About the leather
Vegetable Tanning
Vegetable tanning is a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process that takes up to several months. Only tanning agents/tannins from renewable plant sources are used. In Europe, primarily the tannin-rich tree bark of spruce, oak, birch, willow or chestnut is used, but olive leaves and rhubarb root are also used due to their high tannin contents. The plant components are dried and processed into powder and added to the animal skins in the tanning process.
This type of tanning generally produces the highest quality leathers. They have characteristics that are essential for manual processing and the future durability of the product. During the tanning process, the tanning agents bind to the collagen fibers of the hide, giving the leather its firmness, its natural light brown color tone and its unmistakable woody smell.. At the same time, the structure of the skin pores is gently preserved, giving the finished leather the ability to "breathe".
In constant exposure to moisture, oils/fats and sunlight a distinctive patina will quickly develop with normal use, giving each product its individual character taht is able to tell the story of its owner. Here is an example of a BiFold wallet directly after completion compared to a few months of use:
LEATHER:
Buttero natural
DAY 1
DAY 200
vs.
Full-Grain Leather
The leather I use is always so-called full-grain leather. In leather production, the animal hide can be split into different layers, resulting in different types and qualities of leather. In principle, animal hides become softer from the outside to the inside which means that their fabric density decreases towards the inside. A distinction is essentially made between full-grain, top-grain and genuine leather. Full-grain leather is made from the top layer of skin and is of the highest quality. Top-grain leather also uses the top layer, but the skin surface is sanded for a softer, more velvety feel, removing the very layer that gives full-grain leather its high tear resistance and durability. Genuine leather refers to the bottom layer of leather, which can also be of good quality, but ultimately tells you nothing more about the leather than that it is not artificial leather. This leather is usually obtained as a waste product when leather is thinned for the production of high-quality leather goods as split leather.
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Full-grain leather is therefore made from the uppermost layer of the animal hide, which has a distinctive surface structure and the highest fabric density. As the animal hide is left in its natural state, the natural grain, the pore structure, scratches and scars in the leather remain visible. These natural characteristics are not defects, but rather regarded to be quality features that give the finished product its unique appearance. Full-grain leathers are therefore not only more appealing to the eye than other types of leather, but are also known for their exceptional durability thanks to the complete preservation of the more robust outermost skin layer.
The particularly high fabric density also means that nourishing oils and fats are stored for a significantly longer time, and there is generally less susceptibility towards the influence of dirt and moisture. This is the ideal prerequisite for an unmistakable patina to form through use and for the product to become more beautiful as it gets older.
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Due to its robustness, the processing of full-grain leather requires special care and craftsmanship. The very desirable properties that make it so valuable also mean that a mistake can easily happen during processing. In most cases, this is irreversible and correspondingly costly. With leather goods made from genuine full-grain leather you can therefore always be sure that the leather has been worked by skilled hands.
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Chrome Tanning
In addition to the vegetable tanning described above, there is also chrome tanning - a chemical process that is much faster (<24h) and cheaper. Mineral tanning with chromium(III) salts is therefore the most prevalent method today, accounting for >80% of global production. However, chrome tanning does not come close to the unique quality characteristics of vegetable tanning and causes large quantities of chromium-containing waste water and residues during production, which must be treated accordingly as an environmental burden.
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Shell Cordovan
Shell Cordovan is the name given to a special part of the horse's back, also known as the "shell" or "butt" (croup). Only two oval pieces of Cordovan leather, roughly the size of an A3 sheet of paper, can be obtained from one horse hide. This low yield - in addition to the complex vegetable tanning process - contributes to the fact that Shell Cordovan is one of the most expensive leathers in the world.
Due to its extremely high pore density, which is invisible to the human eye, this leather has an almost reflective surface. This ensures that Shell Cordovan is naturally extremely robust, dirt-repellent and water-resistant. It retains these properties over the long term and develops an incomparable patina over the years.
The name is derived from the Spanish city of Córdoba, where this special processing technique for horse hides originated or was first practiced.
An important difference to high-quality full-grain cowhide (see above) lies in the production process. While for full-grain cowhides the grain side is used as the outer side, for Shell Cordovan the flesh or inner side is processed to form the cover side. This initially rough side is processed until it forms a smooth and non-porous surface with an unmistakable sheen. During production, the leather is treated with oil formulas and waxes and stored on glass panes to dry. Most of this artisan work is still carried out by hand and the tanning process for these famous leathers takes around six months.
Shell Cordovan is considered the finest and most precious leather in the world due to its remarkable texture - making it highly sought-after and correspondingly expensive. The shells produced by the Italian tannery ROCADO are among the highest quality and generally most popular ones, alongside those from the American tannery Horween Leather Co.
Contact
I'm always open to new ideas and challenges, so feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions!