Help With a Leather, Please...

[kiltie]

Here are some pictures of a piece of leather from a larger sample. It looked a little squirrelly to me, so I took an X-acto knife and did some surgery.
Now I'm certainly no expert, as heretofore the only leather I've ever worked with has been thick, un-dyed, 'natural' cowhide. However, this looks like a laminate to me. Is it? If it's not, can you tell me if it's horsehide? Or what it may be...? Thanks in advance.

 

[Jaguar46]

I think this is the hide from a mudskipper.

 

[Jeff M]

Yep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEIUYC0x5go

 

[kiltie]

I think this is the hide from a mudskipper.

While the similarities are striking, I don't want to draw my conclusion from one opinion. Anyone else?
Here, let me put it this way:

Does it look like something you'd wan't to have a jacket made from? To me, it looks like a laminate or pressed something-or-other, but I want to be pretty sure before I carry on.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

It does look like a composite material. The white fibers are not leather and any leather should not split that way unless a top coat is failing or something, and if that's the case, you wouldn't want a jacket made from it anyway. There was a material made from leather scraps and a binder way back when, that's a possibility. At any rate, I wouldn't have a jacket made from this material, there's leather, and then there's........ain't leather. This ain't leather.

 

[kiltie]

Thanks, man.
I'm still interested in others weighing in on this. I have an allergy to wool being pulled over my eyes...

 

[John Lever]

Yep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEIUYC0x5go

Normal service has been resumed :lol:
Two very funny replies, great start to a very grey wet day here

 

[joeson]

It's split leather.It is used for making cheap belts etc.
From Wickipeadia:
Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the top grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a middle split and a flesh split. In very thick hides, the middle split can be separated into multiple layers until the thickness prevents further splitting. Split leather then has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is embossed with a leather grain (bycast leather). Splits are also used to create suede. The strongest suedes are usually made from grain splits (that have the grain completely removed) or from the flesh split that has been shaved to the correct thickness. Suede is "fuzzy" on both sides. Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede from full-grain. A reversed suede is a grained leather that has been designed into the leather article with the grain facing away from the visible surface. It is not considered to be a true form of suede.[3]

 

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, (from having seen many leathers lately) you can tell if it's leather by looking at the underside of the skin. If that is natural then it's OK. What they have done to the surface is irrelevant as they are hundreds of unimaginable ways to treat leathers to give them whatever finish they like. This white, whatever it is, could it be some sort of primer before the final top coating? Who knows.
Take for example the case of patent leather

Is it leather? Yes. Does it look like leather? No.
God knows what's under there... there is lacquer, enamel, resin, shellac and God knows what else.

It's not only the leather that makes the difference, it's also the way it is tanned.

Horsehide is not expensive because it is higher quality than e.g. cow. It's not. In fact, nobody cares about horsehide because there is no demand for it. That's why it's so difficult to find. The reason why it's more expensive, is because it's scarce and because the tanneries who still make it try to sell you the concept "we are a traditional tannery since 1800 and we use traditional tanning methods etc etc". So while the raw material cost is not more expensive that cowhide, they sell you the whole package and their brand name with it.

I have seen horsehide ranging from smooth like paper to imitating nappa or goat. (Same goes for cow also, there's the lambtouch cowhide etc). See for example some horse in gold and copper

If you want that for a jacket from that leather is a matter of personal taste I guess.
And personal taste varies a lot. Otherwise they wouldn't be making things like this

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Even if it's got leather layers, that whit fibrous material is most likely to give it strength. Properly tanned leather should be used for a jacket, this stuff seems to be bi-products slapped together for one reason or another. I don't thing durability was one of them if another material is sandwiched within..

By the way, what is this sample from?

 

[Corky]

My guess is that it's what they call Bonded Leather

Bonded leather or reconstituted leather is a material made of varying degrees of genuine leather combined with other substances to give the appearance of leather, but at reduced cost compared to natural leather. Bonded leather can be found in furniture, bookbinding, and various fashion accessories. Examples of products that are most commonly constructed with different varieties of "bonded leather" are: books, diaries, art books, desk accessories, bags, belts, chairs, and sofas.

I think the sweatband inside my Resistol San Marino fur felt cowboy hat is made out of this stuff. It originally looked like smooth top grain leather, but the epidermis of the hide has worn off, leaving the sweatband with a suede-like appearance. It is not uncomfortable in the least, but it is not the type of leather I would have chosen for the application.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_leather