What is vegetable tanned leather ? Is it good leather?
If you're a frequent visitor to design websites, craft bazaars, or follow the Facebook and Instagram accounts of some leather studios, you're no stranger to the term “vegetable tanned”.
But what kind of leather is vegetable tanned? Cow or sheep? How do you know if the leather is good or not? Sometimes you have these questions before you happily place your order.
There are already a lot of professional and scientific references on the internet, so today we will just explain in an easy to understand way what vegetable tanned leather is supposed to be when you buy it:
What is vegetable tanned leather?
“Vegetable tanning” is the process of tanning leather.
You can think of it as one of the methods of producing leather.
There are all kinds of leather on the market, and the reason why they are so varied, hard and soft, textured and not textured, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, is that there are many ways to process leather, the most common being vegetable tanning and chrome tanning, which are two completely different ways to produce leather.
Chrome tanned leather is tanned with chrome powder, which produces a large amount of saturated and vibrant colors in a short period of time, as well as a light and soft texture. Therefore, leather products on the market that are not specifically labeled as vegetable tanned are almost always chrome tanned. There are many different types and grades of chrome tanned leather, from handbags that cost a few hundred dollars to international brands that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so I won't discuss this part too much.
Vegetable tanning is the oldest traditional leather manufacturing method, originating from ancient times when man took off the animal skin, the raw hide and leaves, branches, fruits and so on for a long time soaking, these plants produce tannins so that the raw hide into leather that can be stored for a long time, this process has evolved into a traditional tanning method, and then talk about it may be that you are going to fall asleep, in a nutshell ... ... ...
Vegetable tanning is a very time-consuming process compared to chrome tanning, and there is usually not much additional finishing, the original appearance of the leather will be preserved, in other words, you will directly see the color of the leather itself, the grain, scars, spots, etc., very naked, so to be made into a vegetable tanned leather leather, the leather condition requirements will be relatively high, and the overall cost is also relatively high.
Is vegetable tanned leather cowhide?
There is actually vegetable tanned cowhide.
There are also vegetable tanned sheepskin and vegetable tanned pigskin.
Vegetable tanning is a general term for a type of tanning that can be applied to different hides, so there are actually vegetable tanned cowhides, vegetable tanned sheep hides and vegetable tanned pig hides, only that cowhides are the most popular on the market, so most of the vegetable tanned leather products you see in the market are still vegetable tanned cowhides.
What are vegetable tanned colors?
Primary color means skin color, so like human beings, there are differences between different regions and races, and even the skin color of the same pair of parents will not be exactly the same.
Vegetable tanned leather is the original color when it is freshly made, but there are also leather dyed by the tannery. However, because of the way vegetable tanned leather is processed, the color of both the original color and the leather dyed by the tannery is more natural than the color of chrome tanned leather (there are also vegetable tanned leather with the reputation of being saturated and bright, such as Buttero by the Italian Vegetable Tanning Association, which is a very different kind of glamour from the saturated one of the chrome tanned leather).
Regarding the color, the most famous feature of vegetable tanned leather is that it will naturally oxidize to a caramel color with use, light, oil, water, etc., and at the same time, it will become softer and more glossy. As the first picture in this article shows the comparison between the same cell phone case before using it and after using it for two years, this is a feature that cannot be imitated by chrome tanned leather, and it is also the secret of the love of vegetable tanned leather products by many people.
That is to say, even if you just bought a vegetable tanned wallet is a light color, even if you don't take it out and use it, it will secretly become darker, so take it out and use it! Don't be reluctant to use it, the real charm of vegetable tanned leather is in the process of using it, the more you use it, the brighter and more beautiful it will become!
Is vegetable tanned leather good?
There are different grades of vegetable tanned leather.
The more unblemished, the better the leather, the more full of oils it is, the higher the price.
Instead of saying whether it's good or not, it's better to say whether you like the style or not. Some people like the natural warmth of vegetable tanned leather, the more you use it, the more layers you get, while others love the versatility of chrome tanned leather, with all the colors and textures you could want. In terms of creativity, vegetable tanned leather is of course more malleable, it can be dyed and molded, for a lively example, please refer to our stingray tag cake, chrome tanned leather of course can't make this effect XD!
In terms of price, whether vegetable tanned or chrome tanned, there is no doubt that you get what you pay for, and there are hundreds of grades of leather, so if your expectation of leather accessories is that they can accompany you for a longer period of time, and you are willing to take good care of them, you will not be disappointed in choosing quality leather products, and the marks on the objects will become a part of your personal style over time.
