Leather
Collagen fibre felted in three dimensions, which is why it is strong in every direction in the plane and why it cannot be replicated by any woven material. Vegetable-tanned leather uses tannins from bark over weeks and can be wet-moulded and tooled; chrome-tanned takes a day, comes out softer and more water-resistant, and will not hold a moulded shape. It does not melt — heated wet above about 60 °C the collagen denatures and the leather shrinks hard and permanently, which is what ruins boots dried on a radiator.
Properties
- Density
- 900 kg/m³ (860–1,020) — 0.90 g/cm³
- Tensile strength
- 15–30 MPa
- Floats in water
- Yes
- Magnetic
- No
What it is used for
- Footwear, belts and bags
- Upholstery and saddlery
- Machine drive belts and gaskets (historically)
- Tool sheaths and knife strops
How it compares
Water is 1,000 kg/m³. Anything with a shorter bar than water floats in it.
| Material | Density | Relative to water |
|---|---|---|
| rigid polyurethane foam | 40 kg/m³ | 0.04× |
| expanded polystyrene foam | 20 kg/m³ | 0.02× |
| air | 1.2 kg/m³ | 0.00× |
| leather ← | 900 kg/m³ | 0.90× |
| platinum | 21,450 kg/m³ | 21.45× |
| gold | 19,300 kg/m³ | 19.30× |
| tungsten | 19,250 kg/m³ | 19.25× |
Does it rust?
Leather contains no iron, so it cannot rust. Whether it degrades depends on the material, not on oxidation.
Is it magnetic?
Leather is not a metal and has no ferromagnetic response.
Common questions
- What is the density of leather?
- 900 kg/m³ (860–1,020), or 0.90 g/cm³.
- Does leather float?
- Yes. At 900 kg/m³ it is less dense than water's 1,000.
- Is leather magnetic?
- Leather is not a metal and has no ferromagnetic response.
Related pages
- Does leather float? Yes
- Air 1.2 kg/m³
- Ice 917 kg/m³
- Paper 800 kg/m³
- Corrugated cardboard 160 kg/m³
- Cork 200 kg/m³
Sources
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place