How to Grade Hides for Leather Upholstery

Because of clever manufacturing, you cannot grade upholstery leather by sight. With a little machining and finishing, a low-grade leather can look like top-grain leather, alligator skin or whatever the manufacturer chooses. The lower grades are not useless; they can be economical and perfectly useful for the back and sides of a chair or couch. Honest leather retailers will help you to select the grade that you require.

Instructions

- 1
  Decide on a budget for the project; this will help you determine the grade of leather you can purchase. Plan to spend between $5 and $10 per square foot for upholstery-grade leather (2010 prices).
- 2
  Determine whether the upholstery leather is top grain or split. A split hide has been peeled into layers; the top grain is the outermost surface, while a split is an inner layer.
- 3
  Use the more durable top grain for cushions and backrests and splits for backs and sides (if you are trying to save money).
- 4
  Decide between aniline leather or coated, pigmented leather. Full aniline leather is dyed through, with no top finish, and is the most flexible and luxuriant (and expensive); leather in the $10 per square foot range is likely aniline or semi-aniline finish. Pigmented leather is painted and is far more commonly used in leather upholstery because of its lower cost (starting at $5 per square foot) and even finish.

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