Leather hides and a boot sole on a cobbler's bench

Materials and construction

What the boot is made of, and how it is put together.

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Guides

Two leather offcuts showing different surfaces

Full grain vs top grain

The grain words, plainly.

Blank leather tag tied to a boot pull tab

Genuine leather and labels

What the FTC Guides say.

Suede boot and nubuck boot with a brush and eraser bar

Suede vs nubuck

Two napped leathers.

Two rolled leather hides on a workshop table

Vegetable vs chrome tanned

Two ways to make leather.

Close view of welt stitching along a boot sole

Goodyear welt and resoling

How soles are attached.

Read the label first

The words on the tag have rules behind them.

Read genuine leather and labels

Guides

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