Bonded leather
Used for cheaply made bags and furniture. combination of PVC and 20% leather.
Characteristics:
The texture and color are uniform. Smells like plastic and never creates a patina. Peels off and degrades in a short time.
Top grain
The outermost layer is sanded off so that any imperfection or irregularities are removed. It’s a durable product although not quite as tough as full-grain leather.
Characteristics:
sturdy and durable.
Nubuck
Top grain leather that has been sanded to give a slight nap of short protein fibers, producing a velvet-like surface. It is resistant to wear.
Split Leather
the bottom part of the leather after being split. It’s sometimes called suede and has a nappy appearance. It is often finished with polymers and branded as genuine leather to make it seem like higher quality leather.
Used in mass production. The term “Genuine leather” is a marketing trick.
Full grain leather
Full grain is the grade of leather with an intact grain side. It’s surface can have scars, stains, stretch marks. All of that is considered as a signature of high quality leather. It is a mistake to consider these things as deficiencies, instead consider them as proof of natural origin. This leather breathes, and with time creates a patina.
Used in products where the customers demand the highest quality, people that want to put their mark on the product with a patina through daily use.
characteristics:
it is very durable, the grain is intact and the fibers contribute to its durability