Our Leather
Strength and beauty come from within. The same is true with our 100% full vegetable tanned leather. Full vegetable tanning uses all natural tannin extracts to transform the raw material into an exceptionally strong and soft leather that develops a rich, deep patina over time. No synthetics or chemicals are used, ever. And it shows. Tuscan Bull full vegetable tanned leather improves with age and use; the tannins impart a warm tone in the leather which tends to become more pronounced over time and with regular use.
Why Vegetable Tanning
Vegetable tanning is the oldest method of tanning, dating back to prehistoric times because of humans’ need for food, clothing, and shelter. Tannins are a natural preservative and are the active ingredient that allow us to convert a raw hide into a compact and resilient material. Tannins can be found in a wide variety of plants and trees and the concentration varies between species; we use primarily Chestnut tannin in our process.
The vegetable tanning process is very laborious as the hides get soaked in wooden drums multiple times in different stages of the process, each hide gets handled more than 75 times from start to finish. Once we have removed the hair, we then retan, dry, color and condition, dry again and finish. All of the products we use in the process are 100% natural and our leather is 100% biodegradable.
Why Double Butt
Bull Hides
At Tuscan Bull Leather Goods we make all our belts out of the Double Butt section of the Bull Hide. The double butt is the largest part of a skin with a regular square shape. As a result, each Tuscan Bull belt has a uniform thickness of 3.8-4.0mm throughout the belt and a tight fiber structure to reduce stretch.
What to look for in a quality belt
What makes a great belt?
Leather quality: the highest quality raw material in the world comes from northern Europe.
Symmetry: The belt tip should be perfectly symmetrical.
Edge and hole painting: Quality edge painting will not crack or wear away quickly and will last many years.
Stitch detail: The number of stitches per centimeter and the distance between each stitch should be even throughout the belt.
Backside finish: The backside resin finish should be smooth and tight without any rough or hairy spots. It should not transfer to fabric.
Buckle: Solid Brass is the best and most sustainable metal for buckles.
