Fish leather

Fish skin is a rare type of leather. The skin surfaces are often very small. In recent years, objects made from stingray leather have grown in popularity, thanks to the glass bead-like surface structure of the skin.

Also, the proliferation of fish farms, for various species, has increased the availability of fish leather, as the skins would otherwise be wasted.

Fish leather is stronger than other leather types, if the same thicknesses are compared. This is because the fibre structure of fish skin runs crosswise, rather than parallel as in, for example, cowhide. The tensile strength of fish leather reaches up to 90 Newtons (e.g. salmon or perch).

One of the earliest records of the use of fish leather dates back to ancient Egypt. Fish leather was used for the production of clothing, accessories, and jewelry. In particular, the Nile perch and sturgeon were highly valued for their skin. Fish leather was also of great importance in the Nordic countries. The Inuit and other Arctic cultures used fish skin, especially from salmon, to make clothing, shoes, and containers. Fish leather provided good insulation against the cold temperatures while being lightweight and flexible. The Nanai people, who are indigenous to East Siberia, were particularly specialized in utilizing fish leather for the production of all kinds of clothing items. The tanning process took approximately one month.

The skins of the following are suitable for making fish leather: Shark, salmon, carp, stingray, cod, sea wolf and sturgeon. Fish leather usually has a scaly structure, is thinner than calfskin and is considered to be very elastic and tear-resistant.

Fish leather surfaces

While fish leathers generally exhibit the typical scale structure, there are many species of fish with other skin surfaces.

The different skin surfaces of fish

picture	surface	fish species
	scale structure	perch, dolfinfish, carp, cod, salmon, pacu, pirarucu (= arapaima or paiche), parrotfish, tilapia, plaice
	relatively smooth surfaces	some shark species, atlantic stingray, catfish
	central scar	eel, salmon, pacu, plaice
	scaly structure visible only under the microscope	some shark species
	hard pearl studs, which are also sanded flat for design reasons	some stingray species, kitefin shark
	visible pores on the skin	moray eel, sea wolf
	a driftwood-like surface	sturgeon

Boxfish

The boxfish is a subspecies of the puffer fish. This one was dried to parchment in Brazil and should help to keep the "evil eye" away.

Dried boxfish from Nilo Peçanha - Brazil.

Dried boxfish as decoration.

Carp leather

Carp leather is soft and has a scaly structure.

Carp leather is very scaly.

Carp leather as gold leather.

Carp leather handbag manufactured by www.ledermanufaktur.com.

Carp leather made by Anatol Donkan.

The barbe is a European freshwater fish of the carp family. The skin of the barbe has a typical scale structure and is instantly recognisable as fish leather. Leather objects made from barbe skin are very rare.

Barbe leather.

The middle leather is of a barbe.

Catfish leather

The catfish is the largest freshwater fish in Europe. They prefer large lakes and rivers with muddy water and are commonly found in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The catfish has no scales. The leather is smooth with a distinctive grain and drawing.

The leather of a catfish does not have a scale structure.

Cod leather

Cod is one of the most important food fish from the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. Its skin is also used to make leather.

cod-seafood

Cod Leather is a typical fish leather with a scaly skin. The skin is about 40 - 50 centimetres long and 10 to 15 centimetres wide (= approximately 0,5 square feet) and tapers from neck to tail. Cod leather is a thinner leather.

Cod leather, a complete skin.

The fish and leather samples.

The skin texture is very irregular.

Cod-parchment produced by bookbinding Zerbst.

Dolphinfish leather

Dolphinfish, also called "mahimahi", live in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean. They are up to 1.80 meters long and can weigh up to nearly 40 kilos. The skin has small, round scales.

You can see the small round scale chambers of the dolphinfish.

Eel leather

Eel in the aquarium.

Eels are widely distributed and can be found in the waters of Europe, North America, Asia, and parts of Africa. They inhabit both freshwater and saltwater environments such as rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, coastal areas, and even deep-sea regions. Eels are known for their ability to migrate between freshwater and saltwater.

