Have You Ever Wondered How Is Leather Made Cool Facts For Kids

The process of making leather from animal hides is very fascinating.People have a lot of questions about how leather is made from animal skin. Even about how faux leather or synthetic leather is made.To make smooth and beautiful leather from animal hides is a complex and time-consuming process. The main method that is used to turn animal skin into leather is called tanning. A lot of tanneries in the world make leather. But what is the process of tanning? How is the beautiful, soft, and smooth leather made from animal skin? We are going to answer all your questions right here.For more related educational articles, please check out how is metal made? And how is paint made?The Step By Step Process Of Making LeatherThe process of making leather, especially preparing and tanning is lengthy and complicated. The technicalities of the process need to be followed correctly to get the best finish every time.There are many animals from whose hide leather can be made. This includes sheep, pigs, crocodiles, snakes, and goats. But the most common animal from whose hide leather is made is the cow. Cows are the most commonly used animals to make leather. The leather industry can be considered as a by-product of the dairy and meat industry as they make use of the animal hides that will otherwise be destroyed. The raw material for the leather industry is raw animal hides. The flesh is removed from the skin of the animal before the process begins.The removal of meat and hair is very important to get the perfect finish. After this, the hide is then salted in the tannery. The salt stops the decomposition of the hide, otherwise, the hide will be ruined completely. The hides have to be salted for a long time before they are soaked in water to remove any dirt or other material from them. Any hair left on the hides is also removed with a solution called calcium oxide. The soaking also softens the hide. The wet hides start swelling at this point as they are full of moisture.The next stage of the process is to split the wet hide into two. After the split, the upper layer makes a better quality leather while the lower one makes for lesser or lower quality leather. The upper layer of leather is also called full-grain leather. The next and most important stage of the process is called the tanning process. For tanning, the hides are placed in a special tanning drum, in which there is also a special tanning solution. This solution can be some vegetable tanning agents or chemicals, called a chromium salt mix.The vegetable tanning agents are used to produce more smooth and flexible leather to make luggage and upholstery. The chromium salt mix produces a more stretchable leather to make bags and shoes. If they are both combined, they make supple, full-bodied leather. After the tanning process, there is something called the liquoring process that adds special fats to make the leather strong and soft. After that, they remove the excess moisture from the leather. Sometimes a re-tanning process is also used to make the leather more soft, supple, and durable. This follows the same patterns as the first tanning.The leather is then dyed perfectly to make them appear to be of the highest quality. The last stage of the process is called the finishing, where they give the different leathers the desired looks. This process can be skipped if someone wants a naked leather finish. As you can see, the process of leather production is very technical and long. The most commonly used cattle animal to make leather is the cows. But other animals are used as well. Crocodiles and snakes make for the highest quality of leather. Modern tanneries use a lot of innovative ways and new tools to make the leather-making process faster.The Making Of Vegan Or Faux LeatherFaux leather, also known as vegan leather is a very good leather alternative for people who do not want to use real leather and is quite popular in India. It is more cost-effective as well.Faux leather is mostly produced from a plastic base. After this, it is treated with dye, wax, or polyurethane to get the perfect texture and color. Faux leather is also known as synthetic leather and vegan leather. Since it does not use any sort of animal product, people against animal cruelty can use it as well. The raw material for the production of faux leather is a fabric base like polyester. After the processing of the fabric, they typically use things like wax, dye, PVC (Polyvinyl chloride), or polyurethane (PU) to give it an imitation leather-like finish. Faux leathers can either be treated with PVC or PU. Both are considered faux leather. No animal skins, hairs, meat, or other animal products are used to make faux leather.The process through which faux leather is produced is not as precise, nor as technical and lengthy as the making of real leather. As it does not have to go through the processes of removing hair, flesh, and other things from the skin. There are no animals involved, thus the faux leather industry is not dependent upon the dairy or meat industry. They also do not need a tanning process. The raw material for faux leather is technically plastic. It can be very well used as a leather substitute to make bags, handbags, wallets, belts, and upholstery as it is made to look like leather. There is another type of leather called bonded leather, which is a mixture of leather scraps from tanneries and some faux leather treatment. This bonded leather is also used to make similar things. Obviously, there are some differences between the looks and feels of these leathers.The Differences Between Real And Faux LeatherEven though they are made to look similar to real leather, a trained eye can very easily make out the differences between real and faux leather.As we said before, faux leather is specially made to imitate the looks and feel of leather. The term ‘faux’ also means fake. Technically, it is fake leather, and you can very easily spot the differences between the two. The most evident and important difference is that every leather product looks unique, as every hide is unique and has its patterns. While natural leather always has different patterns, even dyed real leather has its unique patterns. Full-grain leather is expensive but very beautiful. Faux leather, on the other hand, looks too smooth and uniform to pass as real leather. The artificial process cannot bring out the unique beauty of natural leather. The marks of scars, stretch marks, and veins can only be found in real leather.There are ups and downs to both types of leather. The upside of real leather is that it is made to last. You can use a genuine leather product for years and its beauty will only enhance with time. Durability is a big selling point with real leather. However, it is also very expensive. Faux leather on the other hand, even though not as durable, is pretty cheap. Another upside of faux leather is that it typically suffers less from water damage than real leather. There are upsides and downsides to both and it all ultimately comes down to your taste and what exactly you are looking for in your leather products.Fun trivia: there is also a leather called protein leather. Protein leather is made with a mix of protein powder and resin. The mix of proteins and resin makes a pliable sheet that looks like leather. It is not used in wallets as such, but it is used for car seats.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how is leather made then why not take a look at how long can goldfish live, or can guinea pigs eat bread

The process of making leather from animal hides is very fascinating.