Methods used to manage defects related to vegetable tanned leather

Abstract

Leather surface quality is vital when it comes to leather artifact production. Users of the locally produced vegetable tanned leather adopt various methods to manage and improve on the poor surface quality of leather produced in Ghana. Students from the various secondary schools and local craftsmen who often depend on the vegetable tanned leather for it inherits unique properties such as flexibility, resilience, breathability, perspiration, durability and mechanical strength adopt various methods to improve on the surface quality and also meet the market standard. The necessity for quality leather surface in leather artefact production has called for the need for corrective measures to manage defects associated with vegetable tanned leathers produced in Ghana. Stains, cuts, holes, grain loosing, creases, wrinkles, scratch marks, bacterial and viral infections are common defects which affect the quality of vegetable tanned leathers produced in Ghana. Defect managing methods such as dyeing, painting, screen printing, stamping, appliqué, and scorching adopted by leather users to manage surface defects were examined for their viability in this current study.