Eels are a popular delicacy in several countries and are consumed as food. European eel species, such as the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), are particularly well-known. Smoked eels, in particular, are a traditional specialty in many European countries, especially in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. In some Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, eels are used in various dishes, including sushi and grilled preparations.

Smoked eel and prepared eel in China.

The skin of eels has a smooth and robust texture, making it suitable for leather production. Traditionally, eel skin has been used in some European countries for the manufacturing of leather products. The leather derived from eel skin is characterized by small strips resembling the shape of the fish. The distinctive "ribbed" central strip on the leather hides is a unique feature. It is important to note that eels do not have scales.

Eel leather. The characteristic central scar is clearly visible.

Eel leather chair from Estonia.

Eel leather boots from Chicago. Circa 2005 for 200 $ - Eel leather bespoke shoe produced by Jacob, F. Schuhe.

Eel leather chair.

Eel leather chair. Many sewn strips fill the area.

Little bag made of eel leather.

Bag made of eel leather.

Moray eel leather

The leather of the moray is solid and the hair pores give it a distinctive surface.

Morays

Moray leather has a typical grain.

Moray leather handbag.

Pacu leather

Pacu from South America is closely related to the piranha but it’s a pure fruit and seed eater.

It has striking teeth, similar to those of humans. A new-born pacu has a red belly, whereas adults have grey or black bellies and weigh up to 30 kilos.

The pacu is a popular food fish and lives in rivers and lakes, but it is also bred in ponds. Like its dangerous cousin, the piranha, the pacu is also covered with many very small scales.

There are different types of pacu. - Leather watch strap of pacu Leather.

Pacu fish dish in the Pantanal in Brazil.

Pacu leather has small scales.

Parrotfish leather

The leather from the tropical parrot fish is a typical scaly fish leather.

Parrot fish and parrot fish dish.

Leather of parrot fish.

Perch leather

Perch leather or sea bass is a soft, flaky fish leather. The fish are native to Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda). A skin is on average 1.0 square foot (50 - 60 centimetres wide and about 14 - 20 centimetres wide).

Perch leather, complete skin.

The fish and leather pattern.

The skin structure is reminiscent of rumen leather.

Sea bass leather in bright colour.

Pirarucu leather

Pirarucu (also called arapaima or paiche), is a freshwater fish that is located in the Amazon area. Pirarucu is very large and can be over 2 meters long and weigh over 100 kilos and has very large scales. Its unexpected softness and flexibility makes it a distinctive leather.

Pirarucu is a large fish with correspondingly large skin.

The paiche is a tasty fish in Bolivia.

The leather is very soft, has large scales and a multi-layered structure. There is no comparable leather with this look and feel.

The leather of the pirarucu has a striking scale structure. Left - natural scales, right - edges of the scales are cut.

The leather of the pirarucu has a multi-layered scale structure.

Pirarucu leather from novakaeru.com.br.

Pirarucu-leather handbag.

Pirarucu-leather handbag from www.mygretchen.com and from Brazil.

Art of pirarucu leather. - Leather boots. - Pirarucu leather wedding dress.

Plaice leather

The plaice or gold butt is a flatfish. It is found on almost all European coasts and is a significant food fish. Its skin has small scales and a clearly recognisable middle scar.

The plaice is a flatfish, which is suitable as food fish.

The skin of the plaice has small scales and a clearly recognisable middle scar.

Puffer fish - Ball fish

There are many different types of puffer fish in the world. Puffer fish are mostly found in the coastal regions of tropical and warm seas. The skin of ball fish is sometimes dried and sold as a lamp or accessories.

Puffer fish washed up on the beach.

Ball fish parchment as lamp.

In Turkey, the silver-cheeked toadfish is processed into leather. This species of puffer fish was introduced to the Mediterranean Sea with the opening of the Suez Canal and has become a plague on the Turkish coast. The silver-cheeked toadfish is very poisonous, has few natural enemies and is very voracious, feeding on the squid, crab, shrimp and octopus, which the local fishermen then lack. Due to the enormous stretching ability of the skin of the puffer fish when it puffs up, the leather made from this fish skin is said to have good properties. A reward is paid for catching silver-cheeked toadfish in Turkey. Purses and bags are made from the leather of the silver-cheeked toadfish. A bag can be made from the 7 skins of the average 30-40 cm long fish.

