Natural leather grain

Recognising the original animal grain of the skin is only possible on surfaces with a natural leather grain.

On same skin: fine pored -> transition -> coarse pored.

Many car and furniture leathers get a uniform grain pattern in the tannery. This is pressed into the leather. The advantage is less cutting waste. Embossing increases the surface yield as small skin defects are hidden in the surface.

Leather with a natural grain pattern does not have a uniform grain structure. It is also known that the grain structure of skins varies and also skins within the same production batch differ from one to the other. Since the customers usually demand a symmetrical look (the grain pattern of the seats, armrests or backs and sides should be identical), it is much more difficult to cut a complete car interior or furniture set with the same grain pattern. This problem does not apply to embossed leathers.

Since small leather damages can be hidden in embossed leather, this type is generally cheaper. The question is therefore whether an embossed leather is "worse" than a leather with a natural grain pattern. In principle, there are no differences in quality for the end user. There are no typical complaints due to the embossing of the leather.

For leathers with a natural grain, only skins without damages can be chosen. Since many skins have small damages and defects, the amount left for leather with a natural grain pattern is low. For this reason, such hides are more expensive.