How do I identify pure leather?
How Do I Identify Pure Leather?
Sight |
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All top grain leathers have a clear grain or pattern that can be easily seen with the naked eye. The texture of skin pores of the animal is clearly visible. Faux Leather (Fake leather) has no visible grain or pattern and is smooth to look at. |
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Touch |
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Leather feels soft and supple to touch. Whereas Faux Leather feels rigid. Leather has better elasticity. Stretch the material to check if the wrinkles formed disappear naturally. If it does, then the material is genuine leather. Another in-person trick is to use touch. Real leather and fake leather feel very different to touch, the former being more flexible and exhibits a change in color when stretched or pulled. If it feels like plastic, there is a good chance that this is exactly what it is. |
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Smell |
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Genuine leather has a characteristic smell of leather. Faux leather smells 'plasticy'. If you’ve already made a purchase and you are still not sure if the belt is the real thing, you can use your sense of smell to come to a conclusion. Real leather and fake leather smell different. The genuine article will have a smell that cannot be imitated by synthetic materials. If you are not sure what the smell is, pay a visit to a local store which you are certain has genuine goods on the shelves and check out the smell. |
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Scratch |
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Scratch the material to see if the friction from your nails causes small particles to dislodge. This happens only in genuine leather. Water resistance is also a dynamic that can help you spot a rip-off. Authentic leather belts actually absorb some water when wet, those that are made of plastic have a tendency to pool water on their surface. This absorption does not cause the bags’ contents to become wet, and in fact helps the material remain supple. |
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