Nowadays it is especially difficult not to be deceived. In any area, including the question of how to distinguish genuine leather from fakes and leatherette, it is, of course, better to understand this well yourself than to listen to sellers, because often the main thing for them is only to sell, and you will have to judge the quality of the thing the hard way experience.
A month later, it may turn out that they sold you fake leather, for which you paid an excessively high price. In order not to become an easy prey for deceiving sellers, we will give a few points by which you can answer the question, is this real leather?
How to identify real (natural) leather?
What is pressed leather?
If you have checked the product that you are thinking of purchasing, and from all points it can be assumed that it is a leather product, you only have one question left - why is it so cheap?
This means that this is a product made of pressed leather. What is pressed leather? Essentially, this is the “sausage” in the world of clothing and shoes.This material is made from waste left over from the production of real leather goods. They are fastened under pressure using the same synthetic materials, as products made of leatherette. Therefore, in terms of quality, it is no different from artificial products - it wears out quickly, does not retain heat and does not spread.
- If the strong smell of a new leather item bothers you, you can get rid of it with ground coffee. You can simply sprinkle it over the surface of the product, but it is better to use special bags for brewing loose tea for greater convenience.
- It is best to clean leather products from dust with a damp cloth. You can also soak the sponge in warm soapy water and after cleaning, be sure to wipe the surface of the product with a dry cloth.
- When caring for leather products, you need to remember that leather tends to change its shape, this is very convenient for your feet, but this property should be kept in mind when storing shoes or clothes. Cleaning up leather shoes in the closet, try not to deform it with other objects, and it is better to place paper inside the shoes to keep the shape intact.
- Iron only in the “wool” mode, and only through the fabric and the reverse side.
- Grease stains on products made from genuine leather You can sprinkle it with chalk powder, then shake it off, after a day, and clean it with a brush. Drops from puddles, it is better to clean them when they are dry, also with a brush.
- If the stain is too complex (felt pens, pens, oil, paint, etc.), then it is better to contact the dry cleaner.
- Dry at room temperature.
- If the leather product is unstuck, you can only use rubber glue.
What can ruin a genuine leather product?
We hope that this article will help you better understand how to distinguish genuine leather from fake leather. And the rules for caring for leather products will not be superfluous. If you take this useful information into account, you will be able not only to determine whether the product you are offered is made of real leather, but also to keep your favorite leather items neat for a long time.
Every year it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish genuine leather from a substitute. Manufacturers of leatherette are improving their skills, and all visible differences are gradually disappearing. And if it can be oh so nice to buy stylish winter boots “just like leather” for the price of one leather shoe (the fact that they won’t survive this season doesn’t matter at that price), then shell out in full and buy “real” ones. leather boots and only then discovering a fake is completely unpleasant.
Leather is worn much longer, creases and cracks do not appear on it, leather shoes take the shape of the foot over time and become familiar and comfortable, the foot in such shoes “breathes”, and even if you have been wearing leather shoes all day, you can safely take off your shoes: surprises like unpleasant odor will not be. Unfortunately, leatherette cannot boast of any of this. But all this will become clear too late: when the fake has already been purchased.
How to distinguish leather from a substitute in time - in the store? To begin with, let’s look at how many “correct” ways to figure out where the skin is and where it’s not, which don’t work.
Completely useless:
- Smell the products. Once upon a time, leather was famous only for its inherent aroma, and the substitute had its own smell - rather pungent and artificial. Now there are flavoring agents that can make anything smell like anything. In addition, when making leatherette, scraps of natural leather can be added to the general textile cauldron.
- Set the skin on fire. Genuine leather practically does not burn (this quality was once even used when equipping military bunkers), and leatherette melts unsightly from fire. But finding differences on this basis will be problematic. Firstly, store employees will not allow you to set fire to a shoe or handbag, and the point here is not even that they doubt the quality of their product. An open fire in a store is a gross violation of fire safety rules. And secondly, craftsmen from among the manufacturers of fakes have long learned to impregnate artificial leather with a non-flammable composition.
