There are a variety of different kinds of leather. Some kinds of leather are differentiated by the way that the leather is prepared. Animal hides can be prepared by vegetable tanning, chrome tanning, boiling, and rawhide treatment. Each different method of tanning results in a different kind of leather.
Leather that is vegetable tanned results in a leather that can be supple and strong. The one major drawback of this kind of leather is that is easily damaged by water. Exposure to water will cause the leather to change colors, shrink, and become stiff. Vegetable tanned leather gets its name due to the fact that the various vegetable materials are used to tan the hides.
Chrome tanning is a kind of leather tanning that uses salts to tan the leather. Chrome tanned leather holds its shape and suppleness better if it is exposed to water. Another benefit to this kind of leather is that it can be tanned in different colors, as opposed to vegetable tanned leather, which is varying shades of brown.
Boiling produces a kind of leather that is not traditionally used for clothes, upholstery, and other needs that require a supple leather. The boiling process produces a...