Thread: H & M document leather

I have noticed that the document leather from Hancock and Moore looks "blotchy'. Has anyone seen these in person that can comment? Is the document copper mottled looking or is it just noticeable in the lighter colors? I really want to order the town and country September in the married document copper but do not like the over worked look. Any photos would be helpful too. Many thanks.

I sell lots of pieces in Document, which is a leather from a Chinese Tannery, mainly because its used in many Town and Country promotional pieces. What you describe as 'blotchy' is what we call 'special effects', and that's a shading done to give the leather something other than a monochromatic appearance. The price points in Document are excellent, but I'll go on record here and say I personally don't care for the leather series and would prefer my customers to select other hides. Hancock and Moore sells thousands of square feet of Document (there are 24 colors in the series last time I checked), and its an important leather for them. Still, you will never hear my recommend that series if they ask me and I have several reasons for that:

1) Its the Cheese-Whiz of leather. It's over-processed and over-finished and though its soft and supple, the 'marks of the trail' have been eliminated from the leather. You'll not find any scars, tick bites, fat wrinkles, or any other imperfection that shows that cover came off a cow...they've all been sanded out and painted over. Totally boring.

2) Because of the finished nature of the leather (painted or pigmented), Document sometimes loses bits of color as it ages. Small bits of finish may come off the leather and reveal themselves as a small white 'dot', that gets touched up with a dark brown magic marker. This is the only leather in the entire H&M lineup I see this occur with, and while not something that's a deal-breaker, its annoying.

These are solid-framed pieces from H&M, and they will last for decades. Consider carefully the hide choices as you will be looking at them for a long time. While price points are very attractive at purchase time, you will have forgotten how much you paid for the sofa ten years later and are still using it daily, so make sure you get what you like, even if it stretches your budget.

Personally, I'd rather see folks buy Columbia, a Grade 1 hide for an entry level leather than the Document on Town and Country, and for those that can step up in price then many of the Grade 2's are nice....and of course my favorites are in the price grade 4 leathers (Antelope, Capri, Quintessence), etc.

which class 2 leathers would you recommend?Are there class 4 leathers that can handle heavy usage?

Duane,

I am confused. The H&M wesbite shows Document as a class 2 leather. Is that a different document than the document leather on a town and country?

Perhaps their is a difference between the "married document" and the "class 2 document"?

Sorry for my ignorance.

jason

Document is a Price Grade 2 leather and can be used on any piece in the line. It comes from a tannery in China.

It is also used frequently in the Town and Country Promotion as the least expensive way to configure a H&M piece. Its the same leather whether used as a loose hide (cut and sewn in Hickory NC) or as a Married Cover hide (cut and sewn in China to fit a specific frame and sent over as a kit in a box)

Hope that clarifies it!

Originally Posted by drcollie

Document is a Price Grade 2 leather and can be used on any piece in the line. It comes from a tannery in China.

It is also used frequently in the Town and Country Promotion as the least expensive way to configure a H&M piece. Its the same leather whether used as a loose hide (cut and sewn in Hickory NC) or as a Married Cover hide (cut and sewn in China to fit a specific frame and sent over as a kit in a box)

Hope that clarifies it!

Rats...this was as i feared. My wife just really loved the document latte. She wanted a more "boring" leather that was absent a lot of the marks you described earlier so maybe it was a good choice for her preference, lol. I just hope she is happy with the look when it arrives and that the leather lasts/has good wearability. I can't wait to hit duane's showroom on our next alexandria trip.