When raw leather is processed for use in products, what are some of the variables that change and how do they affect the leather?
For example, what makes some stiff or more malleable? What causes the wrinkly or shiny effects on fashion leathers? Why are some processes so secret to certain companies?
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It depends on the tanning process mostly. You take a fresh hide and scrape it, stretch it, dry it, you have rawhide. There are several way to tan a hide though to get it more supple and help it to last longer.
Traditionally it was done using the animal’s brain and/or a mixture of tannin’s and tree oil. Now days the most common ways are either vegetable tanning, which will result in a stiffer but still workable hide, (this is the type of leather that can be stamped and carved or dyed by yourself.) The other is oil tan aka chrome tanning that uses chromium and various other oils and conditioners that I’m not sure of but make the leather very supple, it is also dyed during the tanning process and given various different finishing coats so it usually doesn’t take any other dye very well.
Textures like pebbled and any patterns are usually embossed with heat and pressure, usually after or during the tanning process.
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