In its broadest sense, leather is any type of tanned animal hide. Different types of leather are characterized by both the type of animal skin used and the tanning and manufacturing methods employed. The most common types of leather are made from cow hide, but leather from other animals, such as kangaroos and ostriches, is also popular in certain applications. This guide helps you learn the basic differences between the types of leather used to make handbags.
Cowhide Leather
Cowhide leather comes from the skin of a cow, as the name indicates. Handbags and purses made of cowhide will normally last longer than purses made from other types of leather. Cowhide leather will usually have a good amount of noticable texture (slightly rough feeling to the touch)
Cowhide leather can be prepared in a few different ways.
Full-grain leather, used in the finest leather products, is not altered past removing the hair and tanning the hide. Therefore, it requires raw materials of excellent quality. Top-grain leather is sanded on one side and given an artificial grain in order to hide imperfections in the raw material. The other side of this type of leather is fuzzy.
Suede is fuzzy on both sides, as it is cut from the inside of an animal hide.
Patent leather has a very shiny, smooth finish, often coated with plastic;
Napa leather is known for its softness, as is slunk, made from the hide of a calf fetus.
Lambskin Leather
Lambskin leather comes from sheep. As a sheep has much less skin than a cow, the items made from lambskin will usually be smaller. Many people like lambskin for its soft and smooth texture. Items made from lambskin will usually tear, scratch, or become indented much easier than those made of cowhide.
Patch Leather
Patch leather is a term used to describe when an item is made from smaller pieces of leather. The type of leather can be either cowhide or lambskin. Patch leather is almost always cheaper than other types of real leather as it usually comes from left over pieces. Some of the leather used in patch can be of very high quality, but it will not command the same price.
Faux Leather
Faux leather is artificial leather. This type of material will often look just like higher quality leather. People who know leather can tell the difference by touching or looking at faux leather. One way for anyone to tell is that faux leather will never have any creases or deformities. Leather that comes from an animal's skin will always show the cuts and scrapes endured by the animal over its lifetime. Many people prefer faux leather as it can be more durable than even high end cowhide and because it will always look perfect. Others prefer it because they don't like the use of animal skin in products - for personal reasons.