What Is The Grain Side?
Pigmented Leather
The grain side is what faces the hair side, it’s the grained surface of leather. If no hair is present, then it’s the outside.
Leather grains vary from animal to animal, each skin can have varying grain structures on it depending on what part of the hide it’s from. Areas that are close to the legs or neck can be very coarse, whereas the closer to the middle of the skin you go the finer the grain becomes.
Grains vary from animal to animal and a lamb skin will be very different to that of a fully grown cow, whereas a skin from a kangaroo will be very different to that of a pig skin.
Pig Leather Skin
Two Tone Pigmented Cow Leather
Grain can be changed by embossing it and applying binders and dyes. Aniline leathers have the most original grain structure to them, and this can be seen by looking over a full skin how it changes from side to side, from fine to coarse.
Semi Aniline
Many car manufacturers have leather embossed to create patterns. Jaguar had a distinctive pattern embossed on seats, this changed the grain structure and it now looks considerably different.
Jaguar Embossed Leather