How to tell if the leather is real?

Andre Matthew Thursday, November 26, 2020 Content Leave a comment

Have you ever been skeptical about buying a leather product because you’re not sure if you’d be getting the fake? Purchasing a quality leather product like handmade leather bags or leather journals could be considered a good investment and so you wouldn’t want to mess up that investment by purchasing a fake leather product for an expensive price.

Today, the production of synthetic leather has improved to the point that it is difficult to differentiate real leather from fake leather. Even some leathers that are only partly made with real leather are branded as genuine leather only to be sold at exorbitant prices to unsuspecting customers.

How do you avoid falling prey to these fake schemes?

Here are nine ways to identify and differentiate real leather from fake leather

Label

Checking the label is the first thing anyone would want to use to identify a product. If the leather product is labeled man-made material, it’s synthetic leather. Manufacturers of real leather are always proud to show off their products, labeling the leather as either full/top grain leather, genuine leather, made with animal hide, or 100% real leather. If the label doesn’t say anything about the material, chances are that its synthetic leather. You would want to avoid these types of products.

Price

This is another easy way of identifying real leather. Real leather costs more than fake leather unless of course, the manufacturers of synthetic leather intend to pass off the fake leather as real only to sell at an exorbitant price.

If you’re uncertain about the cost of real leather, compare the price of a product that you’re certain of as real to that of a price of a fake. But if the offer of the leather product looks too good to be true, then trust your instinct.

Smell

If you want to identify real leather from a fake, one way to do so is by smelling the leather. Considering that real leather is gotten from an animal, real leather would smell like skin, having a leathery smell. Synthetic leather, on the other hand, would smell like plastic.

If you’re unsure about how real leather smells, you could go to a store that you’re sure sells genuine leather messenger bags and other products and take a whiff of the leather product. With practice, you are able to differentiate real leather from fake leather.

Texture

Real leather comes from animal hide and so would not have a uniform surface. The surface of real leather is marred with imperfections like scars, wrinkles, blemishes, or stretch marks, which gives it its unique look.

Fake leather on the other hand looks too perfect. Although it may be stamped to mimic the pattern of the grain, the surface of a fake leather would have an even, uniform pattern. The absence of imperfections on fake leather shows that it’s made from plastic.

Skin-like appearance

It is important to note that real leather comes from animals and so it’s prone to have pores and act like skin. The surface of real leather is coarse and wrinkles just like skin. To identify real leather, press your finger into the leather. Real leather would wrinkle around your finger, just like skin. But a fake leather would just depress down without losing its shape or rigidity instead of stretching or having wrinkles. A fake leather feels very smooth when you touch, having a plastic feel to it.

Another way of differentiating fake leather from real leather is by bending the leather. When bent, a real leather would slightly change color and wrinkle, because of its elastic nature. Fake leather on the other hand would feel more rigid and would be difficult to bend.

The edges

The edges of leather is a good sign in identifying whether the leather is genuine or not. The edges of real leather are usually rough due to the strands that make up the leather. Fake leather on the other hand would have an even, perfect edge.

Fire test

Although this method is recommended to try out in the store for obvious reasons. But if you already have a leather product and you want to test for its authenticity, then you can try out this method. Make sure to test it in a hidden part of the leather, to avoid damaging the leather.

A real leather, when in contact with fire, would char slightly and smell like burnt hair. While fake leather would catch flame and smell like burnt plastic or chemicals. The downside of trying out this method is that if it’s fake leather, you would cause real damage and would be unable to use it again, but at least you’d know it was a fake.

Water test

To test for fake leather, pour a little amount of water on the leather product. Real leather would absorb some of the water, like a real skin would, while a fake leather would repel the water, with the water puddling on the surface of the material.

Check the back of the leather

For fake leathers, the back of the leather is glued to a fabric or a paper-like material. Whereas, real leather may have a rough or suede-like feel, with the color slightly different from the surface of the leather.

Color

This might not be a good clue in identifying fake leather from a real one. This is because leathers can be dyed or painted to have varying colors. Colored leathers don’t mean they aren’t made from real leathers, but at times very bright colors could be an indication that it’s probably fake leather.

Conclusion

To avoid been cheated, always make sure of the leather product you’re purchasing. Practice all these methods of identifying real leathers. Always practice on products, you’re sure are genuine leathers and the ones you’re sure are synthetic leathers. With patience and plenty of practice, in no time you’d be a connoisseur in identifying real leather, and never have to worry about buying fake or inferior leather products again.