Please Give Me a Short Explanation of Corrected Grain Leather!

[Jerry52]

Hi,

I'm a bit of a lace-up dress shoe fanatic, and I've seen you guys bouncing this term around. Sorry if I sound ignorant, but asking is learning, and I wonder just what it is? What do you look for? Is it easy to spot when inspecting leather shoes in stores? Generally if a shoe retails over say $400 is it a safe assumption it doesn't have corrected grain leather? Is corrected grain leather an appearance issue only or does it affect the lifespan of the shoe too?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[DocHolliday]

Corrected grain leather has been sanded down and refinished, essentially. It's lesser quality leather that's been shellacked to hide its flaws and make it look better. Bad corrected grain leather looks and feels plasticky, and often creases heavily and unattractively. Once you learn to recognize it, it's very easy to spot. If the leather is too smooth, too perfect, it's probably CG. Good leather has depth and natural variations. (Also, bad CG lacks the wonderful smell associated with good leather.)

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Corrected grain leather has been sanded down and refinished, essentially. It's lesser quality leather that's been shellacked to hide its flaws and make it look better. Bad corrected grain leather looks and feels plasticky, and often creases heavily and unattractively. Once you learn to recognize it, it's very easy to spot. If the leather is too smooth, too perfect, it's probably CG. Good leather has depth and natural variations. (Also, bad CG lacks the wonderful smell associated with good leather.)

[/thread]

 

[Christofuh]

It means that the leather used is low qualilty, and is sanded and scraped smooth, bathed in chemicals, and then pressed through rollers to give the surface some consistency. This results in a plasticy looking finish. Â

The retail price alone is a poor guide in that certain overhyped Eyetalian brands market CG shoes in the $500-600 price brackets

 

[HomerJ]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Corrected grain leather has been sanded down and refinished, essentially. It's lesser quality leather that's been shellacked to hide its flaws and make it look better. Bad corrected grain leather looks and feels plasticky, and often creases heavily and unattractively. Once you learn to recognize it, it's very easy to spot. If the leather is too smooth, too perfect, it's probably CG. Good leather has depth and natural variations. (Also, bad CG lacks the wonderful smell associated with good leather.)

Good to know!

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by Christofuh

It means that the leather used is low qualilty, and is sanded and scraped smooth, bathed in chemicals, and then pressed through rollers to give the surface some consistency. This results in a plasticy looking finish. Â

The retail price alone is a poor guide in that certain overhyped Eyetalian brands market CG shoes in the $500-600 price brackets

I just wanted to say that I love Christofuh's avatars.

 

[FlaneurNYC]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Corrected grain leather has been sanded down and refinished, essentially. It's lesser quality leather that's been shellacked to hide its flaws and make it look better. Bad corrected grain leather looks and feels plasticky, and often creases heavily and unattractively. Once you learn to recognize it, it's very easy to spot. If the leather is too smooth, too perfect, it's probably CG. Good leather has depth and natural variations. (Also, bad CG lacks the wonderful smell associated with good leather.)

Think Kenneth Cole.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

Originally Posted by grimslade

I just wanted to say that I love Christofuh's avatars.

+1 quite "melonious" if I may say so . . .

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by Leaveitothexperts

+1 quite "melonious" if I may say so . . .

What an excellent word. I'm going to have to try to remember it.

 

[TCN]

Jerry,

You'll be able to spot it a mile away. It will resemble plastic to some extent and be virtually devoid of any natural texture.

 

[Jerry52]

Thanks guys for your input. It helped me understand.

And, yes, some of those "melonious" avatars have a way of taking my mind off shoes- well, a little bit anyway!

Jerry

 

[Salsalocust]

Christofuh's avatar definitely features corrected grain...