Leather is one of the most important raw materials for furniture and clothing 

and is often used to make leather sofas, chairs, and clothes.

Depending on the production process, material and origin,

 there are many types of leather to choose from and it's often confusing.

As a leather furniture manufacturer, we offer an overiew guide to the quality and grade of leather.

Below we present 6 types of leather, each with its own unique qualities,

including full grain leather, top grain leather, split leather, corrected leather, bonded leather, and faux leather.

Understanding them will be beneficial for different project types or styles.

6  Types of Leather

The main types of cowhide are first-layer leather, split leather, and other artificial leather.

Of these, the first layer cowhide is mainly divided into full-grain leather and top-grain leather.

1. Full Grain Leather

Full-grain leather is a type of first-grain cowhide and is the best quality of first-grain cowhide.

It has not been sanded or polished to remove any imperfections and the surface.
Therefore, the surface of full-grain leather retains the characteristics of the original cowhide,

with the distinctive pores and grain of the cowhide clearly visible.

Because the surface of the leather remains intact on the leather, its fastness is good, 

so normally the full-grain leather surface will not be spray printed or painted very thinly, which will provide an original unique, 

and natural appearance, maintaining the softness, elasticity, and good breathability properties.

The finished products are comfortable, durable, and beautiful. 

2.Top Grain leather

Top-grain leather is a type of first-layer leather, made by removing the hard upper-grain layer during the processing of the first layer of hides. 

The benefit here is making it more soft and flexible and allowing the craftsman to hand-color each part of the leather, 

and apply it with a highly durable protective layer.This treatment gives the leather the ability to resist stains

and protects it from damage and corrosion, making it last longer.

Therefore, the surface of sofas made from top grain leather can be given a rich colour

and style while retaining the natural traces of the leather.Ideal for making high-end leather sofas and chairs.

 Different hand-color methods will cause different effects to top grain leather.
For example, the unique hand-dying method used by ICONIC SOCIETY furniture

produces a unique antique effect on the leather, either with a matte finish or with vibrant color and waxy sheen.

Making each of the top leather sofa pieces full of character and truly unique.

It has better stain resistance and a rich colour style and is cheaper than full grain leather.

This is why many people prefer this leather as it is durable and readily available.

At the Iconic Society, each piece of top grain leather is created by our artisans with a special warmth and soul that cannot be replicated.

Click here to know more about ICONIC SOCIETY Leather.

3.Split Leather 

As previously mentioned, split leather is the second layer of cowhide of the original leather.

The natural surface of split leather is not as dense and practical as that of full-grain and top-grain leather.

Therefore, it is commonly used for leather finishes that have been colored, embossed, and altered in some significant way.

The split leather is still referred to as genuine leather and although it retains the characteristics of cowhide,

it has loose fibrous tissue and is far less durable and stronger than the first layer of cowhide.

It is still referred to as "genuine leather".

Although it retains the characteristics of cowhide,

its loose fiber tissue and low density make it much less durable and stronger than first-layer cowhide.

It is generally made very thick to increase its strength.

 In normal use scenarios, the cracks in the split leather are prone to wear and even tear.

So it's not the highest quality leather, but it tends to be more readily available for its price.

In the market, split leather is mostly used in office furniture, as it's hard and thick.

As mentioned before, split leather is the second layer of cowhide of the original leather.

4.Corrected Leather/”Genuine” Leather

Corrected grain leather can come from any layer of the hide, that has been surface treated to provide a more even, 

'corrected' appearance in order to retouch and improve the rawhide and grain imperfections, hence the name corrected  leather.

It can be sanded or polished to remove surface defects, then stained (or painted) or stamped/embossed, 

or have artificial graining applied to its surface to give it a final surface appearance, giving a natural look to the false graining.

It could still be called 'leather', but it loses some of the preferred qualities of leather

and is not a good choice for those looking for high-quality leather furniture.

5.Bonded Leather (Reconstituted Leather)

Bonded leather is made by shredding leftover pieces of various animal leathers or scrap, old hides and skins,

and bonding them together using chemicals such as polyurethane or latex, hence the name "Reconstituted Leather".

It is the cheapest, at the bottom of the pyramid.Bonded leather is often painted to give it a colour

and can also be pressed/embossed to give it a specific grain or leather style appearance.

6.Faux Leather

Faux leather also called artificial leather, it is a kind of plastic product that is similar in appearance and feels to genuine leather.

Compared to genuine leather, artificial leather cannot achieve the feel and elasticity of genuine leather. 

And it is prone to aging and wear and has a short life span.

Pursuit for high quality leather furniture

In summary, you may already know that first layer cowhide is the best quality leather.

However,the first layer of cattle hide is also divided into yellow cattle hide, buffalo hide, yak hide, cow hide,etc.

And the yellow cattle hide is the highest grand among them. 

Iconic Society Furniture uses the first layer yellow cattle hides from South America on the furniture.

It has good strength, elasticity, and excellent touch, 

which is very suitable to make the top grain leather sofa and chair.

Quality is the core of our manufacturing, 

using the best leather materials just to create a higher quality product.

If you are looking for high-quality leather furniture, 

start contacting Iconic Society Furniture!

***FAQ***

1. What are the natural marks of leather?

Natural traces of high quality leather refer to the original characteristics of animal skin retained on the surface of leather, 

such as pores, patterns, spots, scratches, color spots, etc..

These traces are inevitable during the growth of the animal.

So these natural traces can reflect the authenticity, naturalness and uniqueness of the leather, 

which is one of the identification marks of high quality leather.

The natural traces of high quality leather will not affect the use performance of leather, 

but can increase the beauty and texture of leather, reflecting the high-end quality of leather.

2. How to identify the real and fake leather couch ?

Identify whether the sofa is made of real leather can be by many methods, 

the most direct is to see the label, whether it indicates that it is genuine leather.

You can also look at the surface of the leather, whether there are irregular patterns, 

pores, spots, scratches and other natural traces, the

Touch feel: genuine leather feels soft, flexible and layered, 

while artificial leather feels more hard, stiff and thin.

Smell: genuine leather will have a natural fur smell, even after treatment will not disappear completely, 

while artificial leather will have a plastic or chemical smell, no fur smell.

We explain in detail in another article more ways to identify real and fake leather.

3. How long can leather sofa last?

The service life of the leather sofa depends on its quality and the way it is used.

Leather sofa made of high quality leather can usually use more than 10 years, 

while the low-end leather sofa made of leather may not use more than 5 years to have problems.

In addition, do not pay attention to maintenance and care, will shorten the life of the leather sofa.

We explained in detail in another article on the service life of leather sofas.