How to distinguish natural leather from industrial leather

How can you tell if it is genuine leather? That is an important question. There are a lot of products on the leather market that look just like the original leather. Often, counterfeit leather products are made to appear so delicate and similar to genuine leather that even ordinary people are unable to tell them apart by touch, smell, or initial examination.

It is probably the price of non-leather products that sell as genuine leather that is the worst part of purchasing them. Due to the difficulty of producing leather from animal skins, leather products are very expensive. If we don’t know how to recognize genuine leather, we will most likely buy a non-leather product instead of genuine leather and pay a much higher price.

You should be careful when buying cow leather since it is one of the best natural leathers.

Methods for distinguishing natural leather from industrial leather
There are many ways to distinguish genuine leather from counterfeit leather that can be used to ensure that a genuine leather product is authentic.

• Genuine leather can be identified by:
• Water drop test
• Examining the layers of leather products
• Examination of leather villi
• See holes in the leather surface
• Examine the edges of the leather product
• Pay attention to the design on the leather surface
• Fold the leather
• The smell of leather
• Rupture test
• Burning leather

1.Water drop testing is the most common way to detect natural leather

as it is the easiest way to distinguish natural leather from industrial leather. It is enough to pour a drop of water on your desired leather product and wait for a few minutes. It is highly likely that what you are holding is natural leather if a drop of water is slowly absorbed by it. If water seeped from the leather and flowed from it, one should doubt its authenticity.

Genuine leather can usually be distinguished from foam by this method. Since the foam is plastic, it cannot absorb water and flows. Leather, on the other hand, has tiny holes or pores that gradually allow water molecules to pass through.

2. Examining the leather layers

Examining the layers of the leather product is another way to distinguish natural from synthetic leather. This product is made from natural leather and is completely one piece. It also contains no glue, plastic sheet, or additives.

If you want to determine whether your product is made of natural leather, you should see whether it has a completely one-piece texture or if it has several layers.

 

3. Identifying natural leather from industrial leather using leather villi

Examining lint on leather is one of the most reliable methods of identifying genuine leather from fakes that can be used in any situation.

The back of real leather will be fluffy. If you touch the smooth and polished surface of the back of the leather, you should not touch it. The back of genuine leather is fluffy, which is one of the simplest ways to distinguish it from industrial leather.

 

4- Seeing surface cavities to detect genuine leather

Genuine leather can be distinguished from counterfeit leather by examining its surface cavities. The skin of any animal that becomes leather is initially covered in hair. Although these hairs are completely removed from the skin during the tanning process, the hair follicles remain. If you look closely at the leather and bring it very close to your eyes, you will see very small holes at the root of the hair on the skin.

There are times when the hair of this animal is so thin and lifeless that it may not be visible without a magnifying glass. Nonetheless, if you are going to buy leather, it is not bad to have a magnifying glass with you so that you can see the surface well, so make sure of what you are buying if you see surface holes.

 

5- Recognizing natural leather by looking at its edges

Natural leather can be differentiated from synthetic leather by examining the edges of the product.

 

6- Pay attention to the design on the leather surface.

Leather is never smooth and always has creases and lines. The leather is also genuine, and spots can sometimes be seen on its surface.

One way to identify natural leather, however, is to look closely at its surface design. Genuine leather men’s bags should not have repetitive designs. If the natural defects of the skin appear as very faint spots on it, it is not only not a leather defect, but it is also a sign of its originality.

 

7- How to detect genuine leather from counterfeit leather by smelling it

This method cannot be considered a method for identifying natural leather. Manufacturers of synthetic or substandard leather add a little essential oil or natural perfume to their products to imitate the smell of leather.

8- Test for rupture

You can identify genuine leather by tearing it. You may not be able to take this test if you are buying a leather bag or coat. Manufacturers of wholesale leather goods and leather bags use this test when buying raw leather to distinguish good from bad leather.

Using this method, a piece of leather is cut into a thin strip and stretched on both sides. Leather that is original and natural will not be torn by hand in any way. Buffalo leather, among all types of leather, is so resistant to traction that it can even be towed by that machine.

 

9- Burning leather to distinguish natural from artificial leather

The method of separating natural leather from synthetic leather is most suitable for those who work in the leather industry. Different types of leather can be recognized by different methods, including burning a piece of leather.

Leather that is original and of high quality will not ignite when it comes into contact with fire. Rather, it will burn very slowly and gradually. Additionally, the smell of burnt leather can help distinguish genuine leather from synthetic or counterfeit. This is because the original leather smell is natural. When burned, synthetic leather smells like plastic or petroleum.

 

10- Do not pierce the leather

In the opinion of a manufacturer of leather products, what are the characteristics of good leather? We will definitely point out that good leather does not pierce easily. A needle or sharp tool cannot be used to pierce the leather. The leather must be pierced with a hammer. In special cases, the same special pin should be used with strong tools such as hammers to pierce the leather.