The Leather Production Process:
Leather is one of the oldest materials still widely used today, and it is still as popular as ever. Achieving the desired end product from raw animal hides requires a skilled and well-defined process that involves harvesting, tanning, finishing, and inspection. Each step in the process plays an important part and is critical in ensuring the quality of the final product. From choosing the highest quality of hides to inspecting the finished leather for accuracy, the process is long but rewarding. Here, we take a closer look at the complete process of creating leather from start to finish.
1. Harvest and inspect hides: The harvested hides need to be inspected for quality. This includes assessing the shape, size, thickness, and any preexisting cuts or scrapes. Any hides that are not fit for use are discarded.
2. Beamhouse process: The hides go through a series of pre-tanning processes in the beam house to remove flesh, fat, and hair from the hide. This includes soaking, liming, and de-liming.
3. Clean and remove fats and oils: This step involves removing excess oils, fats, and proteins from the hides in order to prepare them for tanning. This operation needs to be done with care in order to avoid damaging the hide.
4. Choose a tanning technique: Tanning is the process of encapsulating the collagen proteins of the hide with chromium, vegetable, or oil-based compounds. Different tanning techniques will result in different degrees of leather softness and durability.
5. Immerse hides in tanning solution: Once the hide has been prepared, it needs to be immersed in the chosen tanning solution. Depending on the type of tanning used, this process can take up to several days.
6. Inspect for desired color, texture, and suppleness: The tanned hides need to be inspected again for color, texture, and suppleness. Any hides that do not meet the desired characteristics are again discarded or re-tanned.
7. Re-tan, dye drum process, they may be re-tanned in order to achieve the specified color, texture, and suppleness.
8. Dry the leather in special drying machines: The leather is placed in special machines in order to dry it and to remove the moisture residual. This process can take several hours depending on the leather type.
9. Finishing process for desired design/texture: This step involves stamping, embossing, painting, and other processes in order to give the leather the desired texture and design.
10. Lolling process: This process involves rolling and softening the leather in order to get a uniform thickness. This ensures that the leather will not have any dents or folds.
11. Final inspection and quality control: The finished leather is then inspected to make sure that all specifications are met. Once it is approved, it is ready to be shipped to the customer.