In the leather trade, a hide comes from a large animal such as cattle, buffalo or horse. A skin comes from a smaller animal, such as a calf, sheep, goat, pig or deer. The words describe the animal’s size, not the quality of the leather or how it was tanned.
What the trade means by hide and skin
- Hide: the pelt of a large animal.
- Skin: the pelt of a smaller animal.
- Kip: the in-between class, from young or small cattle.
- Pelt: a skin with its hair or wool still on. In a tannery, the word can also mean a dehaired hide before tanning.
- Side: half of a hide.
Size and weight
Weight thresholds for green, salted pelts vary by market. A common US split looks like this:
- calfskin: under about 15 lb
- kipskin: about 15 to 25 lb
- hide: over about 25 lb
Treat these as rough guides.
Area and thickness
| Type | Typical area | Thickness |
|---|---|---|
| Full cowhide | About 40 to 55 sq ft | About 3 to 5 mm after tanning, before splitting |
| Calfskin | About 8 to 15 sq ft | About 0.8 to 1.4 mm |
| Goatskin | About 5 to 8 sq ft | About 0.6 to 1.2 mm |
| Lambskin | About 6 to 9 sq ft | About 0.5 to 0.9 mm |
A side, which is half of a full cowhide, covers about 20 to 25 sq ft. These figures are approximate.
Does the word change the quality?
No. Skins have a finer grain and a smaller area. Hides are thicker and sturdier. Calfskin and lambskin are premium leathers, so a skin is not a lower-quality product.
Cowhide doesn’t always mean full thickness, either. Most cowhide goods are made from leather that has been split down to a thinner thickness. The split is explained in how genuine leather is made.
How to tell them apart
- Size and thickness. Skins are smaller and thinner. Hides are bigger and thicker.
- Splitting. Hides are often split into a grain layer and a lower split. Thin skins usually aren’t split.
- Pigskin. Hair-follicle holes appear in groups of three. Other species signs are in what types of animal leather there are.
The grain layer is part of the dermis, the part of the skin that becomes leather. See what the main ingredient of leather is.
Deerskin and buckskin
Deer leather is usually called deerskin. Buckskin traditionally meant deer leather that was brain tanned. The method is described in traditional leather making.
Why it matters for buyers and makers
Thickness shapes how leather behaves. Thick hide suits belts and sole leather, while thinner skins suit gloves and garments. For typical thicknesses by product, see how leather products are made. The animals behind each skin are covered in are animals killed for leather or is it a byproduct?.