by purpose
Household leather, national defense leather, industrial and agricultural leather, cultural and sports goods leather;
According to the tanning method
Chrome tanned leather, vegetable tanned leather, oil tanned leather, aldehyde tanned leather, and combination tanned leather, etc. In addition, it can also be divided into light leather and heavy leather. Leather commonly used for shoe uppers, clothing, gloves, etc., is called light leather and is measured by area; Leather made from thicker animal skins using vegetable tanning agents or a combination of tanning agents, used for the inner and outer soles of leather shoes and industrial accessories, is called heavy leather and is measured by weight.
By animal species
There are mainly pig leather, cow leather, sheep leather, horse leather, donkey leather, kangaroo leather, etc., as well as a small amount of fish leather, reptile leather, amphibian leather, ostrich leather, etc. Among them, cowhide leather is divided into yellow cattle leather, buffalo leather, yak leather, and yak leather; Sheepskin leather is divided into sheepskin leather and goat leather. Among the main types of leather, yellow cattle leather and sheep leather have a flat and fine surface, small pores, a dense and compact internal structure, and a leather body with good fullness and elasticity, as well as good physical properties. Therefore, high-quality yellow cowhide and sheepskin are generally used as leather materials for high-end products, and their prices are relatively high among bulk leather.
By hierarchy
There are two types of leather: top layer leather and second layer leather, with the top layer leather consisting of full grain leather and finished leather; Second layer leather includes pig second layer leather and cow second layer leather.
By manufacturing method
genuine leather
'Genuine leather' is a common term in the leather goods market, which is a common way for people to distinguish natural leather from synthetic leather. In the minds of consumers, 'genuine leather' also has a non fake meaning. Animal leather is a type of natural leather, commonly known as genuine leather. It is a leather material made from animal (raw skin) tanned and processed by leather factories, with various characteristics, strengths, textures, colors, and patterns. It is an essential material for modern leather products.
The processing of genuine animal leather is very complex, and it needs to go through dozens of steps to make finished leather: raw leather - soaking - removing flesh - degreasing - depilation - soaking alkali - expanding - removing ash - softening - soaking acid - tanning - layering - smoothing - retanning - neutralization - dyeing - oiling - filling - drying - finishing - coating - finished leather. There are also many types of leather, including sheep leather, cow leather, horse leather, snake leather, pig leather, crocodile leather, etc. According to their properties, they can be further divided into two-layer leather, full grain leather, suede leather, modified surface leather, laminated leather, composite leather, and decorative sectional leather.
Among them, cowhide, sheepskin, and pigskin are the three major types of leather used in leather production.
bonded leather
It is made by crushing the waste skins and leather scraps of various animals and blending chemical raw materials. Its surface processing technology is the same as that of genuine leather for facelift and embossed leather. Its characteristics are that the edges of the leather are relatively neat, the utilization rate is high, and the price is cheap; However, the leather body is generally thick and has poor strength, making it only suitable for producing standardized products such as affordable document boxes, pull rod bags, and golf club covers, as well as affordable belts. The longitudinal fiber structure is uniform and consistent, and the solidification effect of the mixed fibers of the fluid can be recognized.
artificial leather
Artificial leather, also known as imitation leather or rubber material, is a general term for artificial materials such as PVC and PU. It is made by foaming or laminating various formulations of PVC and PU on textile or non-woven fabric substrates, and can be processed according to different strength, wear resistance, cold resistance, color, gloss, pattern and other requirements. It has the characteristics of a wide variety of colors, good waterproof performance, neat edges, high utilization rate, and relatively cheap price compared to genuine leather.
Artificial leather is an extremely popular type of material, widely used to make various leather products or replace some genuine leather materials. Its increasingly advanced manufacturing technology is widely adopted in the processing and production of two-layer leather. Nowadays, artificial leather with characteristics similar to genuine leather has been produced and marketed. Its surface technology and fiber structure of the base material almost achieve the effect of genuine leather, and its price is comparable to that of domestic top layer leather.
synthetic leather
Synthetic leather is a plastic product that simulates the composition and structure of natural leather and can be used as a substitute material. The surface is mainly made of polyurethane, and the base material is non-woven fabric made of synthetic fibers such as polyester, cotton, and polypropylene. Both its front and back sides are very similar to leather and have a certain degree of breathability. The characteristics are beautiful luster, less prone to mold and insect infestation, and closer to natural leather than ordinary synthetic leather.
There are many varieties of synthetic leather, and in addition to having common characteristics such as synthetic fiber non-woven fabric base and polyurethane microporous surface layer, each type of synthetic leather has different non-woven fabric fiber varieties and processing techniques. Synthetic leather has a smooth surface, uniform color and strength, and is superior to natural leather in terms of waterproofing, acid and alkali resistance, and microbial resistance.
