Presto

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Have you noticed that the price of some leather goods is a fraction of what bit was 10 years ago? How about deli lunch meat, wood sheeting, hot dogs, some furniture, or bologna? The all have the same thing in common. Well, yesterday I found out just what it was.

Well, in Those Days (and even thousands of years before that), leather was made by tanning the hides of animals and making them into garments, shoes, and a most anything else that had to be durable. It was very labor intensive stuff, and therefore, expensive. It was stiff and thick but was expected to last. It was not very comfortable. Then someone figured out they could split it in half and make twice as much from the single hide. That was called suede, and suede was cheaper than leather. Over the years many efforts were made to duplicate leather. Vinyl, plastics, and fiberglass were all tried, but they all had limitations.

Have you noticed how soft some leather is now? Now it's almost everywhere. New jackets, car seats, and home furniture all have it. Ever notice how perfectly colored it is? No imperfections at all, and it's much thinner. It is real leather, I guess if you want to call it that. And it's not much more expensive that a good quality upholstery. Here's why.

I'm sure you know Pringles. They are made by taking a real potato, squashing it up, adding spices, and then pressing it through a mold to make a chip, which is then baked. Presto! Every chip is exactly the same in size, color, and shape. And I guess they taste some what like a potato chip, especially if you have never eaten a real chip. But they are a particle chip.

Same said with wood. Sawdust pressed with a bonding agent forms a sheet of wood, most any size or shape. Then it is textured by a machine for a particular grain, stained, and fashioned into furniture, and Presto!. They call it particle board.

Turkey, chicken, beef, and most every other meat is squashed and pressed into a slice. No waste. Presto! I call it particle lunch meat. Look at that deli slice of turkey closely. It's real turkey, but it's not really the same as a slice off the old breast bone.

Well, now they are doing the very same thing with leather. After the Grade-A leather is cut from the hide and set aside for real leather needs like very expensive shoes, the rest is ground into a very fine powder. Glue is added and it is pressed into thin sheets, then textured. Color is added and it is sanded and polished to make it smooth and pliable. Presto! But it's particle leather.

I must admit, I was pretty impressed with the particle leather seats I've seen in cars lately, particle leather furniture, and particle leather clothing, I think the bragging rights to owning leather is best left for those that have the real stuff. And now, I can tell the difference even though I don't have much of it around my house.

And Presto! I repaired the Thought Dock without using any particles in my boards.
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