Aniline – A leather that has been stained, colored, and finished with dyes only.

Break – A description of how the grain of leather reacts when it is folded back against itself. A “fine” break is considered desirable.

Buffing – Also known as “correcting,” the act of sanding the grain to improve “selection” and remove surface imperfections.

Burnished – Leather that has been polished in such a way that heat is generated resulting in a surface shine.

Cementable – A leather that is able to be glued. Many modern shoe manufacturers employ such a process in place of sewing or stitching the sole to the upper of a shoe.

Combination Tanned – Leather that is initially “chrome” tanned and then retanned using vegetable extracts.

Curried – The process of hand oiling leather with warmed, natural oils. Typically done by brushing.

Dehairing – The chemical process of removing the hair from a cured, but not yet tanned, animal skin.

Embossing – The process of permanently pressing a texture or pattern into a piece of leather. This is the same as plating, except a textured plate is used.

Fat Liquored – A retanned hide that has undergone nourishing with a blend of emulsified fats and/or oils.

Full Grain – A leather type that has not undergone buffing, sanding, or snuffing. Also referred to as “top grain.”

Hand Glazed – A leather that has been burnished with a very traditional machine called a glazing jack. The machine polishes the surface of the leather with a fixed glass rod.

Hot Stuffing – The process of impregnating leather with oils, greases, and/or fats that are solid at room temperature. This process is achieved in a mill.

Mill – A wood or metal drum of varying size that is used in processes such as tumbling, stuffing, retanning, and coloring. In appearance, it looks like a gigantic, rotating barrel.

Mill Dyed – A leather that has had dye introduced during the retanning process.

Pasted – A leather that has undergone a drying process where hides are hand-applied to a frame using a starch-based paste and then sent through a hot air dryer.

Plated – A leather that has had heat and pressure applied by a large, mechanical press.

Pull-up – A temporary lightening in color achieved by bending leather. This is caused by the temporary displacement of oils, greases, and/or waxes.

Retanning – The process where products are introduced that are largely responsible for the ultimate character of the leather.

Semi-Aniline – A leather that is finished with some percentage of pigmented dyes to achieve a more uniform surface appearance.

Shell – The subcutaneous, highly dense fiber structure found in the backside of a horse or mule.

Slicking – The hand scraping of excess dye from a piece of leather.

Swabbing – Also referred to as “padding.” the process of hand applying base coats of dye to a piece of leather.

Tanned in Tack® – The secret proprietary blend that makes our football leather special.

Temper – The term used to refer to how soft or stiff a leather is.

Toggled – A leather that has been stretched and dried on a frame using clips or clamps, known as toggles.

Tumbled – Also known as “dry milled,” refers to leather that has been placed in a mill and run for a predetermined amount of time. This lends softness to leather.

Vacuum Dried – A modern drying technique that employs a machine able to create a vacuum to draw water out of the skins after retanning.

Weight – The thickness of leather, measured in either ounces or millimeters.

Wet Stuffing – The impregnation of leather through the introduction of a rich blend of emulsifiable oils. This is an intermediate step between fat liquoring and hot stuffing.