Video about the use of silver-cheeked toadfish skin for leather production.

Salmon leather

The skin of salmon is tanned. The typical appearance of the fish scales remains the same. Salmon leather is thin and light and is about 60 - 65 centimetres long and 10 - 14 centimetres wide (= approx. 0.8 square feet).

According to a supplier of salmon leather, the leather of salmon has a higher strength than sheep or pig leather.

The main use for this type of leather is for the accessories market. Salmon leather is fashionable for bags, clothing or shoes.

Nowadays the skins come from salmon breeding farms. Therefore, sufficient skins are available for further processing to salmon leather. However, salmon leather is not widely used. It is a niche product in the leather market.

Salmon leather is often vegetable tanned or FOC (chrome-free) tanned.

Salmon

Salmon skin ("Nanaileder").

Salmon leather crust. - Salmon leather ironed and coloured.

Salmon leather is available in many colourful colours from the company "Nanaileder".

Salmon leather in the furniture area. But a rarity.

Leather watch strap made of salmon leather. - Leather shoes with combination of salmon leather and calfskin (Ledermanufaktur Posenanski).

Salmon leather not ironed. - Salmon leather ironed. - Bespoke shoes (Jacob, F. Schuhe).

Leather handbags. - Leather handbags made of metallic leather. - Braided leather strips of the company "Nanaileder".

Salmon leather art of Anatol Donkan.

Salmon leather skin.

Sea wolf leather

The leather of a sea wolf is a rarity and mostly comes from the seas around Iceland. The skin of sea wolf has no scales and is therefore smooth. A skin is about 60 - 70 centimetres long and 14 - 20 centimetres wide (= approx. 1.1 square feet). Characteristically it has dark spots on the skin.

Sea wolf leather.

The fish and leather patterns.

Sea wolf leather has no scales unlike moray eel leather or shark leather.

Leather watch strap made of sea wolf leather.

Shark leather

Shark skin has been used to make shark leather since ancient Egypt. Over the centuries, it has been valued and used in other cultures as well.

Shark leather is covered with a microscopically small scale structure. It is used for shoes and belts and other leather accessories. In earlier times, the skins of the shark were processed into sandpaper or sword hilts (which could not slip out of the hand) due to their nature. In medieval Japan, shark leather (鮫皮) was used to grate the roots of the wasabi plant, a type of horseradish, to prepare the spice. Today, metal tools are mostly used for this; only in individual cases (e.g. traditional restaurants) are leather graters still used. But there are also shark species with a smooth leather skin. The most common shark species for leather production are the sand tiger sharks and the silky sharks. The sales names are often Pearl Shark, Coral Shark or Boroso.

Shark and shark dish.

Shark hides. The slits in the skin are the severed shark fins, like the neck hump on the zebu.

Characteristic of most species of shark: Scaly structure is clearly recognisable under the microscope.

Wallet made of shark leather. - Exceptional: shark leather on a bicycle saddle.

Biker wallet made of shark leather and shark leather watch strap.

With some shark leathers, the surface is smooth.

Drum with cover of shark leather from the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia, South Seas).

Kitefin shark

Boroso is a name for shark leather, which is from the kitefin shark. This leather has been used for the handles of swords, sabres and other weapons. It is reminiscent of the structure of stingray leather. The structure is somewhat finer.

Kitefin shark parchment.

Kitefin shark polished.

Kitefin shark coloured.

Kitefin shark leather watch strap.

Coral shark

About 100 years ago, there was a style of handbag made with a conspicuous wave pattern. From unconfirmed sources this is leather from the coral shark. It is also unknown among leather experts, which shark species it is or whether it was a special deformation technique. The surface does not have the characteristic shark leather structure.

Very old leather handbag. The grain structure is exceptional (from the collection of Ms. Ursula Kayser from Göttingen - Germany).

Leather watch straps made of leather of old leather handbags.

Stingray leather

Stingrays in an aquarium

Stingray-offer on a market in Portugal.

