Characteristics of Various Leather Materials for Notebooks

• 金谷
• 2026-04-15
• Notebooks

Characteristics of Cow Leather

Cow leather includes yellow cow leather, yak leather, and buffalo leather.

Yellow cow leather features a fine grain, thick leather layer, high strength, good fullness and elasticity, making its products attractive, comfortable and durable. It is mainly used for clothing, leather shoes, luggage, and sports balls.

Yak leather has a slightly inferior grain compared with yellow cow leather, but its other properties and applications are generally similar.

Buffalo leather has a relatively rough surface and loose fibers, with slightly lower strength than yellow cow leather, while other properties are close. It is mainly used for sofas, luggage, and often for leather shoes.

Characteristics of Pig Leather

Pig leather is quite different from cow and sheep leather. It has a rough grain, tight fibers, and poor fullness and elasticity. However, its strength is similar to cow leather and higher than sheep leather, making products durable but less aesthetically pleasing.

Pig leather can be used to make various leather goods.

Characteristics of Sheep Leather

Sheep leather is divided into goat leather and sheepskin leather.

Goat leather has a delicate and attractive grain and good softness, but lower fastness than cow leather. Its products are beautiful and comfortable, with average surface friction resistance and durability. It is mainly used for high-end women’s leather shoes, clothing, gloves, and ladies’ handbags.

Sheepskin leather is softer than goat leather but less durable. It offers better comfort and appearance but poorer durability. It is mainly used for clothing and gloves, and also for high-end leather shoes and soft packaging.

Characteristics of Full-Grain Leather

Full-grain leather retains the original surface (the hair side) of animal skin, also known as top-grain leather. Some are used directly without finishing, while most are processed with decorative coating.

Full-grain leather requires high-grade raw hides with few defects and strict processing, so it is a premium leather. It retains the complete original surface, ensuring excellent fastness. Usually with no or very thin coating, it keeps softness and good air permeability, showing natural texture for comfort and elegance.

Most full-grain leather is dyed with dyes. In the industry, full-grain leather using dyes as the main colorant is called aniline leather (or full aniline leather). It features uniform color and clear grain, without any masking film. Only a thin, colorless, transparent layer is applied, so the natural grain is fully visible.

Full-grain leather is used for all high-end leather goods. Special care should be taken to preserve its unique style and hand feel during cleaning and maintenance.

Characteristics of Semi-Aniline Leather

This leather has minor, shallow defects on the grain. To cover defects while preserving natural grain, a light spray coloring is applied with a small amount of pigments, binders, and dyes, forming a thin semi-covering layer. The natural grain of the leather remains faintly visible.