Heinen
Vegetable-tanned leather from traceable European hides.
The hard-wearing everyday leather of the range. Fully plant-tanned, from hides of documented European origin, and finished for a long working life. Not a delicate display piece but a leather that wants to be used.
What it is
A firm full-grain leather from mostly German and European cattle hides, vegetable-tanned and carefully selected. The origin of every batch is documented, from farm to hide. The grain is left as it grew, and visible.
How it is made
After the vegetable tannage the surface is lightly treated, so the leather shrugs off wet and stains better than a bare, open hide. Honestly: this is still not a raincoat. The finishing moves the limit, it does not remove it.
Data sheet
Typical per batch. Binding figures come with every delivery.
- Substance
- 1.4 - 1.6 mm
- Weight
- 1,050 g/m²
- Hand
- Firm, dry, grippy
- Scratch resistance
- High. Small marks blend in over time
- Tannins
- Oak, Chestnut
- Finishing
- Lightly finished, grain visible
- In water
- More resistant than open leather, but not waterproof
Honestly: vegetable-tanned leather darkens temporarily when it gets wet. That is not a fault but the consequence of an open fibre with no barrier coat. The colour evens out again as it dries.
How it ages
Vegetable-tanned leather changes more than chrome leather does, and it changes in one direction: darker, warmer, glossier wherever it is handled.
New
Open grain, pale tone, matte hand. The scent is at its strongest.
After one year
The first handled areas begin to shine. The tone has taken a step towards cognac.
After three years
Edges and corners are visibly darker. The leather is softer without losing its body.
After five years
A closed patina. Two pieces from the same batch no longer look alike.
The colour fields are an indication, not a photograph. A real ageing sample from the same hide comes with every sample set.
Crafted into
For pieces worn every day and caught out in weather: work bags, belts, shoes, anything meant to last rather than be spared.