Leather terminology, explained

Leather colored with transparent dye and given no pigment coat, so the natural grain, pores and marks stay fully visible. It is the most natural-looking finish and the least protected: it marks easily and develops patina fastest.

See also: Semi-aniline leather, Pigmented leather, Patina

The part of a hide from the animal's underside. The fibers are looser than on the back, so belly leather stretches more and is usually kept for less structural parts of a piece.

See also: Shoulder, Hide

An edge whose sharp corners have been shaved off at an angle before finishing. Beveling rounds the profile so the edge takes paint or burnishing evenly and does not catch on a pocket.

See also: Burnished edge, Edge paint · How a Royal piece is made →

Leather scraps and fibers ground up, mixed with a binder and pressed onto a backing sheet, then printed with a grain. It can legally be sold as leather while containing as little as a tenth of it, and it peels within a year or two.

See also: Genuine leather, Full-grain leather · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

The first weeks of use, when a new piece's leather softens and its card slots relax to the shape of what you carry. A stiff slot on day one is normal for full-grain; it is the leather that loosens, not the stitching.

See also: Hand, Full-grain leather

Vegetable-tanned leather stuffed with waxes and tallow, originally made for horse tack. It is firm and smooth and sheds a light bloom of wax that buffs off, and it ages into a deep gloss.

See also: Vegetable-tanned leather, Patina

A raw edge rubbed with water, wax or gum and friction until the fibers compact into a smooth, slightly glossy surface. It is the traditional edge finish and it can be redone by hand years later.

See also: Edge paint, Beveled edge · How a Royal piece is made →

Leather tanned with chromium salts, a process that takes a day or two rather than months. It is soft, supple, consistent in color and holds up well to water, which is why most of the world's leather is made this way. It patinas less than vegetable-tanned leather.

See also: Vegetable-tanned leather, Tanning, Wet blue

Feeding leather a small amount of oil or wax so it stays supple instead of drying and cracking. A wallet needs it two or three times a year, applied thinly and buffed off.

See also: Patina, Water spotting · How to condition a leather wallet → · The leather care guide →

Leather whose natural surface has been sanded away to remove scars and blemishes, then coated and often embossed with an artificial grain. It looks uniform on the shelf and lacks the strength and character of the surface it lost.

See also: Top-grain leather, Embossed grain, Full-grain leather · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

Dye rubbing off a leather surface onto whatever touches it: a shirt pocket, a light trouser lining. Common with heavily dyed or unfinished leathers when new, and it settles down with use.

See also: Drum-dyed, Aniline leather

Leather colored by tumbling whole hides in a drum of dye so the color soaks right through rather than sitting on top. A scratch on drum-dyed leather shows the same color underneath; on surface-dyed leather it shows pale.

See also: Aniline leather, Crocking

A flexible acrylic or resin coating applied to a cut edge in several thin coats, sanded between each. It gives a clean, uniform line and seals the fibers; the trade-off against burnishing is that paint can chip and is harder to repair at home.

See also: Burnished edge, Beveled edge · How a Royal piece is made →

A grain pattern pressed into the leather under heat and pressure, usually onto a corrected or split surface that no longer has one of its own. Pebble, croc and saffiano textures are nearly always embossed.

See also: Corrected-grain leather, Pebbled grain, Split leather

Whatever is applied to the grain surface after tanning and dyeing: nothing (aniline), a light protective coat (semi-aniline), a full pigment coat, wax, oil or a gloss. The finish decides how the leather looks on day one and how it will age.

See also: Aniline leather, Semi-aniline leather, Pigmented leather

The underside of a hide, the side that faced the animal, with a fibrous, slightly fuzzy texture. On an unlined wallet you see it inside the slots; suede is a split finished on this side.

See also: Grain, Suede, Unlined

Leather that keeps the whole outer surface of the hide, pores, marks and all, with nothing sanded off. It is the strongest and longest-lasting grade because the dense top fibers are intact, and it is the one that develops a true patina.

See also: Top-grain leather, Genuine leather, Patina · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

A label, not a grade. It means only that the material is real leather of some kind and in practice usually marks a lower split or a corrected surface with a coating on top. Treat it as the floor, not a reassurance.

See also: Bonded leather, Split leather, Full-grain leather · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

The outer surface of a hide, where the hair grew, and its natural pattern of pores and creases. Grain is both the look of the leather and its toughest layer, which is why grades are named by how much of it is left.

See also: Full-grain leather, Flesh side, Corrected-grain leather

A folded or pleated panel sewn into a pocket so it can expand. A gusseted coin pocket or bill section opens wide; without one the pocket is flat and holds less.

See also: Skiving

How leather feels when you handle it: its softness, weight, flex and surface. Makers talk about a firm hand or a soft hand. It is the quickest honest test of a piece, and it changes with break-in.

See also: Break-in, Milled leather

The whole skin of a large animal, usually a cow, before it is cut. Hides are sold by the full hide, the side (half) or by section such as shoulder, back and belly, and each section behaves differently.

See also: Shoulder, Belly, Split leather

A tough, oil-and-wax-stuffed leather, usually combination tanned, originally for saddle straps. It resists water and sweat well and is a common choice for belts and straps that get hard use.

See also: Bridle leather, Oil-tanned leather

A second, thinner layer covering the inside of a piece, either leather or fabric. It hides the flesh side and adds structure, at the cost of thickness; a thin leather lining is the mark of a well-made bifold.

See also: Unlined, Skiving

The stitch a sewing machine makes: a top thread and a bobbin thread that interlock between the layers. It is fast and neat, and when one thread breaks the run can unravel, which is the difference from a saddle stitch.

See also: Saddle stitch, Stitches per inch (SPI)

Leather tumbled dry in a drum after tanning so the grain softens and wrinkles into a pebbled, relaxed surface. Milling gives a soft hand without adding a coating.

