What types of leather are used to make leather bags? How to distinguish them?

The leather used to make leather bags can be roughly divided into genuine leather and artificial leather. This is the key difference between luxury bags and low-priced bags. Dermis is made from the raw hair of animals through special processing, and can be subdivided into top layer of skin and second layer of skin.

Artificial leather is a plastic product that looks and feels like leather and can be used instead. It is usually made of fabric as the base, coated with synthetic resin and various plastic additions. There are three main categories: PVC artificial leather, PU artificial leather and PU synthetic leather. The specific introduction is as follows:

1. Cowhide: It is the most common bag leather. Its texture is solid and elastic, and it has high plasticity. There are many subdivided types of cowhide, including yellow cowhide, buffalohide, yakhide and yakhide. According to the age and gender of the cow, it can also be further divided into adult bullhide, calf hide, etc. Among them, vegetable tanned cowhide is the first. The most premium type of leather (vegetable tanning is the name of a process for treating raw leather).

2. Lychee pattern cowhide: It is a product of combining cowhide and patterns through various processes using a mold with litchi pattern. In other words, it is made by a special process. Cowhide is not the actual type of cowhide.

3. Sheepskin: There are two types of sheepskin and goatskin. Sheepskin is thin and light, while goatskin is stronger and more wear-resistant. However, because of this, goatskin will be slightly rough and its feel is not as good as sheepskin. The price difference between the two appears here.

4. Suede: Most of the suede on the market is not actually from muntjac, but is replaced by the inner layer of sheepskin, cowhide, deerskin, etc., because of the large number of muntjac animals. It is so rare that it is on the verge of extinction. Suede leather is soft, delicate and highly malleable.

5. Patent leather is just a processing technology, not a type of leather. It refers to spraying paint on materials such as genuine leather or PU leather to create a leather with bright luster and smooth texture.

6. PVC leather is a kind of artificial leather, a common thermoplastic resin with high plasticity and a texture very similar to real leather.

7. PU artificial leather is a polyurethane skin. It is widely used in the decoration of bags, clothing, shoes, vehicles and furniture. It has been increasingly recognized by the market. Its wide range of applications, large quantities and varieties cannot be satisfied by traditional natural leather. The quality of PU artificial leather also varies, and good PU artificial leather is even more expensive than genuine leather.

How to distinguish genuine leather from artificial leather:

1. At first glance: real leather has clearer pores and patterns, yellow cowhide has more uniform fine pores, and yak leather has thicker and Sparse pores, goatskin has fish-like pores. Whether there are pores on the leather surface is an important feature to identify the authenticity of leather.

2. Nose smell: All genuine leather has the smell of leather; while artificial leather has a pungent plastic smell.

3. Ignite: Tear off a little fiber from the back of real leather and artificial leather. After igniting, if it emits a pungent smell and forms knots, it is artificial leather; if it emits a hairy smell but does not form hard knots, it is artificial leather. Genuine Leather. There is a smell when the cut corners are burned, but it is not the smell of burnt hair.

4. Water absorption identification: The surface of genuine leather has better water absorption, while fake leather, on the contrary, has better water resistance. You can dip your fingers in some water and apply it on the surface of the clothing to observe its water absorption. If it has good water absorption, it is genuine leather. If it has poor water absorption or no water absorption at all, it is mostly fake leather.

Extended information:

Maintenance of dermis:

1. First: Avoid leather clothing coming into contact with oil, acid and alkaline substances, etc., and remove it when taking it off. Leather clothing should be placed in a ventilated place, but should not be exposed to the sun.

2. Second: Use a soft dry cloth to wipe off water stains, but be careful not to use water or gasoline. If you encounter rain, do not use gasoline to wipe it, because water will harden the leather, and gasoline can The oil in the leather volatilizes and causes it to dry out, accelerating aging.

3. Third: Genuine leather clothing must be cleaned and polished before collecting it for seasonal changes to supplement "nutrition" to the leather, keep the leather clothing soft, smooth and shiny, and extend its life. For glazing, you can use leather polish. Dip a cloth into the polish and apply it gently on the leather garment - twice. You can also send it to a professional store for better maintenance.

4. Fourth: It is best to hang it up when storing. Cover the leather jacket with a piece of cloth and do not fold it to prevent wrinkles in the leather jacket. If it is placed in a box, it must be spread flat and no clothes should be placed on it, but mothballs are not necessary.

5. Fifth: If genuine leather clothing is torn or damaged, it should be repaired in time.

Maintenance and coloring of genuine leather clothing:

After the leather clothing is cleaned, smooth leather clothing generally needs to be colored, which is professionally called "painting". It is a method of using special leather chemicals such as pigments and resins to make a coating slurry and applying it to the leather surface by brushing, wiping, spraying, etc. Before painting, mix the prepared color paste and resin according to a certain ratio (usually the ratio of pigment to resin is 1:2-2.5) and mix thoroughly before painting.

For leather garments with good color, perform color fixing treatment appropriately to prevent fading. After the coloring is completed, if the main part of the back body of the leather jacket is wrinkled or uneven, it is best to use an iron to iron it to make it smoother and more beautiful.

When ironing, it is best to put a piece of silk cloth on the surface of the leather. It is better to control the ironing temperature in the range of 80~100℃. The ironing time at each place should not be too long to prevent certain defects in the coating. Some pigments may "migrate" and cause color blooming. You should especially pay attention to light-colored leather clothing. Then, don’t forget to wipe off the color on buttons and accessories with a damp cloth.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Genuine Leather