Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the top-grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a middle split and a flesh split.
Excruciating pain. It all depends where the bullet enters. A person shot in the brain will likely perceive no pain as the trauma usually renders them immediately unconscious. A bullet entering a limb such as a leg is initially perceived as a hot sting. Within 20 minutes a throbbing, pulsating pain is experienced.
It would seem an immensely improbable thing that someone could survive a gunshot wound to the head. But many people do survive, and a lot of what doctors know about how to deal with damage to the brain has come from working on people who have survived this sort of injury. Gabrielle Giffords's injury explained: Illustration of path of bullet Photograph: guardian.co.uk.