Ray in garlic with potatoes in FaroPortugal.

Stingray leather is a rare leather and occasionally appears on accessories such as wallets, leather bags and knife sheathes. It can be dyed in different colours. Usually there is a bright geometric shape on the leather, which results from grinding the peaks of the pearls. The surface of stingray leather is similar to the hardness of glass beads and is difficult to cut.

The broad hides of the pearl-streaks and the long and narrow hides of the spine-bones are different.

Complete stingray skin (foto of stingray leather manufacturing company Pierre Guijarro, 78500 Sartrouville, France, p.guijarro@orange.fr).

Stingray leather in different colours completely ground.

The bright, diamond-shaped spot is created by grinding away the peaks of the pearl structure. The diamond shape in an established recognition mark.

The brightening in the middle is also created by grinding the peaks.

The unpolished tops. Each pearl skin has several large pearls in the middle area. The diamond is then ground there.

Across the whole surface polished stingray leather.

Very exotic: Stingray leather on a bicycle saddle.

Stingray leather watch strap. - Stingray leather as key case.

Jewellery box of the company Löffelsend covered with ray leather and partially offset with wood and bone.

Stingray leather used for a mobile phone case (www.feinleder-hoffmann.com) or as Biker wallet.

Stingray leather was also used in the beginning of the 19th century for high-quality furniture.

Ancient, traditional sword handle from Japan.

Stingray leather helmet (www.wildfangdesign.de). - Stingray leather boots. (www.jean-gaborit.com).

Impressive craftsmanship: Bespoke shoes with with stingray leather, made by Ștefan Burdea Luxury Shoes Store.

Bespoke shoes from Himer Maßschuhe.

Stingray leather production. - Dried stingray leather.

Imitation leather: The imitation of stingray leather is hardly distinguishable by eye alone.

Atlantic stingray

The skin of the Atlantic stingray has a completely different surface compared to the normal stingray leather. The skin does not have a pearl structure. Leather objects from Atlantic stingray leather are very rare.

Atlantic stingray leather.

The brown surface is Atlantic stingray leather.

Sturgeon leather

Sturgeon leather has an unusual surface. It looks like wood or cork and is very solid.

Sturgeon leather from Anatol Donkan.

Leather wallets made from sturgeon leather.

Leather watch strap made of sturgeon leather.

As with stingray leather, the bone-like excesses can be sanded in order to create extraordinary design effects.

Sanded sturgeon leather has an unusual look.

Tilapia leather

Tilapia leather is relatively large and it has bigger scales.

Tilapia and tilapia dish.

Tilapia leather.

Leather wallets made of tilapia leather.

Video about fish leather production

Fish leather production.

Video about leather of different animal species

Leather of different animal species - Exotic leather.

Other exotic leather

The cleaning and care of fish leather

Fish leather is usually processed for special objects which are treated with care. A careful treatment is the best for the longevity of exotic leather. The cleaning and care of fish leather not only depends on the type of animal, but in particular on the finish by the tanner. The tanner can make a variety of different types of leather from one species. From porous aniline leather to gold leather. Therefore, the correct procedure for cleaning and care can only be determined on an individual basis.

COLOURLOCK is specialized in all matters relating to leather and helps with all questions about the correct cleaning and care of leather. In case of doubt send complete and detailed photos of your leather object to info@colourlock.com. We will have a look at the objects and give you free advice.

Exotic leather often requires special solutions for leather cleaning and leather care.

WE UNDERSTAND LEATHER - WWW.COLOURLOCK.COM

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Fish leather

Contents

Fish leather

Fish leather surfaces

Boxfish

Carp leather

Catfish leather

Cod leather

Dolphinfish leather

Eel leather

Moray eel leather

Pacu leather

Parrotfish leather

Perch leather

Pirarucu leather

Plaice leather

Puffer fish - Ball fish

Salmon leather

Sea wolf leather

Shark leather

Kitefin shark

Coral shark

Stingray leather

Atlantic stingray

Sturgeon leather

Tilapia leather

Video about fish leather production

Video about leather of different animal species

Other exotic leather

The cleaning and care of fish leather