Leather has been a very useful raw material since the beginning of humanity. Thanks to it, man was able to survive the most extreme periods of climate.

During the Stone Age, the culture of leather working began. It was then that clothing, stores and supports for religious representations began to be produced. Later, by “accident” primitive man learns how to preserve it; near the sea with curing by salting or curing by drying in the sun, and when the fire dominated, curing by smoking was carried out.

In natural laboratories with the fermentation of tannins that destroy hair keratin, the skin is transformed into leather. With the discovery of bronze and later iron, other processes appear that give rise to an endless number of useful objects.

Types of leather

• Bovine
• Calf
• Goat
• Equine
• Ovine
• Pig
• Otter
• Chinchilla
• Crocodile / Alligator
• Reptiles
• Fish

Treatment

Treatment	Type of treatment	Characteristics	Applications
Rawhide	Drying with salt	Rigid texture	Drums
Leather with aluminum	It is tanned with aluminum	It is very white and not very resistant	Scrolls
tanned with brains	With animal brain fat	Very soft and flexible (suede). Multiple textures	Saddlery and pre-tanning
Vegetable tanned	With tannins and vegetable ingredients. It oxidizes with air and light, giving it a brown color and darkening.	It is not stable in tone or consistency if it gets wet or changes temperature. Textures: multiple	Saddlery and pre-tanning
chrome tanned	It was invented in 1858, it is the most used. With salts and chromium acid	Texture: soft, flexible and waterproof	Multiple

Post tanning treatment

Treatment	Characteristics	Applications
cooked leather	It sinks and the collagen fibers shorten. It is immersed in water if it is rigid. It is introduced into boiling wax or fat, it is more flexible	Bookbinding, furniture and sculpture
oiled leather	Replenishes natural oils. Gives durability
dyed leather	Dyes such as aniline, translucent colors, acrylic dyes, uniform colors. Covered with one or several layers of polyurethane varnish
Patent leather	It waterproofs the leather and makes it more resistant. Resistance: light, scratches, repellent