Leather Reclining Chairs

Leather reclining chairs come in various shapes and forms these days. In fact they have come a very long way since the first reclining chairs were invented in the United States in the 1920's. The first leather reclining chairs were the La-Z-Boys, but the idea soon spread throughout the world. Now there are reclining barbers' chairs, dentists' chairs, massage chair and even sofas, although the most famous leather reclining chairs are still the executive, office leather reclining chairs.

Leather Reclining Chairs

Leather reclining chairs are by far the most popular type of reclining chair, although you do see fabric and even timber, such as hardwood, being used too. Having said that, the original reclining chair was probably the canvas deck chair of the Victorian era, when they could be seen lining sandy beaches everywhere.

Leather reclining chairs can now be found in nearly every office and home,as well as in massage parlours, dentists' surgeries, barber shops and hairdressers'. There are even reclining sofas and armchairs. The advantages of leather are that it is hard wearing, it breathes, so that you do not perspire when sitting on it for long periods of time and it is easy to clean.

But what are the best ways of caring for and cleaning leather? Well, this is not an easy question to answer, because there are many types of leather, although some types of leather have fairly specific uses. Most, but not all, leather comes from the cattle meat industry. The most common types of leather produced are:

vegetable-tanned leather - hard and not pliable, used in leather stamping and carving

chrome-tanned leather - very soft and pliable, many colours possible

aldehyde-tanned leather - creamy white finish, often used for infants' shoes and car upholstery

synthetic-tanned leather - white leather

and these are made from:

full-grain leather - the side of the skin exposed to the air. This leather has the greatest durability and breathability. This is the best quality and is used in the highest quality footwear and furniture. it may crack over time and form a patina

top-grain - second highest quality leather, but feels plastic-like, has less breathability, is a lot less expensive and is more stain-resistant.

corrected-leather - has an artificial grain applied; most often used to make pigmented and semi-aniline leather

split leather - has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is used to create suede.

There are kits on the market that allow you to compare your leather in order to identify it. The best leather reclining chairs will probably be made from full-grain leather, whereas the cheaper ones will probably be top grain or corrected grain.

If your leather reclining chair is pigmented, it is probably aniline or protected, in which case a wipe-over with a good-quality leather furniture polish will suffice, but if it is full-grain, you want to take extra care of it by washing it with saddle soap occasionally.

Saddle soap can contain ingredients such as bees wax and neatsfoot oil, glycerin, lanolin and a mild detergent in various proportions according to the manufacturer. Remember that if you just rub dry leather hard, you will only push the dirt deeper into the grain. You need to apply a foaming liquid that will lift the dirt, so that you can wipe it away gently.