So why does leather have that strong leather smell? Should it smell at all? Is there a bad smell you should be careful of? Well I’ll try to answer those questions in a short and sweet way! Anyone who has gone into a leather store has noticed the smell of leather. For most people it’s a pleasant smell.
Leather is organic, it use to be living, as it was the skin of an animal. Anytime you take a hide from an animal it starts to break down. Now, if you just let a hide rot in the air, it would smell, but not in a good way! It would smell just like a dead animal, maybe not quite as bad. When they make leather they start treating it as soon as the hide is off the animal.
There are many steps in treating a leather hide. You need to preserve the hide so it does not start to rot, like it naturally would. You also break down the fibers a bit so it is not really stiff. All the dyes, treatments, leather bathes and chemicals most leather goes through all have their own smell. Continue reading Why does leather smell like,,, leather?
