What is Leather?
[[File:Bristol.zoo.crocshoes.arp.jpg|thumb|Shoes made of crocodile leather]] '''Leather''' is the [[skin]] of an [[animal]] made into a durable [[material]] by [[tanning]]. The skins of [[cow]]s, [[pig]]s, and [[Domestic goat|goat]]s are often used to make leather. Skins of [[snake]]s, [[alligator]]s or [[crocodile]]s, and [[ostrich]]es are sometimes used to make fancier leather. [[Shoe]]s, [[bag]]s, [[clothes]], and [[ball]]s are often made of leather. Sometimes people make leather out of whales, ducks, giraffes, and African elephants. All of these ways of making leather are very simple but some are rare. == How leather is made == The way leather is made is divided into three processes. They are preparing the leather, [[tanning]] it, and crusting. In preparing the leather, many things are done to make it ready for tanning. They include soaking it, removing the [[hair]], [[liming]], [[deliming]], [[Bathing|bating]], [[bleaching]], and [[pickling]]. [[Tanning]] is a process that makes the [[Protein|proteins]], especially [[collagen]], in the raw hide stable. It increases the thermal and chemical [[stability]] of the animal [[Skin|skins]]. The difference between fresh and tanned animal skin is that fresh animal skin dries to make it hard and stiff. When water is added to it, it becomes bad. But, animal skin that is tanned dries to make it [[wikt:flexible|flexible]]. It does not become bad when water is added to it.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/76788460|title=Conservation of leather and related materials|last=Kite|first=Marion|date=2006|publisher=Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann|others=Roy Thomson|isbn=0-08-045466-6|location=Oxford|pages=1-3|oclc=76788460}}</ref> Crusting is a process that makes the leather thin and [[Lubrication|lubricates]] it. Chemicals added when crusting must be set in place. Crusting ends with drying and making the leather soft. It may include splitting, shaving, [[dyeing]], [[Whitening (leather processing)|whitening]] or other methods. ==From other animals== Today,