Top grain means only what is ^{ON TOP}. It doesn't mean quality. It may mean paint, metallic finish, a sanded, embossed finish to give the hide a natural look. It can mean the top grain on your wood desk or the top grain of textured mica. The term came about when it meant something, but it has subsequently been so misused that many companies supplying everything from leather hides to leather luggage tout their "TOP GRAIN" quality.

What really counts is: Is the product you specify FULL GRAIN? Minor corrections are okay for heavy-duty contract use and we will address those issues in some of the other terms. There is a place for "Top Grain" as in metallic finished leather, or glazed leather (often called "traditional" leather or "legal" leather), or pearlized leather, but full grain leather means just that: What you see is the full, breathable, natural surface of the hide.

FULL GRAIN is not to be confused with whether the leather is aniline dyed or semi-aniline finished or a number of terms that follow.

ANILINE DYED: The process of coloring leathers throughout, by immersion, with transparent dyes.

ANILINE: Transparent dying materials. Aniline finishes are often applied to wood furniture for grain highlighting as well as leather.

ANTIQUED: The light application of one color over another. Usually a darker color over a lighter one. Can be applied by hand by sponge, or by spraying for uniform application. Can be left in semi-aniline full grain state or applied to sanded hides, then glazed to give a gloss finish, as in "legal" leather.

CORRECTED GRAIN LEATHER: Leather whose natural surface texture has been altered.

DRUM-DYED: A dyeing process in which leather is immersed in dye and tumbled in a drum, allowing maximum penetration.

DYEING: The application of color, either by spraying, hand-rubbing or immersion.

EMBOSSING: A process by which design is added to leather by pressure to alter or enhance the surface. Hides are generally cut in half and plates with designs are used. Often, full hides are lightly sanded and embossed with a grain applied by a roller. This is what is known as "top grain" as opposed to full grain.

FINISHING: Any post tanning treatment such as dyeing, rolling, milling, pressing, spraying, waxing, embossing, glazing, waterproofing or flame proofing.

FULL GRAIN: Generally, leathers that have not been corrected in any way, allowing the natural markings and character of the leather to show through. Full grain leathers are, therefore, much cleaner hides to begin with, which makes them more expensive than corrected grain leathers.

FULL TOP GRAIN: The true "top grain" portion of the hide. (See above for misuse of the term "top grain") Roughly 3/64" of an inch thick.

  Grain can be raised by shrinking or applying chemical treatments to heighten the grain.

GLAZING: Synthetic transparent resins applied as a protective coating to leather, providing a high gloss or matte finish to suit application. Also known as "top coating."

GRAIN: The distinctive pore, markings and wrinkle pattern of a hide. May be natural or embossed. (See: FULL GRAIN and TOP GRAIN)

HAND: A term used to describe the softness or feel of a leather.

LEATHER: A generic term for all hides and skins which have been tanned and finished.

MILLING: A natural softening process in which leather is tumbled in a drum. In custom hides, you may determine that the grain is too high or the hand is not soft enough. An acceptable result can generally be obtained by milling rather than the less desirable addition of surface chemicals.

NATURAL GRAIN: The unaltered top grain surface of leather.

NU-BUK LEATHER: Also, Nubuck. A pure aniline product that has been lightly abraded to create a slight suede-type nap resulting in an extremely soft hand.

PATINA: A lustre that develops with time and use.

PLATING: See EMBOSSING.

PREMIUM SELECT: A term describing hides with virtually no scars or blemishes. Usually less than 5% of all available hides. Most often used in "pure aniline" leather.

PULL-UP: Leather that when pulled tight produces a burst of color. Used as upholstery leather it gives a worn, weathered appearance or distressed look. Pull ups are full aniline leathers that have an oil and/or wax application. When the leather in pulled or stretched over a firm surface, the surface application separates causing the color to become lighter.

PURE ANILINE: A term that has a number of meanings. Some markets in Europe determine that "pure aniline" should have absolutely no top finish of any sort added to the leather. Generally impractical for upholstery leather. Pure aniline leather marketed to and in the US generally means that the leather is selected from the top 5% of the hides and there are no additional color-altering materials added to the surface, while clear wax, oil or other other minimal protective finishes are applied either in the drum or to the surface of leather to offer some protection against liquids and air-borne dust. All of the natural markings such as wrinkles, fat lines, healed bug bites, different absorption levels of the dye to these and other natural characteristics are clearly visible.

SANDING: Refers to the removal of grain, scars and blemishes from a hide. Hides with minimal hand corrections can still be classed as "full grain."

SEMI-ANILINE: Leathers which have been aniline dyed, then finished to matching surface pigments to even out the color. Also called "aniline plus." Adds protection to the hide. Generally used for commercial and heavy-use residential leather application. These leathers are light resistant and scratch resistant and easily cleaned. Generally from the next 10 - 15% of the world hide supply after Pure Aniline. (NOTE: Townsend uses only German and North European sources for hides so growth hormone additives, rough hearding, barbed wire and other such conditions experienced with Domestic and South American hides are not a concern.)

SKIVING: Splitting or shaving away part of the underside of the hide to facilitate sewing. Often, two pieces of leather will be skived and placed back to back and sewn with exposed ends, which are sanded and sealed with a matching or contrasting lacquer.

SPLITS: Underlying layers of leather, usually reserved for suedes or the belting and shoe industry. The cut below the the Full Top Grain. The reason why suede is so thick is to give it stability for upholstery. Many imported products, specialty leather house items or locally manufactured upholstered goods use modified split leather on the arms, backs and sides of lounge furniture, thereby reducing the cost significantly. Unfortunately, this leather has a tendency to tear, peel its top finish or sag, also known as "sheeting." Once the leather sags or stretches, it can never be pulled tight properly because the membrane structure has been damaged and leather has no "memory" like vinyl.

SPLITTING: Cutting a hide into two or more layers

TANNING: Treating raw hides to reduce their perishability.

TANNING-CHROME: Uses chrome salts. Results in a raw tanned hide with a pale blue color often called "wet blues" because the hides are wrapped wet for transport to leather finishers for additional processing. Vegetable tanned leather is often re-processed in a combination of vegetable and chrome tanning and the result is a fairly thick leather that has to be "skived" or thinned so it can be sewn using standard upholstery techniques. The pale blue color that comes from the chrome salts is what makes very pale cream and white leather difficult to produce, requiring a generous top finish to compliment the immersion dyes.

TANNING-VEGETABLE: Uses bark and wood extracts and results in a brown colored leather, used mainly in shoe manufacturing and stiff, thicker upholstery leathers like "strap" leather or matteograssi's Coach Hide. Color rarely penetrates deep into the hide, though hides are often dyed both sides to achieve uniformity in the finished product. Do not be mislead-see a profile cut!

TUMBLING: Not to be confused with the tumbling during dyeing. A process in which hides are "tumbled" in rotating drums to soften the hand or enhance the grain. See MILLING

WEIGHT OF LEATHER - A MEASURE OF THICKNESS AND WEIGHT: Measured in millimeters which, when divided by four, are quoted in ounces. Example: A 3mm thick hide ("heavy" leather) is a 7.5 oz. leather.

WHITE LINE: Poorly dyed leathers. Aniline dyed with semi-aniline finish, dyed just enough to look good, but when cut at an angle, a thin blue-white line in center shows that the leather not dyed through.