Kangaroo:- This hide is from the Australian kangaroo or wallaby, the leather is strong and extremely durable with a wide range of uses. The kangaroo is a macropod (macropod literally means "big foot" and includes the wallabies, kangaroos, and their close relatives. The main difference between the wallaby and the kangaroo is in size — as measured by their feet!) native to Australia and is found nowhere else in the world. It is a unique large herbivorous marsupial able to hop long distances non-stop. There is absolutely no smell to a kangaroo at any stage of life. In 1820, one Captain Phillip K. King recorded a different word for the animal, written “mee-nuah”. Thus began the myth that Captain Cook had been mistaken about the name, "kangaroo", and that what he had heard was a word meaning “I don't know” (presumably as the answer to a question in English that had not been understood). Recent linguistic fieldwork, however, has confirmed the existence of a word gangurru in the northeast Aboriginal language of Guugu Yimidhirr, referring to a species of kangaroo.

It is one of the strongest light-weight leathers available, and its fibres have a uniform orientation and an absence of sweat glands, giving it its inherent high physical properties e.g. tear strength, tensile strength and extremely good elongation performance. Furthermore, it does not require splitting, thereby avoiding any weakening of the leather as a result.

Also, its fibres run in a horizontal pattern, compared to bovine leathers which have a more vertical construction, thus imparting to it additional strength and high resistance to abrasion. This fibre structure and the specific tannages associated with kangaroo, also give it a natural resistance to water uptake.

Additionally, the skins contain much less natural fat than bovine hides/sheepskins etc, and they therefore require far less degreasing than other alternatives. The physical properties of kangaroo leather are therefore not impaired during tanning.

Kangaroo leather gets crafted into remarkable creations, including kangaroo scrotums, which are functional for a variety of uses.

Kidskin:- This is chrome-tanned grain leather from a young milk-fed goat or kid, mostly of European origin. A fine tight grain skin, light in weight and durable.

Kipskin:- 1. A small cattle hide, i.e., the hides of fully mature cattle, other than the buffalo, native to the Indian Subcontinent and some parts of Africa, which are smaller than those of Europe and America. 2. The skins obtained from immature European and American bovine animals that have been grass fed and which are larger than calves but smaller than fully grown cattle. Among cattle hides, a kip is one weighing between 15 and 25 pounds in the green salted state. Generally, a kip is considered to be intermediate between a hide and a skin. Leather made from kips generally has a fine, tight fibre. 3. As an abbreviation of the full term "East India tanned kip" or "E. I. kip crust", a vegetable-tanned leather made from cowhide originating in the Indian Subcontinent and tanned in India, mainly in the south, and especially around Madras.

Lambskin:- From a lamb or young sheep. Sold as whole skins only, about 3-10 sq ft depending on the age of the animal.

Laminated leather:- Has a coating greater than one third of the total thickness, but less than half.

Larrigan leather:- An American speciality made of light cattle-hide and used in the manufacture of the heavy moccasins worn by lumbermen to guard against slipping when walking on wet logs.

Latigo:- Cowhide. The un-split or grain split tanned with aluminium salts and gambier (an astringent resinous substance obtained from the leaves and stems of a rubiaceous, tropical, Asian woody climbing plant Uncaria gambir, of the madder family, which includes coffee and gardenia trees); normally yellow in colour. It is softer and waxier than vegetable-tanned leather. It contains catechu-tannic acid (22 - 50%) and catechin (7 - 33%), as well as varying amounts of vegetable acids and their salts, sugar, starch, cellulose, wax, oil, and mineral matter. The catechin is not identical with that of cutch ("Cutch" is the purified aqueous extract of the heartwood of the multipurpose tree, Acacia catechu Willd.).

