Salting

Addition of salt helps the skin to dry more quickly and wet back more easily

Sammying

"Wetting down" process in tanning with water to permit stretching.

Saturation

A most important aspect in producing high quality leathers. Full saturation of tanning, fat liquors and dyes are essential in the production of fine leathers.

Sauvage

A two tone effect with a mottled appearnace that adds depth and character to the leather. Either by blending similar colors,or by a mechanical process during finishing.

Scotch Grain

A pebbled pattern embossed usually on cattlehide or calf leather made to resemble the heavy leather with a coarse grain which originated in Scotland.

Seasoning

Treatment of leather with preparations to give new wear-resistance to surface and improve appearance.

Selection

The process of sorting hides for their intended use. Normally accepted Upholstery Industry standards state that A selection allow the cutting of 3 x 25" squares, B grade = 2 x 25" squares.

Semi-Aniline leather

Hides, which have been dyed in a shortened process and have a pigmented surface finish applied. These leathers feature a softer hand than leather finished with only pigment. Also called aniline-plus or protected aniline

Shank

That portion of the hide which formed the leg of an animal.

Shave

Hides are shaved to a particular thickness after tannage by a large shaving machine. The excess is removed from the bottom of the hide.

Shearlings

Wooled sheep and lambskins, tanned with the wool intact.

Sheepskin

Skin from a mature sheep.

Shoulder

That part of the hide between the neck and a line cut across the hide from the center of the front flanks, about 50 inches from the butt of the tail of cattlehide.

Shrunken Grain Leather

A full grain leather which is shrunken to enlarge and enhance the grain of the leather.

Side

Half a hide cut along the back bone.

Side Leather

Cattlehide grain leather which, prior to processing, has been cut in half forming two "sides". Purpose is to reduce the size to better accommodate tannery equipment. Represents the largest volume of commercial leather currently produced.

Skin

The pelt from small animals (calf, sheep, goat, etc).

Skive

The shave, slice or divide ­ to peel into a thin layer, or to reduce leather to a specific thickness. term for "splitting" hides.

Slunk

The skin of an unborn or prematurely born calf.

Smooth Plating

Semi-bright finish given to leather by ironing with large flat steam-heated steel plates. Matte finished leathers are first oiled and iron plated.

Snuffed

Grain leather which, in addition to hair removal, has had the outer surface removed by lightly buffing.

Snuffing

The mildest form of sanding a hide

Soaking

Treatment with water to clean the skin and get it back to its original condition

Spew

A portion of the oily constituents of leather that comes to the grain surface as white crystallized fatty acids, waxes, or, as a gummy spew, in the form of dark oxidized fatty acids.

Split

The inner layer of side leather which has been "split" off. Devoid of a natural grain, it may be either sueded or pigment finished and embossed. Generally stiffer and less durable, splits may be used on promotional leather furniture - particularly in areas of less direct use - to contain costs.

Splitting

Cutting leather into two or more layers prepatory to tanning.

Spread

The size of a skin measured by machine in square feet.

Staking

Mechanical softening of leather by the action of a very large number of rapidly oscillating, overlapping fingers or pins while being carried on a conveyor belt.

Steerhide

Hide from a mature male bovine, incapable of reproduction, having been raised for beef.

Strap Leather

Heavyweight vegetable-tanned leather used for industrial purposes, or to support seats and backs in certain types of seating.

Stucco

A filling material used to plug defects in the hide.

Suede

Leathers that are finished by buffing the flesh side (opposite the grain side) to produce a nap. Term refers to the napping process, and is unrelated to the type of skin used. ; A fibrous leather, typically made from the reticular part of the hide. Suede is known for Velvet like appearance

Suede Split

Leather that has been sanded to produce a sueded nap.

Sueding

The process of raising fibers on the grain side of a hide or skin to give a velvet nap effect. This is generally called "nubuck" or "grain sueded."

Super Split

The same as splits but with more attention given to elasticity so the leather can be used all over the upholstered item.

Syntans

A term covering a group of synthetic tanning materials, generally used in combination with vegetable, mineral or formaldehyde tannages. These materials are also often used for specialized purposes such as in bleaching, filling, etc.

Table dyeing

The application of dyestuff to leather with a brush; the leather being laid on a table. Also called brush coloring.

Table Run

Also called Tannery Run, this is the combination of the graded hide selections. Hides are graded by Alpha or numeric terms for typically 6 grades. Each tanner has its own definition of Table run selection but generally it is an even combination of A,B & C grade hides.

Table Run or Tannery Run

Terms used to describe leather which has not been sorted or graded before being sold.

Tacking

The stretching of wet skins in tanning process and nailing them on large wooden frames to dry.

Tannage

Conversion of the skin or hide into leather - the raw skin will putrefy, but the tanned leather will not

Tannin

Any of various solvents; astringent substances of plant origin used in tanning leather.

Tanning

The chemical and mechanical process of converting raw hides into a stable, non-perishable state.

Tear-Offs

Small pieces of leather, less than half a skin, which are torn from a skin during the staking or other tanning operations.

Texas Steers

Usually side-branded steer hides of narrow, close compact pattern, and plump; not necessarily from Texas.

Toggling

A method of drying leather where the hide is kept in a stretched position by means of clips called "toggles" in order to maintain their shape and size.

Top Coat

A clear protective coating of synthetic transparent polyurethane resins used to make the leather more resistant to wear and stains. Finishes range from a high gloss to a matte.

Top Grain

The grain side (hair side) of cattlehide, reduced to a specific thickness ranging from 2 to 10 ounces, according to a standard leather gauge. The most durable part of a leather hide due to the strength of the fibers.; Finished leather that has been sanded/buffed, and usually embossed with a texture, to remove scars and blemishes.

Trim

The removal of the outer edges of the hide not suitable for making leather.

Tumbling

The mechanical process that softens, removes water and enhances the grain of the hides.

Unfinished leather

Normally defines aniline dyed, naked leathers with no additional application intended to finish, color or treat in any way that would alter the natural characteristics of the leather.

Unhairing

A process whereby the hair is removed prior to tanning. Most commonly this is done chemically by soaking the hide in a mixture of calcium hydroxide and sodium sulfite.

Upholstery leather

A general term for leather processed for many uses, including furniture, automobiles, aircraft, architectural applications, etc.

Upper Leather

A shoe leather used for the upper portions of shoes and boots. Predominantly from cattlehide and calfskins, although a great variety of skins are used. Usually combination tanned.

Vat

A tank that turns on a shaft, used for chrome salt tanning, dying and lubrication of the leather.

Veals

Designates a large calfskin, almost as large as a kip.

Vegetable Tanned

Leathers which have been tanned with vegetable materials that are derived from certain plants and woods, often called Bark tannins.

Vegetable Tanning

The conversion of raw hide into leather by use of vegetable tannins. This process produces leather with greater body and firmness than the more general method of chromium tanning. used mainly for shoe soles and leathergoods

Vinyl

Artificial material (PVC or Poly Vinyl Chloride) used as a leather substitute.

Water Buffalo

Flat-horned buffalo, primarily from the tropics.

Wax Finish

A method of finishing heavier weights of upper leather on the flesh side by working wax into the substance.

Weight

The weight of leather is measured in ounces per square foot. Spinneybeck upholstery leathers range from 2.5 ounces per square foot to 3.5 ounces per square foot.

Welting Leather

A term used to describe a curried leather made tough and soft. Leather welting is used in making welt shoes as the uniting material between the shoe upper, sole and insole.

Wet blue leather

Leather which after chrome tanning has not been further processed and is sold in the wet condition.

Yield

The amount of usable area after all waste and imperfections have been discarded.