- Look for a textile backing - an invariable attribute of leatherette. In theory, you should be alerted by protruding threads and folded, not cut, edges. But the product is from artificial leather can be sewn very neatly, and the leather edges can easily be folded.
Warm
Hold the product in your hands. The leather surface will soon heat up and will retain heat for some time, even after you release it. Leatherette will not absorb heat, and your palm may even become unpleasantly sweaty.
Folds
Bend the leather shoe or try it on and press firmly on the toe. “Wrinkles” will appear on natural leather, which will immediately disappear when the shoes take their natural position. On an artificial one, they either do not form at all, or they remain forever.
Water
“Accidentally” or on purpose, if the seller allows, drop water on the product. The skin will absorb moisture and a dark wet spot will appear, which will disappear without a trace when the water dries. The leatherette will not absorb anything, the droplet will simply roll off, and the surface will not darken.
It is very unpleasant if you are offered to buy something made of leatherette at the price of genuine leather. But knowing how to distinguish one from the other, you will not be deceived. As we can see, do right choice and buy a real one leather item quite possible. But in order not to doubt your choice at all, it is better to shop in stores that value their reputation. There the likelihood of encountering a fake is much lower.
Editor's responseModern technologies allow you to skillfully imitate not only the structure, but also the smell of leather. AiF.ru tells how to distinguish natural leather from artificial leather.
How can you tell genuine leather from leatherette in a store?
1. Heat transfer
As a result of touch, natural leather will quickly become warm, while remaining dry. The leatherette will heat up only after some time, and the material will become a little damp from human hands.2. Edge thickness and edge
Genuine leather is usually thicker than leatherette and has a more rounded and rough edge, while artificial materials have a smooth and even edge.
3. Elasticity
If you press on a product made of genuine leather, then at the moment of bending or pressing, small wrinkles will appear on the material, and when straightened, they will instantly disappear. After stretching, natural leather quickly returns to its original state.
When stretched, bent or pressed, genuine leather does not change color. Artificial leather can change shade.
Artificial leather can give off a strong chemical smell. However, you shouldn’t trust your sense of smell alone when choosing products, as there are special skin scents.
The pores of artificial leather are the same in depth and shape, while in natural leather they are located randomly.
On the cut of a genuine leather product you can see many intertwined fibers. If there are no such fibers or instead there is a fabric base, knitwear or non-woven material, then it is a leatherette.
How to check the naturalness of leather using fire and water?
IMPORTANT: the following two methods cannot be used in a store or market.How to read a label on a leather product?
Some manufacturers include a sample of the material with the product, which can tell about its composition. A label in the shape of a regular diamond means that it is leatherette, and a figured one means that the product is made of genuine leather.
The label of a genuine leather product may also read:
- genuine leather (on English language),
- vera pelle (in Italian),
- cuir (in French),
- echtleder (in German).
What types of genuine leather are there?
Genuine leather may vary:
1. By type of animal
Pigskin is the cheapest. Used to make the most budget-friendly shoes and linings. Cheap leather jackets are also made from it.Oxhide is thick, tough and lasts much longer than pork skin. Belts, some bags, backpacks and jackets are made from it.
Cow leather is quite tough, the strength is slightly lower than that of calf leather. Most inexpensive and mid-price shoes are made from it.
Calfskin is soft and highly durable, with virtually no creases. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.
Sheep leather is soft and durable. It is used to make bags, jackets, gloves, belts - mostly premium ones.
Goatskin is soft and dense. Used to produce expensive gloves, wallets, purses and accessories.
Deerskin is soft and pleasant to the touch, retains its shape well and retains heat. Products made from it are rarely found on sale.
Crocodile leather is durable. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.
Snake skin has original appearance. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.
Ostrich leather is soft and elastic, and is used to make shoes, jackets, raincoats and luxury accessories.
2. According to processing and painting methods
Nappa is treated cattle leather, which is distinguished by its high ductility, softness and very even coloring. Durable, but not very expensive. For example, leather jackets are made from it.Saffiano is vegetable-tanned goatskin leather, lightly tanned and brightly colored.