Wild growth of Acacia catechu in northern Thailand

It is one of the condensed tannins and has a relatively high pH value and total salts content. Used alone, gambier produces a rather spongy leather; however, when used in combination with other tannins, such as wattle extract or myrabolans, it is well suited for both heavy and light leathers. In England, it has been used mainly for the tanning of calf and kip skins. Also known as "catechu," "pale catechu," and "terra japonica." Catechu is extracted from the heartwood of Acacia catechu, a leguminous tree of the pulse family, native to India and Myanmar. Catechu is a fast brown dye used for various shades of brown and olive, including the familiar khaki, and also in tanning. Dark catechu or cutch, which is mainly obtained as a by-product of the katha industry is marketed as small cubes or blocks, rusty brown or dull orange in colour and of conchoidal fracture. It is used only for industrial purposes, largely for dyeing cotton and silk and preserving fishing nets, sailing ropes and mail bags, also in water softening and  the manufacture of stencil and printing ink.

Lizard:- Any of the vast numbers of the lizard family. Small reptiles are measured in centimetres across the widest section of the body for costing purposes.

Meter leather:- A speciality leather prepared from selected sheepskins in such a way as to make it airtight, and used for the measuring of gas meters.

Mocha leather and suede:- The former is produced from sheepskin, the grain of which is removed by liming. The fibres below are sueded. The latter is treated the same, but is sueded on the flesh side.

Mukluk Leather:- Leather usually made from deer, elk, or similar skins. It is tanned white with formaldehyde, alum or syntans.

(Syntans:- A contraction of "synthetic tannins," which are chemicals that combine with, or affect, the protein constituents of hides and skins and produce a product that is flexible, porous, and has the desirable qualities of leather. The most widely known syntans are made by treating aromatic substances, e.g., cresols, phenols, naphthalenes, etc., with formaldehyde and sulphuric acid. There are many variations in the ingredients of syntans, relative quantities used, and methods of manufacture. Syntans produce white or buff-coloured leather, depending on the ingredients, which darken upon exposure to light, and generally behave much like vegetable-tanned leathers. Although syntans do exist which can be used alone to produce leather (so-called exchange or replacement syntans), many syntans lack the filling power of vegetable tannins and produce an undesirably thin, "papery" leather. They are also more expensive than the natural tannins. Syntans do have desirable properties, however, and are widely used in both chrome and vegetable tannages. When used in conjunction with other tanning agents, where they are known as "auxiliary syntans," they perform the following functions:
1. the presence of 5% syntan helps dissolve solid vegetable tannin extracts and reduces any tendency to form REDS (condensed tannins) or BLOOM (pyrogallol tannins);
2. a pretannage with 5 to 10% syntan improves the shade, i.e., makes it paler, and the levelness of colour of a subsequent vegetable tannage;
3. a pretannage with a syntan or admixture with a vegetable tannage improves penetration of tannin into the skin;
4. when syntan is used with a vegetable tannin the leather develops a more uniform but paler colour upon being dyed, but the syntan generally prevents the development of deep, full shades.

It is highly permeable to moisture vapour and retains its flexibility at very low temperatures.

Nappa:- A full grain un-split mineral-tanned sheep or lambskin, also goat or kid, and is soft and supple. A good all-purpose leather, it comes in many colours and is dyed throughout its thickness.

Niger:- The skin of the Nigerian goat or sheep, locally-tanned and finished by pretty basic methods using local material as a tanning agent. The skins are dyed to a yellow- or reddish-brown colour using natural dyestuffs.

Nubuck: A very fine suede effect produced by abrasion of the grain surface. Nubuck leathers maintain the softness of naturally finished leathers while providing an incredible brushed feel. They will display all of the characteristics of natural leathers that have had their surface buffed. The texture of Nubuck is finer than suede because the natural grain pattern is left intact. This nap, while very beautiful, means that nubucks are slightly more susceptible to spills and stains.

Offal:- This refers to the bellies, shoulders and cheeks of hides which are obtained by the "rounding" of the hide.

Many kinds of leather... Choose one... Some of the many kinds of leather Ostrich to Toad

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