Our leathers are semi-aniline and drum dyed. Full grain with an aniline finish that has a good naked feel.
What do these terms mean?
Semi-Aniline Leather
Semi-aniline leather is aniline leather plus a few extra steps. After the hides are drum dyed with aniline dyes so the dye goes throughout the leather a pigment is applied to the top and a clear protective coating is added to make the leather stain resistant and fade resistant.
Semi-aniline leather can be processed in a way that makes it almost indistinguishable from naked leather. The advantage is the feel and look of naked leather with the added protection of the semi-aniline process. All the leather that FCL currently uses on jackets, vests, pants and chaps is semi-aniline. [picture: our leather (seam on the upper right)]
Drum Dyed
A dying process in which the leather is immersed in a drum of dye and tumbled. This process fully penetrates the leather and produces the most even and long lasting coloration.
Inferior dying processes will not fully penetrate the leather or will spray it on the outside, obscuring the grain of the leather. These processes are evident in older jackets where the black has worn off, cracked or peeled away.