Daily Life at the Nagoya Store (Episode 7) What types of leather do you have?
Here we bring you some informative stories from the store manager, Kita, and new employee, Shirasawa, that are snippets from everyday life at the Nagoya store.
Episode 7: What types of leather are there?
| Kita | Finally, I got my new gauge! |
| Shirasawa | Ooooh! What is this, My New Gauge? |
| Kita | It's my new game |
| Shirasawa | That's too literal! (sigh) |
| Kita | Hahaha, a gauge is an instrument used to measure the thickness of leather. |
| Shirasawa | Manager Kita, you still love instruments. |
| Kita |
I like to measure things (laughs). Noise meters, airflow meters, light meters, thermal imagers, Geiger counters! There are some really unique ones too. |
| Shirasawa |
You have a lot of them. (White eyes) I understand the type of instrument, but can you tell me the important thing, the type of leather? |
| Kita |
That's right, that's right. Currently (2024), Kadoya deals with cows and goats. However, even within the cows and goats, there are different types. Cowhide in particular is used in more than 80% of the leather industry, so it is classified in detail. |
| Shirasawa | Over 80% of your leather products are made from cowhide! Cowhide is amazing. |
| Kita |
Yes. Among the many detailed classifications, the most famous are steers and cows. To be honest, anyone can find this information by looking it up on Wikipedia, but we can't serve customers with our smartphones in hand, so we would like them to at least remember the leathers that our company handles. |
| Shirasawa | Yes! |
| Kita |
Be careful, as the wording may vary slightly depending on the tanner or manufacturer. Steerhide is made from castrated males over 2 years old. It has few wrinkles on the surface and is the most common type of leather. |
| Shirasawa | When you think of leather jackets, the first thing that comes to mind is standard leather that is firm and has a fine texture on the surface. |
| Kita |
yes. Another standard is cow leather. It is made from female cows that are over 2 years old and have given birth, and has wild wrinkles and is durable and soft, similar to steer leather. |
| Shirasawa |
This one has a vintage feel and is also cool. Is it different from cowhide? |
| Kita | Well, it's the same thing. Among leathers, large and thick ones are called hides, and small and thin ones are called skins. Even with cowhides, adult cowhides are called hides, and young cowhides are called skins. There is a precise line drawn by weight, but you can just remember it roughly. |
| Shirasawa | I get it. So as long as you understand the meaning, it's fine to say it in different ways. |
| Kita | That's right. There are other kinds of beef such as pony, calf, kip, and bull, and kip was previously available at Kadoya. Speaking of beef, we also had buffalo before. Buffalo is a water buffalo, and it is resistant to water. |
| Shirasawa | There are many kinds of cows. |
| Kita |
As for the difference between animals, goatskin is a common material that we see these days, and goatskin is also becoming more common in Kadoya's lineup. Goatskin is lighter than cowskin, and although it is a little less durable, it is still quite durable. Demand for it is increasing year by year, so goatskin is now an expensive leather. And although they don't carry them anymore, they also had horses, sheep and deer. I think they even had pigs on the soles of their boots. |
| Shirasawa | Wow, there are many different types of leather. |
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*You can choose the color if you order. (Some items are discontinued.) The image is of cowhide leather. |
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| Kita |
In addition to the type of animal, there are also types of tanning recipes. What you often hear about is the plant-derived "tannins," the chemical compound "chromium," and "mixed tanning" of both; when it comes to coloring, should you use lacquer, blush, or a bare finish, what to do with the top coat, how much oil to use, etc.There are as many different tanning methods as there are dishes. |
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*From the right: mixed tanned steer, DEER (currently not available), goat, chrome tanned steer, oil steer, etc. |
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| Shirasawa | If that happens, I'm worried I won't be able to remember it all. |
| Kita | Don't worry, the leather that Kadoya handles is listed in the catalogue. |
| Shirasawa | Ah, you're right. It's listed at the front! |
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*See page 7 of the Kadoya 2023-2024AW catalogue. |
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| Kita |
Yes, if you're a direct store staff member, you should memorize the catalogue. Also, we must not forget that all leather is a material obtained from other living things. We are dealing with precious living things. Therefore, we hope that our customers will use our products for a long time, and we try to make suggestions that will encourage this. It makes me feel grateful to the animals. |
| Shirasawa | Teacher! |
| Kita | When it comes to leatherwear, Kadoya also offers repairs and remodeling, as well as cleaning services, so they can provide long-term support. |
| Shirasawa | ... What?! Can leather products be cleaned? |
| Kita | Huh? I didn't say that. |
(Door opening sound)
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Kita
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Ah, I see a customer. |
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Shirasawa
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welcome! |
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Kita
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welcome! |
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Kita
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(I'll talk about it again when I have time.) |
to be continued···
Introducing the characters
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| Kita |
Shirasawa
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