Leather is an excellent fashion choice keeping in check the aesthetic and practical preference. The charm of the best vegetable tanned leather goods
like belt,wallet,bag and other stuff grows with time and stands the test of it. Leather work is an art that was adapted from earlier times. Vegetable tanned leather provides comfort, reliability, and style. It undoubtedly enhanced the charisma and sophistication of any setting.
If vegetable tanning leather is neglected, the leather will go to waste and add more work to the environmental factor. That's when handcrafted vegetable tanned leather enters the chat. Vegetable tanning leather is a process that started thousands of years ago and is still ongoing. This process constitutes several easy steps that transform animal hide into processed leather. Below we will learn what vegetable tanning leather is, how it's done, and how to craft it.
What Is Vegetable Tanned Leather
Vegetable tanned leather is sustainable leather with the utmost luxury and sophistication. The functional and aesthetic quality of this leather goes hand-in-hand. This leather is prone to last a lifetime with no wear and tear. Years of unmatched skills and techniques enhance leather's lifespan exponentially.
The distinct smell is the result of several days of treatment with inconsistent colors of unique shades. The brown, beiges, and black add class to it with visible animal fibers adding characteristics to the leather. Bark, leaves, tree and plant branches along with lime, vegetable tannins, mimosa, etc. Vegetable tanned leather is used to craft the best vegetable tanned leather goods like shoes, bags, belts, and other items.
The Vegetable Tanning Process
Vegetable-tanning leather involves the alternation of the protein structure of animal hides into leather. The process includes removing hair and dirt, then tanning, liming, preserving, and finally giving color. Let's discuss the five distinct steps of vegetable tanned leather now.
Pre-tanning and Curing
Pre-tanning leather includes separating the leather layers. The upper hair layer has grains that generate fine leather with sustainability. The underlayer gives stiffness and durability. The animal hides are sent to tannery where around 200 hides are soaked into drums.
Curing involves the prevention of bacteria. This is done to avoid bacteria growth. The curing done with salt preserves the leather long-term. High-quality hides are then passed towards another step, liming.
Liming and Splitting
Liming includes soaking leather in a solution of sodium hydroxide. This removes hair and the epidermis. The texture of the leather is softened through the presence of sodium. De-liming takes place to take excessive lime and balance the pH.
Which in turn allows the leather to stay soft and be prepared for tanning. Now the upper and under layers are split. The soft upper layer is used for the production of fine, high-quality, durable leather. Whereas the latter helps in generating suede or other leather stuff.
Tanning
Tanning is the step during which pre-tanned animals hide in leather. In this step, the tree extracts like leaves, bark, and fruit pods are used. Leather is then dropped into large drums or vats filled with tannins.
Tannins bind the proteins with the leather fibers and give leather its characteristics. The procedure transforms the leather into fine quality. The entire process is carefully observed to ensure even and proper penetration of tannin.
Selection
Now the processed animal hides are selected based on their quality. The grading starts and hides are separated based on their quality, quantity, and location. For the best leather like aniline and nubuck, quality hides are required. The lesser quality leather is prepared from the latter.
Post-tanning
Post-tanning includes a variety of steps which are as follows. All these steps ensure the manufacture of high-quality leather. Shaving improves the overall texture of hides. An even and consistent texture is ensured with the shaving. Shaving grants no bumps or uneven leather skin with the undesirable final product.
The availability of a variety of hues and shades allows leather to top the fabric quality list. The dyes are applied to grant leather a desirable shade enhancing its aesthetics.
Re-tanning and Drying
Re-tanning ensures the durability, reliability, and sustainability of leather. The modification plays smoothly with the texture and imparts fine leather characteristics. Now, setting the leather by smoothing its edges and creases for further drying. The extra water is removed and the surface is straightened. The drying process helps in removing the water via the vacuum drying techniques.
The soft, clean, and polished look is achieved by cutting the extra edge or removing any rough surface. This final step takes the appeal of vegetable-tanned leather to the next level with its precision.
Treatment
The final treatment of leather work ensures the desirable quality of handcrafted vegetable tanned leather is up-to-the-mark meeting the aesthetic and functional preferences. It removes the grain blemishes, evens out the surface, and grants physical appeal by imparting gloss/shine to the leather.
Finishing treatments are done and a protective layer is applied to prevent damage. The easy-to-clean and final leather product stays the same during the long run with the same appearance and function.
How To Craft with Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Bags, wallets, belts, and shoes are made from vegetable-tanned leather. The unparalleled comfort, flexibility, and strength of leather in producing the best vegetable-tanned leather goods are remarkable.
The following techniques are used in crafting the best vegetable tanned leather goods through leather work:
Cutting and Stitching
This is the first step in crafting goods. Cutting ensures the transformation of raw animal hides into leather pieces that will manufacture the goods. Stitching could be hand-done or machine-done. This crafts the essential handcrafted vegetable tanned leather into reliable goods.
Dyeing and tooling
Dyeing imparts hues and color to those goods creating variety and aesthetic appeal. Airbrushing is also done during this step. Different motifs and patterns are either embossed, printed, or stamped onto the leather goods.
Conclusion
Leather work is intricate and loved globally. This practice of vegetable tanned leather is done from an early age. The leather produced after a variety of steps holds the desired quality with reliable, sustainable, and durable seams.
The intricate leather work embodies creativity, innovation, and tradition transforming wasteful animal hides into commonly used goods. This eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing leather fabric is valuable around the globe for its unmatched luxury, sophistication, and style! So, what are you waiting for? Order your favourite Vegetable Tanned Leather belt today!
