How to Grade Hides for Leather Upholstery

Low-grade leather can look perfectly fine, but will not wear well.

Because of clever manufacturing, you cannot grade upholstery leather by sight. With a little machining and finishing, a low-grade leather can look like top-grain leather, alligator skin or whatever the manufacturer chooses. The lower grades are not useless; they can be economical and perfectly useful for the back and sides of a chair or couch. Honest leather retailers will help you to select the grade that you require.

Instructions

1. Decide on a budget for the project; this will help you determine the grade of leather you can purchase. Plan to spend between $5 and $10 per square foot for upholstery-grade leather (2010 prices).

2. Determine whether the upholstery leather is top grain or split. A split hide has been peeled into layers; the top grain is the outermost surface, while a split is an inner layer.

3. Use the more durable top grain for cushions and backrests and splits for backs and sides (if you are trying to save money).

4. Decide between aniline leather or coated, pigmented leather. Full aniline leather is dyed through, with no top finish, and is the most flexible and luxuriant (and expensive); leather in the $10 per square foot range is likely aniline or semi-aniline finish. Pigmented leather is painted and is far more commonly used in leather upholstery because of its lower cost (starting at $5 per square foot) and even finish.

References

• "Matthew Haley's Book of Upholstery;" Matthew Haley and Kathleen Hackett; 2008
• "The Complete Guide to Upholstery;" Cherry Dobson; 2009

Resources

• Tandy Leather Factory