Velor is chrome-tanned leather, finished on the bakhtarma side to look like velvet using special grinding.
Suede is leather made from the skins of any not very large animals; the front side is melon; the pile is thick, but not fluffy and without shine; the skin is soft and does not absorb water well.
Shagreen - soft skin Vegetable tanned sheep or goat skins with a beautiful fine relief pattern.
Laika - leather made from the skins of sheep, goats, and dogs; tanning with aluminum alum using salt, flour and yolk; the leather is soft, thin, and is used to make gloves.
Nubuck is a fine-haired leather of cattle (cow or calf), similar to suede, velvety to the touch.
Patent leather - smooth skin, covered on top special varnish. Products made from it can only be worn at temperatures from −10 to +25 degrees and only in dry weather.
Artificial leather is a polymer material used instead of natural leather for the manufacture of shoes, clothing, haberdashery and technical products. It is made by applying a polyurethane film coating to a fabric base. Modern artificial leathers are complex multicomponent composite polymer materials with a variety of purposes and compositions. Depending on which polymer is used, the corresponding prefix is used in the name: elasto (elastomers (rubbers) are used), vinyl (polyvinyl chloride), amido (polyamides), nitro (nitrocellulose), urethane (polyurethanes).
Aniline coating is a finish that adds shine to leather and slightly evens out the surface. Unlike varnish, this coating has an unexpressed shine and is more transparent.
*** Tanning is a chemical process that turns animal hides and skins into tanned leather. The process uses acids, alkalis, salts, enzymes and tannins to dissolve fats and non-fibrous proteins. Vegetable tanning based on the chemical effect of plant materials containing tannin (tannic acid). The skins are soaked in cauldrons in a strong solution of these substances. Chemical tanning uses mineral salts such as chromium sulfate. Tanning can also be done using fish oil and synthetic types of tannin.
**** Bakhtarma is the lower surface of tanned animal skin.
Knowing how to distinguish genuine leather from even the highest quality fake leather can sometimes bring a lot of benefits. Having certain information, you can protect yourself from deception and unnecessary waste of money.
How to distinguish genuine leather from leatherette: important parameters
If you decide to update your wardrobe with leather goods, but do not know how to distinguish genuine leather from fake, pressed material or eco-leather, expert advice will help you. Experts recommend when choosing leather goods pay attention to the following important parameters and important points:
Heat transfer. Place your palm on the surface of the leather product - good way How to distinguish genuine leather from artificial leather. The fact is that high-quality natural material, upon contact with the human body, always heats up and begins to emit heat, since it is endowed with good heat transfer. At the same time, it must remain dry. If you have leatherette in front of you, it will not heat up immediately, but after some time, and moisture will appear on its surface from the warmth of your hand.
Edge thickness and edge. How to distinguish natural leather from artificial leather, taking into account this parameter? According to experts, natural leather is always thicker than artificial leather and has a more rounded and rough edge. In artificial products, this part is always round and quite smooth.
The basis. When purchasing a product, it is advisable to pay attention to its inside: there should always be a small open area that allows you to see the material used in sewing. On a cut of natural skins, multiple weaves of fibers should be visible. If there are no such fibers, there are few of them, or there is a fabric base instead, you have a product made of leatherette.
Smell. Presenting the product and sniffing its smell is another common method of distinguishing genuine leather from leatherette. Artificial materials have a pungent chemical odor that natural animal skin will never emit.
Pore location. To understand whether sellers are offering you natural or artificial material, carefully examine the pores on your skin. On artificial leather they are identical in shape and depth, located at the same distance from each other. On products made from natural materials, the pores are located in in no particular order, have different shapes and depth.
Color. Natural materials do not lose their color when compressed and pressed on; it remains unchanged. If such actions are performed with artificial material, it may acquire a different shade.
