bare leather

Blank leather general

Smooth leather is vegetable-tanned leather, resulting in a brown or tan color. The fat content of the finished leather is 4-10%, which is why it is referred to as "moderately oiled." This leather comes from cattle, but primarily calf, cow, or medium-sized bull hides are used. Smooth leather is also known as core leather. The finished leather must be at least 2.5 mm thick to be considered smooth leather. The special advantages of this type of leather are its high flexibility and elasticity, while at the same time being very durable and relatively strong.

Blank leather Gusti Leather

Tanning of bare leather

The bare leather is tanned with conventional vegetable tanning agents, such as oak bark, quebracho wood, or maletto bark. However, plant extracts of algarobilla, myrobalan, and other botanicals are also frequently used. All Gusti Leder nature products are vegetable-tanned with babul tree bark. The vegetable tanning of bare leather typically takes two to four months. Tanning is either carried out in a dyeing process using slightly acidic solutions followed by a soaking process, or alternatively, in a pit or barrel tanning process. Nowadays, however, bare leather is also often preserved using a combination tanning process (chrome-vegetable tanning).

Pit tanning bare leather

Blank leather in processing

Core leather is available in stores either with a light pigment layer, dyed throughout, or often undyed. The back side (back) is finished (for greater strength and smoothness), burnished, and rolled. If the grain side (outside) of the leather is brush-dyed, it is also called "tanned smooth leather" or "black smooth leather." With "velvet smooth leather," the grain side is lightly sanded and is used in the production of women's belts or handbags. A particular advantage of smooth leather is its embossability. For this reason, this type of leather is often processed into horse saddles, saddles, belts, bags, or school satchels. In furniture, the leather is used for so-called "cantilever" chairs (furniture without upholstery).

Saddle leather, plain leather, Gusti Leather