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【Concept】

   Genuine leather sofa is actually a general term for sofas made of cowhide, pig skin, horsehide, and donkey skin.

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[Material Terminology 1 Genuine Leather]
 
   The types and quality identification of leather are closely related to our lives. The leather sofas, belts, leather shoes, leather jackets, and leather bags that we commonly use are all related to leather. There are many types of leather now, and only the commonly used leathers are introduced here.

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1. [Pigskin]

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1. Pig smooth surface

    Ordinary pig smooth surface is made by different leather making processes on the surface of pig skin. First, starch is applied on the surface of the skin and then it is colored. Ordinary pig smooth surface has a glossy surface and the pores are arranged in a very regular pattern. Generally, three pores form a group in a triangular shape. The quality of pig smooth surface varies depending on the region and the leather making process. I will not explain it in detail here. The pig smooth surface with better quality has finer grains and a softer feel.

    Due to the continuous improvement of leather craftsmanship, pig smooth surface can now be processed into many different types of leather.

    Distressed effect: The distressed effect is mainly due to the lack of luster, and some distressed leathers may also have some dark patterns.

    Embossed effect: The embossed effect is to press strips, blood vessels, etc. on the surface of the leather.

    The lychee effect is sometimes similar to the coarse-grained cowhide effect, but it is fundamentally different from cowhide. The characteristics of the lychee effect are that the leather is slightly thicker than the ordinary smooth surface and the grain is rough.

    Light coating effect. The surface of this leather is not coated with starch but directly painted with different colors. The gloss is slightly darker than ordinary glossy surface. This leather feels better than ordinary glossy surface, and the leather feels drooping in the hand.

    Washing effect, the glossy coating of washing effect is also thin, and the difference with ordinary glossy is not very big, the difference is that it feels softer than ordinary glossy. You can directly use water to clean the stains on clothes.

    Wiping leather, the color of the surface and bottom of this kind of leather are different. After it is made into a finished product, you can use sandpaper or other materials to wipe the surface of the clothes where you need it, and make your clothes become another more fashionable style.

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2. Pigskin suede

    Ordinary top suede is processed on the reverse side of the top layer of leather.

    The surface of suede leather has short and fine pile and a layer of mercerization with a particularly strong sense of direction. Sometimes a small number of pores can also be seen.

Top layer suede washed leather, this kind of leather feels better than ordinary suede, is more elastic and has more drape than ordinary suede.

The first layer of suede modified leather is the leather that has been modified on the front or back of the leather. It can be made into printing, film and oil film.

    Printing is generally done on the smooth side of the suede to create different patterns, and lamination is done on the velvety side of the suede. This type of leather has a particularly bright luster and is a more fashionable type of leather, but its disadvantage is that it has poor breathability (this is best not to explain to consumers).

    Oil film leather is a raw material made of a mixture of three oils rolled on the velvet side. It can be processed into oil film leather with a distressed effect. When folded or wrinkled, some creases with lighter colors are normal.

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3. Pig split suede

    Pig split suede is essentially different from first-layer suede. Its suede is slightly coarser than the first-layer suede, and the triangular pores on the pig skin can be seen.

    The softness and tensile strength are far inferior to the first layer suede, and the opening of the leather is much smaller than the first layer. The second layer suede can also be processed into many different types of modified leathers like the first layer suede. Since the price of the second layer suede is cheaper and does not show the grade of the clothing, we rarely use this kind of leather for domestic sales.

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2. [Sheepskin]

1.
Sheep skin

    Sheep skin is characterized by its thin and light skin, soft, smooth and delicate touch, small pores, irregular and even distribution, and oblate shape. Sheep skin is a relatively high-grade leather material in leather clothing.

    Nowadays, sheepskin has also broken the traditional style and is processed into many different styles such as embossed, washable, printed, etc.

2.
Goatskin

    The structure of goatskin is slightly stronger than sheepskin, so its tensile strength is better than sheepskin. Since the surface layer of goatskin is thicker than sheepskin, it is more wear-resistant than sheepskin.

    The difference between goatskin and sheepskin is that the grain surface of goatskin is rougher, not as smooth as sheepskin, and feels slightly worse than sheepskin.

    Goat leather can now be made into many different styles of leather, including washable distressed leather. This type of leather has no coating and can be directly washed in water without fading and with very little shrinkage.

    Wax film leather, this kind of leather has a layer of oil wax rolled on the surface of the leather. When this kind of leather is folded or wrinkled, some creases with lighter color will appear, which is normal.

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Three, [cowhide]

    Since cowhide can achieve a certain thickness and firmness, it is mainly used for leather goods and leather shoes.

