The kind of leather
Full-grain leather: Full-grain leather is the toughest and most long-lasting leather that is available. It's termed full grain because the grain pattern is exceedingly tight and visible. It has excellent moisture resistance and grows a nice patina with time.
Top grain leather: This is taken from the same piece of the hide. The difference is that the top surface is sanded away by a couple of millimetres. This removes any defects like nicks, scratches brands, and other flaws. Top grain leather has a highly uniform overall look as a result of this. Since the surface of top grain leather has been buffed, polished, and smoothed, it feels very soft to the touch. However, it is not as long-lasting as full-grain leather.
Bonded leather: Created from crushed scraps of leather that are ground, dyed and combined with glue to a synthetic underlayer. It contains only 17% of genuine leather. Due to the plastic coating, the surface does not breathe like genuine leather, making leather sofas or furniture unpleasant to sit on after a time. It does, however, effectively resist spills and stains.
Split leather: Taken from the middle layer of the hide, flattened to give texture, not durable.