Town and Country Mattresses and Beds supply a range of furniture upholstered in full grain leather.
Leather is generally sold in three forms:
- Full-grain or top-grain leather
- Corrected-grain leather Split
- Bicast or PU leather
Full-grain or top-grain leather refers to the upper section of a hide that previously contained the epidermis and hair that have been removed from the hide/skin. Full-grain refers to hides that have not been sanded, buffed or snuffed in order to remove imperfections (or natural marks) on the surface of the hide.
Full-grain leather has natural breathability, resulting in greater comfort for clothing and furniture. Full grain leathers can mainly be bought as two finish types: aniline and semi-aniline.
Benefits offered by full grain leather include increased longevity, durability, appearance and comfort.
Corrected-grain leather refers to any top-grain leather that has had its surface sanded, buffed or snuffed in order to remove any imperfection left by insect bites, scars or brands. Although corrected-grain leather is made from top-grain, as soon as the surface is corrected in any way, the leather is no longer truly top-grain leather.
Often, corrected-grain leather is used to make pigmented leather as the solid pigment helps hide the corrections or imperfections. Corrected grain leathers can mainly be bought as two finish types: semi-aniline and pigmented.
Benefits of corrected-grain leather include a high level of durability, and no marks or abrasions, although can be sticky in hot weather and cold in winter.
Split, Bicast or PU Leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the skin that is left over after the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. In particularly thick hides, the middle split can be separated into several much thinner layers.
Split leather then has an artificial layer of polyurethane applied to the surface of the split that is embossed with a leather grain. Bicast was originally made for the shoe industry and has recently been adopted by the furniture industry. The resulting product is cheaper than the higher quality top grain leather and has a plastic-like texture Furniture made with bicast offers none of the characteristics of a genuine leather product; it will not develop a patina or soften or "improve with age" in any other way. With constant use the polyurethane layer will crack and split free of its backing.