03 Dec 2022
Leather Defination-Animal skins and hides that have been treated with chemicals to preserve them and make them suitable for use as clothing, footwear, handbags, furniture, tools, and sports equipment
The term “hide” is used to designate the skin of larger animals (e.g., cowhide or horsehide), whereas “skin” refers to that of smaller animals (e.g., calfskin or kidskin). The preservation process employed is a chemical treatment called tanning, which converts the otherwise perishable skin to a stable and nondecaying material. Tanning agents include vegetable tannins (from sources such as tree bark), mineral salts (such as chromium sulfate), and fish or animal oils.
<aside> 💡 Chromium is good for Tanning.
</aside>
The hides of mammals are composed of three layers: 01)Epidermis, a thin outer layer; 02)Corium or dermis, the thick central layer; 03)A subcutaneous fatty layer. The corium is used to make leather after the two sandwiching layers have been removed. Fresh hides contain between 60 and 70 percent water by weight and 30 to 35 percent protein. About 85 percent of the protein is collagen, a fibrous protein held together by chemical bonds. Basically, leather making is the science of using acids, bases, salts, enzymes, and tannins to dissolve fats and nonfibrous proteins and strengthen the bonds between the collagen fibres.
8 Dec 2022
13 Dec 2022
