# Does "burnished leather" equal to second tier quality?



## weibaby (Oct 16, 2012)

I have been wondering because the superior full grain leather will "burnish" naturally as we wear it through a long time to develop patina, so , logically, if the leather(including full grain leather) is burnished already, does it mean they are not using the top quality full grain leather.

Does the burnishing process hide the flaw of the raw material?

I searched around but cannot find enough comments on burnished leather, thanks :redface::redface:


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## hohne1 (May 12, 2010)

Not from what I understand. Burnishing is a technique used in finishing the leather. I have several AE shoes that are burnished. It appears they use a base color calfskin and apply a semi-clear color topcoat over the calfskin. It almost reminds me of stained wood - you see the base color with some darker streaks that give the look of some texture. Both shoes use calfskin of the same quality.















First pic is an older pair of Sanfords before AE used burnishing. Notice the flatter surface appearance. The second pic is a new burnished bourbon Strand - you can see the texture/streaks/etc.

Chris


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## weibaby (Oct 16, 2012)

hohne1 said:


> Not from what I understand. Burnishing is a technique used in finishing the leather. I have several AE shoes that are burnished. It appears they use a base color calfskin and apply a semi-clear color topcoat over the calfskin. It almost reminds me of stained wood - you see the base color with some darker streaks that give the look of some texture. Both shoes use calfskin of the same quality.
> 
> View attachment 8234
> 
> ...


Hi Hohne1, thanks for your uploaded picutre, I personally prefer your burnished AE shoes, how do you think about the belt below?


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

weibaby said:


> if the leather(including full grain leather) is burnished already, does it mean they are not using the top quality full grain leather.


No.



weibaby said:


> Does the burnishing process hide the flaw of the raw material


It could, but even the very best hides are often burnished. It's a process that tells you nothing about the quality of the hide.

These are a couple links that might help you.

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?115142-Calfskin-quality

https://www.natanning.com/natcorpleather_glossary.htm


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## calfnkip (Mar 21, 2011)

The burnishing of calfskin footwear usually takes place in the shoe factory packing room and is one of the last procedures performed on a pair of shoes before they go into the box.

Traditional burnishing is performed by applying burnishing waxes and compounds to the shoe upper with the aid of a high-speed rag wheel. Heat and friction do the actual work. Having someone in the packing room who is good at burnishing can actually help sell the shoe once it gets into the store and people who are good at it have traditionally been highly prized in the industry.

Burnishing is purely cosmetic and has no relationship to the quality of the leather.

Hope this helps.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^ I was just about to post to the effect 'perhaps calfnkip will be good enough to respond to this' and as if by magic...........:icon_smile:


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## hohne1 (May 12, 2010)

weibaby said:


> Hi Hohne1, thanks for your uploaded picutre, I personally prefer your burnished AE shoes, how do you think about the belt below?
> 
> View attachment 8243
> View attachment 8244


I like the belt; however, I feel it is more of a casual belt with the contrast stitching. I don't know that I would wear it with a suit, but for casual and maybe business casual it should work.

Chris


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