You see leather around yourself so many times, whether natural or fake. The real feather is usually made of cattle skin and costs heavily. Even after that, using genuine cowhide is not welcomed by many as it uses animal skin in turn, animal abuse. Many even use fake cowhides to avoid burdening the animals while mimicking cowhides. Still, some people like leather, whatever the consequences may be. They might consider it a privilege or are ignorant of the butchering of animals.
Many companies even rolled out saying fake cowhide as vegan cowhide. It has done so to cover up the limitations of the cheaper phony cowhide while not harming the animals. Deciding whether you want natural or faux cowhide depends on you. While there are a lot of counterfeit items in the market, knowing how to differentiate between them is what is essential. No one would want to spend extra bucks for something not even genuine.
Faux leather or animal skin is usually used in materials that need a leather finish but are not worth the price range of a cowhide item. It also has its pros and cons over genuine cowhide, such as faux hide would not get scratches or tears like natural cowhide. The cowhide used in craft can sometimes mix up with the leather you use for craft purposes. So as to not mix between the two, you can visit a Craft Supplier for more information.
What Is Faux Leather?
Faux leather or generally known as fake hide, and vegan cowhide is skin usually made out of PU faux skin or PVC faux skin fabric. These are the materials from which acceptable quality faux cowhide is mass produced. There are also high and low-quality material options for other purposes. These materials are further treated with chemicals to get the same feel, look, and texture as that of natural cowhide. While doing so, various styles and colors of faux hide can multiply for commercialization.
Faux leather is an excellent option for genuine animal skin as it can go under chemical treatments to suit different styles and designs. It can also be polished and produced in different colors to serve different people. At times the material of the faux hide might not be breathable for the person wearing it, but it is not heavy like real cowhide. With time faux cowhide does not fade and is made UV resistant to protect it from sun damage.
What Is Real Leather?
Real leather is animal skin that is treated with chemicals or tanned, producing leather. There are various kinds of animal skin depending on their material and quality. If you want to buy cowhide, you should know its multiple types. Some types include genuine hide, top grain hide, full grain hide, etc. The most common type of leather you see is natural hide.
The genuine hide can be found in shoes, bags, and belts, anywhere you could think of in everyday life. Usually, articles made of this animal skin are cheap as genuine leather is low-quality leather. It can sometimes feel like a mixed or not natural hide, but genuine leather is real cowhide. The quality of genuine animal skin depends on the polishing and the work that has gone on the coat. As natural or authentic cowhide has the least amount of quality to keep its genuineness, its cost is very low.
How To Distinguish Them?
It is essential to know how to differentiate between different types of leather. One should also know how to distinguish between faux and genuine cowhide. Below are a few points with the help of which you would be able to distinguish between faux hide and natural hide when you go out in the market.
● Label
The easiest way to know what kind of leather the article has you need to check the label. The company always provides the material details mentioned on the label or tag on the clothing; thus, it is easier to spot. If genuine or top-grade hide, it’s always mentioned on the label. It is the right way. If any word such as man-made, artificial, manufactured, or synthetic is written on the label or not specified, it is a faux hide.
● Price Tag
The price tag of leather can also help differentiate between natural and faux leather. It would be fantastic if one would be able to buy genuine animal skin for cheap. But if the price of the hide falls below the expected range of natural cowhide, then it is probably faux animal skin. Genuine leather can not be at the same price as faux leather as it is costlier compared to fake animal skin.
● Structure
When looking at the surface of the genuine hide, it is usually non-uniform. It means that when you look across its structure, you will realize that it does not have uniformity. Natural animal skin would have some bumps to the feel and blemishes on the surface. At the same time, the faux hide would be very smooth and have no scratches or bumps.
● Smell
Genuine or natural hide has a signature leathery smell. No one can imitate this smell as it is similar to the leather of animals after being treated chemically. The natural organic scent of genuine cowhide is not possible to manufacture. Faux hide has a plastic or chemical smell that real hide could never have.
Conclusion
Those who love leather items know the difference between faux and natural animal skin and the various kinds. Thus working your way through them is a better option than spending more bucks on the wrong item. Before buying hide, make sure to check the label.
- Price tag.
- Look and Feel
- Smell; to be safe from getting scammed.
If all those steps do not work, you can still ask the person working there to help you check the material. Once you have finalized and confirmed the quality of the hide, you can confidently buy it and add it to your collection or as you seem fit.