Elasticity. Good elasticity is one of the main criteria of natural materials. If you fold or press on a high-quality product, small wrinkles appear on the surface; when the material returns to its original position, these defects disappear on their own.
How to distinguish natural patent leather from artificial leather: parameters for choosing varnish material
Leather patent leather products - clothes, shoes, bags - look beautiful, but counterfeits are often sold under their guise, because they are difficult to identify. There are several tricks to distinguish natural patent leather from artificial leather. First of all, such products bend well, and wrinkles will never appear on their surface.
There is another way to distinguish natural patent leather from artificial. You can run your fingernail across the surface of the material, if there are no scratches, what you see is most likely natural patent leather, however, it may be that the leather is artificial, but high-quality varnish is applied to it.
When choosing leather clothing, shoes or accessories, you should also pay attention to the label, which should indicate the origin of the material.
If you are offered products made from high-quality natural materials, the label should contain the following inscription:
- genuine leather – in English;
- vera pelle - Italian;
- cuir - French;
- echtleder - German.
Considering these parameters and criteria for choosing natural materials and taking into account, you can avoid purchasing low-quality products.
How to distinguish pressed leather from genuine leather?
Do you want to know how to distinguish pressed leather from natural leather, because it costs much less, but is often sold at a high price?
The following points should be taken into account:
- products made from genuine leather are always soft, elastic, the color is uniform over the entire surface, while pressed material is rough and hard and may have streaks;
- If possible, discreetly place a drop of water on the material: if the moisture is absorbed, you have a quality material.
Do not forget: genuine leather cannot be cheap, while products made from pressed or artificial material can often be purchased at sales at a low cost.
How to distinguish genuine leather from artificial eco-leather
How to distinguish genuine leather from eco-leather - one of current issues, which buyers want to familiarize themselves with before purchasing the product. In principle, eco-leather is the same artificial material, it’s just that recently more and more new terms have been used to denote it.
Eco-leather is made from polyurethane and is a high-tech material. Eco-leather has much in common with natural material; its quality is several times superior to artificial leather.
A parameter such as thermal conductivity will not help determine what kind of material is in front of you. The fact is that eco-leather also heats up from heat human body, but does not emit moisture like other artificial materials.
Smell and color often help buyers understand what sellers are offering them. Eco-leather does not have the specific smell of animal skin. If we talk about the color of products, then clothes, shoes and accessories made from polyurethane film have more saturated shades, because the paint adheres to them better, so they always look brighter.
How to distinguish saffiano and natural crocodile leather from a fake
Recently, reptile leather products have been at the peak of fashion. They are not cheap, but at the same time, cheap fakes are often sold on the market at high prices. Find out how to distinguish genuine crocodile skin so as not to become a victim of deception.
There are three types of reptile leather from the crocodilian order on the leather market today:
Alligator skin – it is distinguished by characteristic tubercles arranged in rows 2-2-2, which are located on the head of the reptile. Second important difference Alligator skin is a peculiar pattern in the form of a web, which is located on the abdominal part of the body. It can't be faked, so famous designers they place this “web” in the most visible place of the product to emphasize its naturalness.
Crocodile skin. On the scalp of a crocodile there are pronounced tubercles arranged in rows 4-2. Another valuable part of the crocodile skin is the peritoneum; it has a geometric pattern with clear lines located parallel to each other. If you look closely, in the center of each such square you can see a dot - an undeveloped horny growth.
Caiman leather. On the head of this reptile, the tubercles are arranged in rows 4-4-2. Its skin is very thick and rough, so the products will not be soft and elastic.
Now you know how to distinguish genuine crocodile leather from a fake, so you can safely go shopping.
Saffiano leather is popular among many designers. It is used by the fashion house Michael Kors and Prada when creating collections of outerwear and accessories. Let's find out how to distinguish natural saffiano leather, because it is so popular now! This sheep or calf leather is very elastic, so after any manipulation - stretching or pressing, it returns to its original shape.
Knowing some secrets and owning useful information, you can choose high-quality products made from genuine leather.
