" it together to make it look like a grain.