Introduction
Humans have been utilizing leathers for thousands of years, and vegetable tanned leather is especially noteworthy as the oldest known type of leather. It speaks volumes about the quality of leather made in this way that it has kept its popularity over such a long stretch of time. In fact, even now, it accounts for about 10% of all leather produced. What sets it apart from the rest?
What is Vegetable Tanned Leather?
The tanning process is an indispensable part of leather production, and is essentially what transforms an animal hide into the material we call leather. Tanning prevents the decomposition of the animal hide while also making it more durable and/or flexible. Although many modern tanning methods make heavy use of minerals, vegetable tanned leather is processed using organic materials and vegetable-based oils known as tannins, from which the very technique of tanning takes its name.
In addition to its excellent durability, vegetable tanned leather is quite versatile. One of its most notable attributes is how it reacts in water; when left to soak, it shrinks and hardens. Depending on the intended purpose, this increased sturdiness can be a very desirable characteristic. Traditionally, it has been used for luggage, shoes, saddles, and even armor.
What are Tannins?
Simply describing tannins as ‘vegetable-based oils’ doesn’t do them justice. After all, it’s thanks to these bitter-tasting plant materials that the very first leathers were made. Strictly speaking, a tannin is an organic compound called a polyphenol. They appear in many different types of plant life, including fruits, trees, flowers, and algae. Tannins have the unique property to chemically bond with the animal hide, strengthening it and giving the hide the rich colors associated with quality leather.
What are the Most Common Tannins?
All sorts of plants have tannins in them, but as far as vegetable tanning goes, materials originating from trees are considered the most useful due to their particularly high concentration of tannins. They’re present in just about every part of the tree: roots, leaves, bark, and the wood itself can all be used in the vegetable tanning process.
Some of the types of trees most commonly used as tannin sources for leather include:
- Oak
- Willow
- Hemlock
- Mangrove
- Chestnut
- Quebracho
If you’re still curious about tannins, an excellent resource to learn more about this peculiar natural product is https://www.tannins.org, an initiative aimed toward providing all the information about tannins you could ask for.
How Can You Identify Vegetable Tanned Leather?
There are a few different ways to identify this type of leather, though some are more reliable than others. The simplest methods involve the leather’s appearance and its immediately identifiable characteristics.
Like we mentioned earlier, vegetable tanned leather is often soaked in water in order to shrink and strengthen it. Leather that has undergone this process tends to be less flexible than some other types, so a simple (albeit inconsistent) way to identify vegetable tanned leather is to look out for high durability and low flexibility.
Vegetable tanned leather has a few other distinguishing characteristics. It usually has a somewhat sweet aroma that’s more earthy than, say, mineral tanned leathers. Many people have a preference for the scent of vegetable tanned leather, thanks to its lack of artificial or synthetic undertones.
Depending on the age of the leather, the patina can be another hint. The word ‘patina’ usually refers to the change in appearance that occurs in an artisan product over time, and high quality leather can be a great example of this. As it ages, vegetable tanned leather tends to take on a slightly faded coloration, giving it a graceful appearance and a rich hue.
Failing all else, vegetable tanned leather can be identified by applying an iron salt solution, which will tint the surface of the leather black.
Is Vegetable Tanned Leather Environmentally Friendly?
To be clear, the necessity of cutting down trees prevents vegetable tanned leather from being considered entirely environmentally friendly. Leather also requires an enormous amount of water to produce, which is why tanneries have historically been located near rivers. However, vegetable tanned leather is generally considered to be one of the most sustainable leather production methods.
Cutting down trees might not sound especially eco-friendly, but it’s important to keep in mind that many other tanning techniques rely on toxic chemicals, which can pollute water and wildlife if they’re disposed of improperly. Vegetable tanned leather, on the other hand, is made entirely with renewable natural materials. It’s not perfect, but this is generally among the most responsible ways to make leather.
What are the Benefits of Vegetable Tanned Leather?
We’ve already covered a few of the reasons that make vegetable tanned leather great, but it’s worth going over in more detail why this is one of our favorite types of leather. One of the first things to expect from a piece of high grade leather is durability, and in this regard, vegetable tanned leather is some of the best there is. In fact, if cared for properly, it won’t be surprising to see this leather type last for many decades.
The appeal doesn’t end with its sturdiness either. Vegetable tanned leather is also highly prized for its appearance; the tannins involved in the production process lend it a rich natural color that, rather than fading over time, will often deepen into a true piece of quality leather.
Finally, as the oldest known leather tanning technique, it has an extraordinary body of knowledge to draw upon, with artisans often passing hard-earned wisdom down across generations. This makes vegetable tanned leather highly sought-after by connoisseurs. All of our leather goods at the Buffalo Billfold Company are handmade, so we have a great deal of respect for the amount of expertise involved in crafting this type of leather.
What are the Disadvantages of Vegetable Tanned Leather?
It wouldn’t be fair to talk about the benefits without mentioning some disadvantages of vegetable tanned leather, but truthfully, this leather type just doesn’t have too much to find fault with.
One thing you might want to be aware of is a lack of flexibility. The drawback of vegetable tanned leather’s excellent durability is this causes it to be more stiff at first than some other kinds of leather might be. However, this usually lessens with time, as the leather’s texture softens.
The main disadvantage of this type of leather is its price. Vegetable tanned leather takes between 1-2 months to produce, which makes it one of the most involved tanning techniques. Due to the amount of time invested, it often carries a higher price-tag than some other leathers.
Conclusion
Overall, there’s a lot to appreciate about vegetable tanned leather. Sustainability is a fundamental value of the Buffalo Billfold Company, so the minimal environmental impact makes this type of leather a particular favorite of ours. You can expect to pay a bit more for it, but it’s worth remembering that leather goods made with this technique are often some of the highest quality leathers out there, with almost unparalleled durability. When you buy a product made from vegetable tanned leather, it’s likely you’ll have it for many years to come.