See also: Hand, Pebbled grain

The raised fuzz of fibers on suede and nubuck. Brushing the nap one way darkens it and the other lightens it, which is why those leathers look two-toned under light.

See also: Suede, Nubuck

A loose trade name for soft, smooth, full-grain or top-grain leather, most often chrome-tanned and lightly finished. It describes a feel, not a tanning method or a guaranteed grade.

See also: Chrome-tanned leather, Hand

Full-grain or top-grain leather with the outer surface lightly sanded to raise a fine, velvety nap. It is stronger than suede because it is made from the grain side, and it marks and stains just as easily.

See also: Suede, Nap

Leather, usually chrome-tanned, heavily loaded with oils and waxes during finishing so it is soft, water resistant and shows pull-up when flexed. Common on boots and rugged bags.

See also: Pull-up leather, Latigo

The thickness of leather, measured in ounces where one ounce is 1/64 inch, about 0.4 mm. Wallet leathers run roughly 2 to 4 oz; belts run 8 oz and up.

See also: Skiving, Split leather

The gradual deepening of color and sheen that full-grain and vegetable-tanned leather take on with handling, sunlight and the oils in your hands. It is earned, not applied, and it is the reason a good wallet looks better at ten years than at one.

See also: Full-grain leather, Vegetable-tanned leather, Aniline leather · The leather care guide →

A textured surface of small rounded bumps. It is sometimes the result of milling a natural grain and more often embossed, so ask which before paying for it.

See also: Milled leather, Embossed grain

Leather finished with an opaque colored coating that covers the grain. The coat makes it the most uniform and stain-resistant finish and the least likely to patina, since the leather itself is sealed underneath.

See also: Aniline leather, Semi-aniline leather, Finish

Leather infused with oils and waxes so the color lightens where it is bent or stretched and darkens back when rubbed. The effect is the point: the leather records every fold. Sometimes sold as crazy horse leather.

See also: Oil-tanned leather, Patina

The scars, insect bites, stretch marks and healed scratches a hide picks up during the animal's life. Full-grain leather keeps them; sanding them off is what turns a hide into corrected grain. A few are a sign of the real thing.

See also: Full-grain leather, Corrected-grain leather

A thin metallic layer sewn between the leather and the lining that stops contactless cards being read through the wallet. It adds a little stiffness and is only useful if you carry cards that can be read without contact.

See also: Lining · RFID wallets explained →

A hand stitch made with two needles on one thread, passed through each hole from opposite sides so the thread crosses itself inside the leather. If one stitch wears through, the rest hold. A machine cannot make it, which is why it is the mark of hand-sewn goods.

See also: Lock stitch, Waxed thread, Stitches per inch (SPI) · How a Royal piece is made →

Aniline-dyed leather given a thin, lightly pigmented protective coat. The grain still shows through, it marks less than pure aniline and it still ages, so it is the usual middle ground for goods that get daily handling.

See also: Aniline leather, Pigmented leather

A dense, glossy leather taken from a membrane under the hide on a horse's rump rather than from the surface. It barely creases, it polishes like glass and it costs several times what cowhide does.

See also: Patina, Vegetable-tanned leather

The section of a hide from the animal's shoulders: tight-grained, strong and fairly even, with some natural creasing. It is a favored cut for small goods because it is firm without being as costly as the back.

See also: Hide, Belly

Thinning the edge of a leather piece with a blade or machine before it is folded or stitched. Skived edges are why a card slot can be sewn through four layers and still feel thin; unskived folds are bulky and crack.

See also: Ounce (leather weight), Lining · How a Royal piece is made →

The lower layer left when a thick hide is sliced horizontally to bring it down to a usable thickness. A split has no natural grain, so it is either finished as suede or coated and embossed and sold as genuine leather.

See also: Genuine leather, Suede, Hide · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

How many stitches a seam carries in an inch. Small goods usually run 7 to 10; a higher count looks finer and a lower count with a heavier thread is stronger. Consistency along the seam matters more than the number.

See also: Saddle stitch, Lock stitch · How a Royal piece is made →

Leather finished on the flesh side, or made from a split, and buffed to a soft nap. It is pleasant in the hand and absorbs water and oil readily, so it needs more care than a smooth grain.

See also: Nubuck, Split leather, Flesh side

The works where raw hides are turned into leather: cleaned, de-haired, tanned, dyed and finished. Makers name their tannery when they are proud of it; the tannery decides the leather's quality before any cutting begins.

See also: Tanning, Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather

The chemical process that stops a raw hide decaying and turns it into stable, workable leather. The two main methods, vegetable and chrome, produce leathers that look, feel and age quite differently.

See also: Vegetable-tanned leather, Chrome-tanned leather, Tannery

Leather from the upper part of the hide with the very outer surface lightly sanded or buffed to even it out, then usually finished. It is a step below full-grain in strength and patina but still a good, durable grade.

See also: Full-grain leather, Corrected-grain leather · Full-grain vs top-grain vs genuine leather →

Vegetable-tanned leather from the tanneries of Tuscany, Italy, a region with a long tradition of slow bark tanning. The name points at a method and a place; the leather is prized for its firm hand and rich patina.

See also: Vegetable-tanned leather, Tannery, Patina

A piece made from a single layer of leather with no lining, so the flesh side shows inside. It is thinner and lighter than a lined piece and relies on the leather itself for structure.

See also: Lining, Flesh side

Leather tanned with tannins from bark, wood and leaves over weeks or months. It is firm, holds a shape and an edge, and darkens into a deep patina with use; it is also more sensitive to water than chrome-tanned leather. Often shortened to veg-tan.

See also: Chrome-tanned leather, Patina, Bridle leather · How a Royal piece is made →