---
title: "Leather — density, melting point and properties"
description: "Leather has a density of 900 kg/m³ (860–1,020). Melting point, strength, conductivity, what it is used for, and whether it floats, rusts or is magnetic."
url: https://atoneplace.net/material/leather/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Leather

**Density of leather: 900 kg/m³ (860–1,020)**

0.90 g/cm³ · 56.2 lb/ft³

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.*

- air: 1.2 kg/m³
- expanded polystyrene foam: 20 kg/m³
- rigid polyurethane foam: 40 kg/m³
- leather: 900 kg/m³
- Water — the float line: 1,000 kg/m³
- tungsten: 19,250 kg/m³
- gold: 19,300 kg/m³
- platinum: 21,450 kg/m³

*Water is 1,000 kg/m³. Anything below that floats.*

| 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?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-float/leather/)
- [Air](https://atoneplace.net/material/air/)
- [Ice](https://atoneplace.net/material/ice/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/material/paper/)
- [Corrugated cardboard](https://atoneplace.net/material/cardboard/)
- [Cork](https://atoneplace.net/material/cork/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)