What Are natural markings On Leather?
Natural Marks On Crust Leather
Natural markings on leather are scars the animal gets from the wild, from fences to animal attacks, insect bites and so much more.
Animals from hotter climates will have a great deal more insect bites than those from cooler climates.
Damage to skins depends on how much of the hide can be used and for what purpose, an aniline hide with loads of flaws would not be acceptable as an aniline leather as all the natural grain is present on the surface, if this is damaged with natural markings it can’t be used as an aniline leather. Aniline leather must be flawless as the grain remains on the surface, so having insect bites or tick marks isn’t acceptable for a pure aniline.
Natural markings On Aniline Leather
Another issue with animals, in particular cattle, is dung marks. Dung marks are created when faeces stick to the animal, if this is not removed quickly this can result in burning and scaring of the skin, depending how long this has been left on the surface will determine how severe the dung mark is, as the pores of the animal dilate which is when the dung burn takes place.
Cows Lying In Dung Will Gain Dung Mark & Burns
Some animals have surgery during a life span, and this can leave scars where the animal has been cut open to perform an operation, again this can be very noticeable.
Depending on the country of origin cattle can gain lumpy cow disease also, making skins almost impossible to be used.
Lumpy Cow Disease
Natural Dark marks on leather are very present on lighter skins.
Natural Marks On Leather
Other issues animals gain are warts, these can be small or large leaving very significant marks. In the below picture there are small wart marks in the crust leather, this could not be made into an aniline due to these natural wart markings.
Natural Marks From Warts
Animals can suffer from pitchfork marks where farmers are prodding the animal to move along, cattle skins are very tough but on occasions pitchforks can puncture the top surface layer of a skin. Some people call pitchfork marks as goad marks.
Natural Markings In Leather From Pitchforks