What Is Wet Blue Leather?
Wet Blue Tanned Hides
Wet Blue is the term used for processing and converting raw hides to tanned leather using chromium salts.
The blue colour that gives these skins its name as wet blue, or in the blues is the chromium tanning agents, they create the light blue colour during its tanning process.
Wet Blue Leather has a blue tone to it. This is gained by the chrome tanning process, producing a moist leather that’s wet, at this stage it has no colouring, it’s not finished, and neither is it dyed.
At the stage of a wet blue hide, this means it’s tanned and free of hair, tanneries buy wet blue hides to use for a multitude of leather, converting them to usable hides and colouring them and sealing them.
Wet Blue Skins
Many Tanneries produce wet blue hides. In Kingston Upon Hull there is a tannery that only handles and produces wet blue leathers called Holmes Halls Processors Limited
The tanning stages skins have to go through must be followed correctly as leather is an organic material, so it needs correct care taken to preserve this, they become rot proof, waterproof, breathable and have great wear resistance characteristics.
It’s essential the skins are always kept wet, as the term states wet blue, the skins must stay moist to allow them to go to the next stages of tanning.