What is Carbon Fiber Leather?

What is Carbon Fiber Leather and where does it come from?

This article will introduce the characteristics of Carbon Fiber Leather, how it differs from genuine leather, whether it is resistant to deterioration, and how to care for it.

Carbon Fiber Leather was first created by a leather goods company founded in Italy. Carbon Fiber Leather is often used for leather goods like wallets, sports car steering, and shift knobs, also used for backpacks, shoulder bags, Etc., to create a unique texture by pasting or weaving carbon.

Initially, it was a product made for delivery to automobile manufacturers. The name "Carbon Fiber Leather" suggests combining carbon and leather. Cowhide from 6 months to 2 years old is used as the base, and an ultra-thin carbon pattern film is thermocompression bonded on the upper surface. As for carbon, it is made by applying heat of 1000 degrees to acrylic fiber, carbonizing the fiber, and sticking it to cowhide with high heat.

Therefore, Carbon Fiber Leather has a supple elasticity similar to kip skin but is also resistant to friction, light, and heat. Furthermore, Carbon Fiber Leather could be regarded as a material resistant to sweat and water. Processed with advanced crimping technology, cowhide and carbon film rarely come off.

Here are seven features of Carbon Fiber Leather:

1. Soft
2. Thin
3. Lightweight
4. Highly waterproof
5. Hard to get scratched
6. Strong against friction
7. Almost no need to care

Most Carbon Fiber Leather products have a consistently glossy black appearance. It's glossy, so it has a luxurious feel. The texture is such that square or rectangular carbon is woven into it. You will get a feeling of being drawn in by watching. It also depends on the carbon processing method used. As a result, some of them have different textures.

What's the difference between Carbon Fiber Leather and regular genuine leather? 

Carbon Fiber Leather is a kind of genuine leather. Carbon Fiber Leather is made by thinly peeling cowhide from 6 months to 2 years old and pasting ultra-thin carbon fiber on the surface. It is sometimes called "synthetic leather" compared to regular genuine leather. However, Carbon Fiber Leather is a special kind of genuine leather that is highly waterproof and durable. 

Some genuine leather is highly water-resistant at the processing stage or as a characteristic of the animal, but it is not entirely coated like Carbon Fiber Leather. Therefore, genuine leather products should be wiped off if it gets wet in the rain. Carbon Fiber Leather has excellent water repellency, so there is no need to worry about moisture penetrating.

Advantages of Carbon Fiber Leather compared to regular genuine leather:

1. You don't have to worry if it gets wet. 
2. Light and soft as a material for bags and the like.
3. You don't have to worry about stains, scratches, or uneven color.
4. You can keep it like new forever.
5. It does not require maintenance supplies like regular genuine leather.

Genuine leather products must be kept to prevent cracking, but Carbon Fiber Leather ones do not require leather cream. Ease of management is also a high point.

Disadvantages of Carbon Fiber Leather compared to genuine leather:

1. You cannot enjoy aging as leather.
2. You can't feel the warm touch of leather.
3. Stickiness and cracks occur due to deterioration.
4. There is a difference in quality. (It depends on the leather to which carbon is attached)
5. It cannot be used for a lifetime like genuine leather.

Carbon Fiber Leather has excellent durability and waterproofness, but unfortunately, it cannot be "tasted" because it is coated with carbon.

Carbon Fiber Leather is a processed leather that takes advantage of carbon's wear resistance, light resistance, and heat resistance

The surface of Carbon Fiber Leather is covered with carbon material. Therefore, the leather is not directly scraped by friction. As a result, it can be said that the leather is resistant to friction.

Carbon used for Carbon Fiber Leather is carbonized by baking acrylic fiber, Etc., with a high heat of 1000 degrees. This way, since the material was initially made by heat, it is in a state with heat resistance.

Natural and scientific materials are subject to change and, in severe cases, deterioration due to sunlight, light, and ultraviolet rays. Carbon Fiber Leather is less susceptible to them. It is a light-absorbing black material, so it is resistant to light. Due to its excellent light resistance, Carbon Fiber Leather is a material that efficiently prevents deterioration.

What is the different care method from genuine leather?

Carbon Fiber Leather does not dry out like genuine leather and does not stain with water or oil, so it requires almost no maintenance. But what we use every day, even unintentionally, gets oily every time we touch it. The oils and fats of our hands do not penetrate the Carbon Fiber Leather, but they adhere to the surface of the Carbon Fiber Leather and cause deterioration. In this case, we can use a damp cloth to wipe gently.

Carbon Fiber Leather repels water. Therefore, even if you apply nourishing cream or oil like treating genuine leather, it will bounce off like water, making it meaningless.

End.