Abstract

The objective of this work was to describe surface flaws and defects visible at each of three stages of processing deer hides to garment leather (fellmongered, wet blue, and finished leather). Hides (n=60) from deer of known origin were examined visually at three stages of production. Visible surface faults were identified and recorded at each of the three stages. Some flaw (a bruise, scar, grain de-lamination, hole) was apparent on almost every hide (95.0% – 100.0% depending on the stage of processing), and with ‘new’ flaws becoming apparent with processing. The most common type of flaw visible in finished leather was the scratch, with many scratches evident at each processing stage. Reducing the incidence of scratches would improve the appearance of the leather.