Today, manufacturers have learned to imitate leather so much that it is almost impossible to distinguish it from natural leather. What to do if you want to buy a leather product, and how not to fall for the tricks of sellers? About distinctive features You will learn about genuine leather from the article.
Signs of genuine leather
To quickly distinguish whether it is leather or a substitute, pay attention to the following points.
Cover pattern
A natural specimen has a unique pattern, and on leatherette you can see the same pattern throughout the entire fabric of the product. But do not confuse artificial material with printed leather, where the pattern is also repeated. In addition, real leather has a porous structure. If you look at the surface of the material through a magnifying glass, you can see pores that are arranged in a chaotic manner.
Thermal properties
An artificial specimen does not have the properties of accumulating and transferring heat, unlike natural leather, which quickly heats up even from the hands and maintains the temperature. The leatherette will, of course, heat up in your hands, but moisture will appear on the surface, while the surface of the skin will be dry. The difference is obvious if you hold both copies in your hands.
Wrong side or cut point
It is not always possible to see the back of a product to determine whether it is a fake or a natural material. But the structure is clearly visible if you find and study the place of the cut. Real leather is made from suede fibers, while leatherette is made from synthetic or natural fabric. Now on the market modern material– eco-leather, which is difficult to distinguish from natural external signs. Its artificial origin is revealed by its fabric base.
Product weight
Faux leather is much lighter than natural leather. This fact can be felt even on small products. And if you choose leather jacket, then you will definitely feel the difference when you weigh the items of clothing in your hands. Please note that the weight of genuine leather may also vary depending on its type. For example, a product made from sheep leather will be lighter than one made from bovine leather. But the substitute always has less weight, which is why it differs from any natural material.
Smell
Leatherette items have a pungent chemical odor, which can be very difficult to remove. Surely, many have noticed this circumstance in the example of new shoes made from substitutes. High-quality leather material has a subtle aroma. Sometimes manufacturers use fragrances that imitate the aroma of natural leather, thereby misleading buyers. But this is possible if the artificial substitute is of excellent quality, because the aroma of a cheap fake cannot be masked by anything.
Ability to absorb moisture
You can check the product upon purchase by the reaction of the material to moisture. If you succeed, then conduct such an experiment to distinguish natural material from artificial one. If a little water gets on natural leather, it will be immediately absorbed, leaving a dark mark on the surface. It will gradually disappear as the moisture evaporates. Leather substitute does not have such absorbent features. The water will remain on the surface, and the material will not change its color.
Tactile properties
The structure of natural material is always a little rough. The leather substitute is smooth to the touch. When folded, the leather will change color slightly in the fold area. But if you return it to its original state, you will not see any creases at the bend. The leather substitute will not change color, but visible marks may be visible on the folded area.
Product cost
Real quality leather cannot be of low cost. But the price factor depends on the skin type. Most a budget option– products made from bovine, pig or cow leather. This variety is often used to make shoes, belts or jackets. It is quite dense and tough. Goat, calf or sheep leather has softer properties. And the most expensive material with a high cost is crocodile, ostrich, deer or snake skin.
How to quickly check leather for authenticity
Before you make a purchase, make sure that it is not a fake. To do this, use the following tricks:
- Press the material, genuine leather is elastic and soft to the touch. After pressing, it should quickly return to its original state without causing dents.
- Stretch the product a little; you should not feel the “rubber” effect in your hands. But genuine leather quickly returns to its original state.
- Carefully inspect the cut site. Natural material thicker than artificial. If you notice intertwined fibers, then rest assured that this is leather. The fabric base indicates a fake.
- Place your palm on the surface of the material for a few seconds. Genuine leather will quickly heat up and absorb moisture. The artificial leather will leave a cooling sensation in the palm of your hand. The substitute does not accept moisture.
- A quality product is confirmed by a small sample of the material. Usually, for genuine leather, a figured pattern is cut out. For artificial fakes, a piece of leatherette can be in the form of a regular diamond. The edge of the cut should have a raw appearance, while the substitute has a smooth cut in appearance.
