Barkers Suede and Leather Skins

Some of my items are listed here as single skins - if you need more than one please contact me.

Some listings show the quantity available - you can select the number of skins you need.

To get notification of new items add me to your favourite sellers list using the box at bottom left of this page - don't forget to click the 'sellers newsletter' box.

Also......please note that I have an ethical policy - I only sell leather from animals that have been reared as a food source.

ANALINE LEATHER Leather that is dyed for color without any pigments applied. These hides will exhibit some natural characteristics such as healed scars, scratches, neck and belly wrinkles. Expect colour variation from the swatch to the actual leather, due to the fact leather is a natural product and will absorb dye differently within the hide and from hide to hide. This leather will develop a rich patina over time and will fade with prolonged exposure to sunlight.

BEND The main part of a cowhide side, including the neck area - between 24" and 30" wide and up to 8 feet long.

BRIDLE LEATHER (Bridle Butt) Strong, flexible leather made from ox or cow hide bearing a uniform thickness and a plain finish, vegetable tanned and cured.

BRUSHED PIGSKIN Pigskin leather in which the wearing surface has been finished with a velvet-like nap.

CALF/CALFSKIN Fine grain leather made from the skin of a young or immature bovine animal that has been fed only milk, not exceeding a certain weight, generally 14 Kilograms, in the green salted state.

CHROME TANNED Leather tanned with chromium salts alone or together with some other tanning agent in a small proportion, maintaining the essential chrome tanned character of the leather.

CORRECTED GRAIN LEATHER Leather from which the grain layer has been removed by lightly buffing and a new surface has been built by various finishes.

CRUST LEATHER Type of leather, that after tannage, has not been further processed but has simply been dried.

DOUBLEFACE Leather which is finished on both sides. For example: skins with hair or wool on one side and a sueded finish on the other.

EMBOSSED LEATHER Leather with a printed or raised pattern, either resembling or different from the natural grain, to disguise defects or create an exciting design.

FINISH The introduction of a surface coating during the final stage or stages of the manufacture of dressed leather, such as spraying, waxing or embossing.

FLESH SPLIT Mechanically separated inner or under layer of a hide or skin.

FULL GRAIN Leather made by the removal of the epidermis, leaving the original grain surface exposed with none of the surface removed by buffing, snuffing or splitting.

GLACE Gloving leather finished on the grain side to give a glossy surface, often by glazing, plating, ironing or polishing to the grain side.

GRAIN The visible pattern on the outer surface of a hide or skin created by the pores. GRAIN SPLIT The outer (wool or hair) layer of a hide or skin that has been split into two or more layers.

GROWTH LINES Visible lines across a skin where fatty deposits have built up - particularly in the SHOULDER area. Occasionally these may affect the strength and pliability of the leather. Sometimes called GRAIN LINES.

HALF BACK The best part of a cowhide side - excluding the neck area. Often sold as a pair. See: our 'parts of a skin ' page.

KID Full chrome upper leather made from kid or goat skin. Gold and silver kid may be semi-chrome tanned.

KIP/KIPSKIN Lightweight hide from an immature grass-fed bovine animal of European or American origin. It is larger than calf but smaller than fully-grown cattle OR the hides of mature cattle, other than buffalo, of Asian or African origin which are smaller than those of Europe and America.

MINERAL TANNED Leather tanned using mineral salts such as aluminium, chrome or ziconium salts.

NAPPA Soft, full grain gloving or clothing leather, usually tanned with alum and chromium salts and dyed throughout. Made from unsplit sheep, lamb, goat or kid.

NON-PIGMENTED LEATHER Leather to which no pigments have been applied. These are usually hides of the very best quality and have been aniline dyed for color.

NUBUCK Nubuk is top grain leather that has been aniline dyed for color and then buffed to create a nap. Since Nubuk leathers have no pigment applied these hides will exhibit color variation from hide to hide and dye lot to dye lot. Some natural markings are visible throughout these hides. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will cause these leathers to fade.

PATENT LEATHER Leather to which several layers of drying oils, varnishes or synthetics resins have been applied to give a mirror-like finish.

PIGMENTED LEATHER Pigmented Leather is any top grain leather to which a clear topcoat and pigments have been applied. The pigments are what usually give the shiny even top color to the leather. The leather may or may not be aniline dyed. Sometimes the pigments (color) are applied to a base crust of a different color and in this case the leather in not dyed all the way through. If the pigments are applied to a hide that has been aniline dyed and matched for color then this leather is called a Protected Aniline Leather. Leather is usually pigmented to give it durability and hide its natural blemishes. Pigmented leathers are easy to maintain and have maximum resistance to wear, soiling, and fading from light.

PLATING A finishing technique using extreme pressure which produces a shine on grain leather.

PROTECTED ANILINE LEATHER is a top grain leather that is dyed for color and then receives pigment to ensure color consistency. Without pigment a protected leather is not color consistent. The pigment also ensures fade resistance and helps the leather wear over time. A clear water based topcoat is applied for additional protection. The natural imperfections of the hide are also less noticeable. Hides average 50-55 square feet. Protected Aniline Leathers are easy to maintain and have maximum resistance to wear, soiling, and fading from light.

PULL-UP The term used for a leather that lightens in colour when stretched. The colour should gradually return unless under constant stretch. Over time the overall colour tends to lighten.

SEMI-ANALINE LEATHER is pure aniline leather that has a small amount of pigment or clear finish thus allowing the natural characteristics of the hide to still show through while offering some of the benefits of color consistency and increased wearability.

SHEARLING Woolskin that has been tanned with the wool intact - often refered to as sheepskin.

SHOULDER The fore part of a cattlehide between the neck and a line cut across the hide from the center of the front flanks. Tends to vary in thickness and have more grain lines than top quality back leather.

SIDE Half of hide divided along the line of the backbone, with head, shoulder and belly attached.

SKIVER A very thin sheepskin leather commonly used for desktops and other decorative work. Will accept both blind and gold tooling, and usually comes in a thickness of about 0.4mm.

SOLE LEATHER BEND Tanned and finished leather used for outer sole in footwear manufacturing.

SPLIT The separation of the skin of a hide into several layers known as grain split (outer split) and flesh split (inner split). Suede Leather in which the surface has been finished to produce a velvet-like nap effect by buffing the flesh side.

TANNING The converting process of the protein of the raw hide or skin, by the use of tanning material into a stable, non-perishable form of leather. Typical tanning types are: Mineral tannages, mainly chrome salts. Aluminum or zirconium salts are used in certain cases. Vegetable tannages, a tradition tanning method, now using mainly mimosa, quebracho, and chestnut extracts often in combination with synthetic tanning agents. Aldehydes, such as glutaraldehyde. Oil such as codfish oil for the chamois tannage.

TOP GRAIN LEATHER or GRAIN LEATHER Leather from the uppermost layer of a hide. It is the highest quality part of the hide. VEGETABLE TANNED Tanning leather by solely using vegetable tannin; or with small portion of other agents to assist the tanning process or modify the leather without changing the essential vegetable character of the leather.

VEINING Visible lines, usually on the reverse of a hide. A result of veins lying close to the skin surface of the animal. May cause weakness in the leather.