To prepare the hides for the wet blue process, they are first fleshed and trimmed. Each hide is carefully brine cured to prevent any decomposition during storage. All hides are arranged by weight and palletized prior to being sent to the tannery, where they are processed in large rotating wooden drums.

Once the batches are ready for processing, the hides are washed to remove any salt and dirt. We soak the hides for a longer period to remove the salt added during the brine curing stage, rehydrating them to their original state. In preparation for the unhairing and liming process, we soak flesh each hide, to remove unwanted surface sinew and fat and improve chemical performance.

Using a mild alkaline solution, we remove the epidermis and soften the hair root so that hair can easily be removed without damaging the grain surface. Once the hair is removed, we use a stronger alkaline solution to open up the fiber structure and allow the hides to swell as they absorb additional water. This also softens and removes all the non-leather making materials.

The hides are limed for long periods, ensuring they swell evenly to produce world class leathers. We also lime flesh the hides to remove the residual flesh along with proteins, pigments and fats from the grain surface.

To remove the alkaline chemicals that we have used during the process we de-lime the hides. As the chemical levels are reduced, the hides de-swell and release excess water. Enzymes are used to destroy any remaining hair roots and pigments, creating a softer and cleaner grain surface. Hides are washed once more to remove residual deliming chemicals.

To prepare the hides for the tanning chemical chrome, a mixture of water and salt are used to prevent swelling, followed by a sulfuric acid solution.

We use trivalent chrome oxide to tan our leather. Once added to the hides, the solution penetrates the fiber structure to form cross-links with the collagen. Fungicides are also added to inhibit mold growth and to prolong the storage timeframe of the hides.

The last phase of the process is basification, where a mild alkaline solution is applied to the hides to fix the trivalent chrome to the collagen. The leather is now fully tanned as it is resistant to both bacteria and heat. The wet-blue hides are then washed and removed from the wooden drums for grading.

Once the hides are squeezed of excess moisture we inspect each of them for farm, abattoir and tannery damage. We assess the leather using our unique grading system which categorizes the finished product into four distinct quality categories. The hides in each category are then weighed, palletized and sealed in air tight packages for storage.

To ensure we provide you with leather of a suitable thickness, we split the hide by slicing it horizontally through the cross section, which creates a grain split where the hair was removed and a drop split where the flesh was removed.