Q&A for How to Identify Genuine Leather

Fake leather has a fabric-like base, while real leather has a rugged base, like a genuine skin. Real leather also smells like an animal hide, and has random, imperfect grain patterns.

Full Leather would be most expensive, followed by Top Leather, Genuine Leather, and lastly, Bonded Leather.

It could be difficult to discern pigskin; usually it's used as a liner on leather goods to make them tougher without adding weight, as pigskin is very strong. Pigskin will usually have "dimples" on the surface. It can be any color, but the most common is black or brown. Pigskin suede is softer than tan suede.

Real leather that doesn't have a "shine" will get shinier when you rub it, especially if there are body oils on your fingers. Real leather is sometimes lightly wetted, then purposely rubbed to make it shine. Fake leather will get cleaner when rubbed, but won't take on a permanent shine.

It could be or it could be painted instead of dyed. Leather can be dyed in the tanning process, but later on the color can be changed by adding thin layers of a leather paint until the desired color and opacity is reached. It's probably painted if its peeling, because the paint doesn't bond to the leather if done slightly too thick; it can peel off. Usually PU leather (fake) won't peel, it will fade. There's always the chance of a PU leather being painted, though it's a bit of a waste of time to do that.

Yes. My sofa is made from genuine leather and it is fine, no scuff marks and the quality has held up quite well.

It could be due to improper cleaning and finishing. In production they use silver pen marking to attach components. Later they clean the product before the final packing of goods, but sometimes they forget to clean up the marking.

Yes. Real leather, if it isn't sealed properly, can lose its color when water is spilled on it if you rub it off too hard. It will also pick up colors from any liquid that you spill on it. The best way to clean a spill is to blot the liquid as soon as possible without rubbing. Also, real leather can, and should be, treated with a leather conditioner if it begins to get dried out.

If the sofa is sealed, it may not absorb the water. I have 100% leather shoes, and they don't absorb water because I keep them "fed" with shoe conditioner and polish them regularly. This keeps water from being able to be absorbed into them. The same thing is generally done for couches.

No, leather won't rot if it's tanned properly.

No, aging leather longer than usual during the tanning process doesn't affect the quality of the leather.

In order of quality, best to worst: full grain leather, top grain leather, genuine leather, bonded leather.

Cow hide is the strongest and most durable and frequently the most desirable. Pig and deer are softer leathers. What is "best" depends on what you want from the end use. Lizard, alligator or ostrich are more expensive but that does not make them better quality, only different in appearance and in application.

If you expose your sofa or any real leather product to sunlight for long, the rays from the sun causes the leather to fade.

Real leather in general is a delicate material and quite expensive. Therefore, automobile companies use split, bonded or faux leather for their car seats and other interiors. It's easier to clean and maintain.

These are both totally different things. Genuine leather is made from split leather or in simple words, leftover pieces of real leather that is then buffed and sanded to look more uniform. TopGrain, on the other hand, is the leather that is obtained from the outermost layer of animal skin.