Everything You Should Know About Buffalo Leather

Buffalo leather is one of our preferred materials for producing excellent leather goods. Buffalo leather has gained popularity as a material for high-end bags, furniture, and other leather goods because of its reputation for toughness, distinctive character, and adaptability.

Handmade World Leather Bags makes leather products that ooze style and craftsmanship. We take great delight in providing a broad selection of trendy and practical buffalo leather bags.

The hides of domestic buffaloes, such as the American Buffalo (bison), the African Cape Buffalo, and the Asian Buffalo, are used to make the leather known as "buffalo leather." The majority of buffalo leather used in leather items globally comes from Asian Buffalo, which is the most prevalent source.

Buffalo Leather: What is it?

Buffalo leather has a more prominent grain and feels than bovine leather. It has a distinctive personality and depth that heightens its attraction. The tanning process enhances the leather's innate beauty, producing various colors and finishes suitable for various applications. 

The appeal of buffalo leather is due to its ability to combine toughness and fashion. Buffalo leather's dark hues and thick texture give leather goods an opulent and classic appearance. Buffalo leather is incredibly durable, ensuring that the goods it is used to create can withstand normal wear and tear, making them long-lasting investments.

It's important to remember that the qualities of buffalo leather vary slightly depending on the buffalo species. The majority of the buffalo leather available on the market comes from Asian Buffalo, which is the most widely used source. Although still referred to as buffalo leather, American Buffalo (bison) skins may differ slightly from other buffalo hides in terms of their texture or degree of porosity.

The Making of Buffalo Leather

Buffalo hides are converted into buffalo leather through several stages that ensure the material is preserved, cleaned, and treated to achieve the desired quality and features.

Salting and Drying: The buffalo hides are first salted to stop bacterial development and preserve the material throughout shipment. The excess moisture is then removed, allowing them to dry for three to five days.

Cleaning and Preparation: The dried buffalo skins are thoroughly cleaned at the tannery. The skins are cleaned of any leftover dust, filth, and salt. To ensure adequate cleansing, they are immersed in water and cleaning agents.

Hair removal and thinning: The hides undergo a hair removal procedure to produce smooth, hair-free leather. Chemicals or mechanical techniques are frequently used to achieve this. The hides are thinned after the hair is removed to achieve a more uniform thickness and enhance workability.

Pickling and de-liming: De-liming is a procedure that eliminates and neutralizes lime that was employed in the hair removal process. This procedure is essential for the hides to have the proper pH level. The hides are pickled after de-liming, which includes submerging them in an acidic solution to correct further and stabilize the pH. This keeps the leather strong and of high quality. 

Tanning: Vegetable tanning is a popular method for dyeing and treating buffalo leather because it uses tannins produced from plants. In contrast to other tanning techniques that could require synthetic chemicals, vegetable tanning is renowned for its more natural approach. The leather receives a deep, warm color from it, and its durability and appealing finish are also improved. Several weeks may pass throughout the tanning process before reaching the ideal quality.

Finishing: Different treatments and finishes may be applied after the tanning process to improve buffalo leather's appearance and usability. This can involve dyeing, oiling, waxing, or buffing to produce particular hues, textures, or sheen levels.

Are bags made of buffalo leather good?

Bags made of buffalo leather are excellent. Whether you use them for work, travel, or daily use, bags are very high-wear goods. They endure a lot of wear and tear and occasionally must carry heavy loads repeatedly. Genuine buffalo leather is an excellent choice considering durability is essential for any material used to make bags.