Ripped off by fake leather again...

[spandit]

Just bought a watch strap off eBay as the pin on mine broke and I've never liked it (was either too tight or too loose). Said it was genuine leather but pretty sure that only applies to the lining - the outside looks like vinyl to me. Still, it was only about £3 delivered, a lot less than the sheepskin flying jacket I bought which turned out to be plastic...

 

[Toddy]

There's an entire industry that revolves around turning leather scraps into pulp and then recongealing it into sheets.
This can legitimately be sold as 'Genuine Leather', but it's not anywhere near the quality of Full Grain Leather which is cut from the original hide. It's a bit like the sausages made from mechanically recovered meat.

This is the stuff that is often used for watch straps, bags, purses, wallets and belt linings, cheap ladies leather gloves (that split because the stretch isn't quite right) shoe insoles and bonded leather used on furnishings like storage boxes that are fashionable at times.

If it doesn't say Full Grain, and doesn't come from a Maker, then it's not as good as it might be.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Actually it's illegal in the UK to advertise/sell bonded & bicast as genuine leather & goods made from such material ( I refuse to call it leather) have to follow guildllines regarding the percentage of fake & genuine leather used before they can be called leather.

Might be of interest.... http://www.all-about-leather.co.uk/what-is-leather/what-is-leather.htm

 

[Gaudette]

Actually it's illegal in the UK to advertise bonded & bicast as genuine leather.

I didn't know this. Many thanks for posting.


--------------------------------------------
"If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs, if we had some eggs"

 

[sasquatch]

They had a pack of 2 genuine leather (marked as) straps at Aldi yesterday complete with pins. £3.99, I nearly bought some just because I liked the look of them and was going to replace the stitching with synthetic sinew. They were both brown, one darker than the other and actually fairly nice looking. I put them back and bought a bottle of port instead in the end!

 

[spandit]

Gives me something else to make as I've got some buckles from old straps. Need to work out how to skive the leather I've got as it's a bit thick

 

[Man of Tanith]

I put them back and bought a bottle of port instead in the end!

a much wiser investment Chad

thats a real swine about the watch strap,

 

[Toddy]

Actually it's illegal in the UK to advertise/sell bonded & bicast as genuine leather & goods made from such material ( I refuse to call it leather) have to follow guildllines regarding the percentage of fake & genuine leather used before they can be called leather.

Might be of interest.... http://www.all-about-leather.co.uk/what-is-leather/what-is-leather.htm

Perhaps so, but it's happening right across the board. 'Genuine Leather' often is stamped in gold on articles and it's most definitely *not* full grain leather.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_leather

I know of two localish tanneries where offcuts from the hides and shoe making are crammed into shipping containers and when full they are sent to China. There it's processed and the 'Genuine Leather' comes back for use in belts, bags, parts of furnishings, etc.,

There are millions of items made from this stuff; no one's going to report every incidence to the Trading Standards.
In reality it's a good way to make use of scraps; it creates an even useable material of known quality.
That it's not full grain or split hide leather doesn't matter for many of the applications.
However, it's not as strong as the piece made from the original hide, it's not as breathable, it's not quite as forgiving, and sometimes it's total stuff that gets flushed, iimmc.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toadflax]

A slight hijack here!

But here's the real thing. A proper traditional oak-bark tanned bridle butt, that takes over a year to produce. There's nothing like it. Except this one's only about 6" wide now, 'cos the rest of it is buckled round various people's waists.

Geoff

 

[Dreadhead]

id be livid. get some small pieces of leather and make your own much better

 

[sasquatch]

a much wiser investment Chad

thats a real swine about the watch strap,

Indeed. I have watches, I have straps. I now have port as well!

 

[Toddy]

Indeed. I have watches, I have straps. I now have port as well!

Sounds like a win to me

atb,
M

 

[Man of Tanith]

Indeed. I have watches, I have straps. I now have port as well!

what more can you ask for?
the Aldi own brand isn't a bad drop either for its price etc, although there are better. i'll bring a drop along next time we meet up for you to sample


(sorry for thread jack)

 

[sasquatch]

I do enjoy a nice port Sam, I also enjoy an Aldi port. It's a bit early in the year for me to get on it but it makes for a welcome change with the cooler mornings and nights drawing in. Always up for a wee nip, looking forward to it!

Sorry for even more hijack banter!

 

[Laurentius]

So long as there is a scrap of leather somewhere on it, it gets called "genuine leather" I have bought numerous belts without looking too closely. It thoroughly annoys me that you don't seem to be able to get either a pair of shoes or a belt with anything more than a thin skin of leather these days.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

So long as there is a scrap of leather somewhere on it, it gets called "genuine leather"

No, there has to be a large majority of real leather. But that isn't really an indicator as even in real leathers there is a difference in quality. Price is a good guide though (if you can't actually examine the item ) Items made from good quality leather are relatively expensive.

 

[Chrisf]

I bought some belts from the charity shop last week for strop making. Turned out to be thin laminated leather. I should have looked more closely. I am still going to give them a try but don't expect them to last very long.

Chris

 

[Laurentius]

No, there has to be a large majority of real leather. But that isn't really an indicator as even in real leathers there is a difference in quality. Price is a good guide though (if you can't actually examine the item ) Items made from good quality leather are relatively expensive.

That may be the thery and the law, but I don't think that is what actually happens. I am not sure price is even a guarantee these days given that designer lable trumps quality in most cases. I think the only way to find decent leather items is to go "retro" as it is charmingly called these days, what we used to call second hand.