    The characteristics of cowhide are small pores, evenly distributed and tightly distributed, plump leather surface, stronger leather than other leathers, firm and elastic feel. There are also many varieties of cowhide clothing leather.

    At present, the variety of cowhide processed into different styles is not as much as that of pigskin and sheepskin.

    Cow split is also used in clothing, but the leather used in clothing is generally cow split suede. The difference between cow split and pig split is that the suede fiber is rougher but has no pores.

    Modified cow split leather is mainly used for leather goods. It is processed on the cow split to create a glossy or antique effect. This kind of leather is difficult to identify.

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Four, [Fur]

    Fur clothing can be divided into two categories according to its use: one is fur clothing with the fur facing inside for the purpose of keeping warm; the other is fur clothing with the fur facing outside (also called fur clothing) mainly for decoration.

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1. Fox fur

    The characteristics of silver fox fur are that the hair is relatively long, generally 7-9cm; the hair needles are uneven in length, and thicker than other fox hair, and the hair surface is shiny. Its natural color is gray and black.

    The blue fox's fur is fine and even, with a shiny surface. It is shorter than the silver fox's fur, generally 5-6 cm long. The blue fox's natural color is white, and the fur used for clothing is generally dyed.

    The characteristics of red fox fur are similar to those of blue fox, but it is slightly longer than red fox. The entire color is red and gray, and it is used for clothing without being dyed.

2.
Goat fur leather

    The hair of goat fur is thin and not easy to shed. The hair needles are thick and the direction is not completely straight. The front side of goat fur is all leather. It can be made into suede, sprayed, printed and rolled into different patterns. Goat fur can be dyed into different colors as needed.

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3. Rabbit fur leather

(1) White rabbit

    White rabbit fur has less fur at the base and can be dyed into any color you need.

(2) Grass Yellow Rabbit

    The grass yellow rabbit hair needles are slightly longer and are generally used in clothing in their original color.

(3) Rex Rabbit

    The fur is soft and dense, smooth and delicate, and less likely to shed than other rabbit fur. Rex rabbit fur is the best type of rabbit fur.

(4) Mink fur

    Mink fur has a better luster than other furs, feels particularly smooth to the touch, and is less likely to shed.

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【Material Terminology 2 Leather】

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1. [Full green skin]

    A type of cowhide, belonging to the finest quality.

    Full-grain leather is also called full-grain leather. It is made from the best raw leather, with less damage and the leather surface retains its natural state. The coating is thin, which can show the natural pattern of the leather, and it is wear-resistant and breathable. Full-grain leather is directly dyed by mixing blue-warm leather, rejecting too many chemical agents, so the fine pores can be clearly seen on the leather surface, with a realistic feel and excellent breathability.

    The price of pure green leather is the most expensive among all kinds of leather, but it is expensive not because of the complicated leather making process and the large amount of chemical materials, but because of the quality of the leather. The difference between pure green leather and ordinary leather is that when selecting leather embryos, you must choose the leather of captive and castrated bulls, because the fiber structure of bull leather is relatively dense and the width is larger. The most important thing is that it is captive, so that the leather surface has fewer scars, which is the best choice for making high-end leather. Secondly, in terms of manufacturing, it makes the overall effect more noble and elegant! Pure green leather can only be imported! Pure green leather is the best kind of Italian leather and is rare in the market.

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2. [Half green skin]

    Semi-green leather is also called split leather. It refers to the thicker layer of skin cut below the original leather after peeling off the full green leather. Compared with full green leather, it has more scars and gadfly eyes and needs to be properly polished before it can be used as sofa leather. Semi-green leather sofas are still realistic, with good appearance, texture and comfort, so they are still top-grade leathers. They are also much cheaper than full green leather sofas, and are the choice of most consumers.

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3. [Embossed leather]

    The semi-green leather is a thin layer of leather cut after the original leather is peeled off. This kind of leather has heavy scars and deep eyes, and needs to be deeply polished and filled before it is selected as sofa leather. Because the appearance and texture of the leather surface are poor, in order to make up for this deficiency, most of them are embossed in the process. But it has rich colors and varied styles, which is easy to choose.

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4. [Cracked Leather]

    It is also semi-green leather. This kind of leather has almost no flaws on the surface and is used very frequently. It has a stiff texture and poor air permeability. When you touch the surface of the leather, you can feel a very obvious waxy texture and the coating is very thick. Ordinary sofas are made of this kind of material.

    Features: The texture and touch are relatively hard. Due to a lot of manual processing, the appearance does not seem to have too many flaws, but the artificial traces are more obvious in appearance, which is slightly unnatural. The price is moderate.

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[This article is extracted from: Internet search]
[Reprinted and sorted/for reference only]