You asked whether this effect was normal for this type of leather, and the manufacturer told you that it was perfectly normal because the horsehide used is a teacore leather and that there was nothing to be concerned about?
Well, that’s not an honest reply to what is clearly visible here. Your eyes don’t lie. This is seriously damaged leather and, unquestionably a serious defect. It’s like buying a brand-new car from a dealership, noticing that it has scratched paint, and being told, “Oh, there’s nothing to be concerned about.” Unacceptable, isn’t it?
The appropriate response from any decent manufacturer would be to replace the jacket. Of course, the jacket is unlikely to simply fall apart because of these cracks and splits, but that’s beside the point. You aren’t being overly picky if you expect to get what you paid for — a brand-new, properly executed and finished jacket.
Let’s see the photos.
If it is confirmed that the actual grain layer of the horsehide is cracking, then the issue should be regarded as a leather-structure failure, rather than merely a cosmetic finishing problem.
Notice that the areas affected are tight, folded/rolled leather edges immediately adjacent to stitching. That creates a very high bending and compression load on the grain.
With properly tanned horsehide, the grain should be able to bend repeatedly without splitting like this. If it cracks on almost every bending, the leather was likely already vulnerable.
The main possible causes are:
1. Excessive drying / insufficient lubrication during tanning
Chrome tanning can produce beautiful, firm horsehide, but if the leather is excessively dry or insufficiently fatliquored, the collagen fiber structure can become less tolerant of bending. When the leather is then forced around a tight radius, the grain can develop permanent cracks rather than flexing normally.
2. Grain correction
When a hide is corrected, the natural grain surface is mechanically abraded/buffed to remove defects, scars, bites, wrinkles, etc. This can remove some of the original grain layer which in some cases may affect the structural integrity of the grain layer.
The important issue is that the grain layer is the strongest and most densely organized part of the leather. If too much material is removed, you can get closer to the looser fiber structure underneath.
A leather that has been subjected to grain correction is not considered full-grain leather, which is the highest quality. Full-grain leather retains the entire grain layer intact, and since the grain is the strongest part of the leather, it is less susceptible to cracking. Hence, the leather this jacket is made of is most likely top grain (the second best quality). Top grain leathers may vary in quality. In simplified terms,
Lightly corrected grain → some grain removed, potentially still very strong or with
Heavily corrected grain → more of the original grain structure removed → potentially greater susceptibility to grain cracking
This becomes particularly important when the leather is then folded around a tight radius, as in the photographs.
So, to clarify, lower-quality leathers generally require more grain correction, and the more heavily a leather is corrected, the lower its quality ends up being.
But there’s an important parameter.
A properly corrected leather can still have excellent flex resistance. The critical questions are:
- How much was buffed?
- Was the grain layer excessively thinned?
- Was the leather split/sanded too aggressively?
- Was the remaining grain properly refinished/reinforced?
- Was the leather adequately fatliquored?
- Was it over-dried during finishing?
The combination of aggressive correction + dry/poorly lubricated leather + tight folding could indicate an unsuccessful tanning and finishing process, placing the leather toward the lower end of the quality scale.
The photographic evidence suggests this combination.
The cracks are occurring at almost every severe bend.
3. Excessive mechanical stress during construction
The folded edges in the photographs are particularly important. If the leather was folded too tightly, skived incorrectly, pressed aggressively, or sewn while under excessive tension, the grain can be damaged during manufacture. The stitching itself can also concentrate stress immediately beside the seam.
The fact that the cracking is not appearing randomly in the middle of a relatively unstressed panel is significant. It is occurring at a folded edge next to a seam—exactly where the leather is being forced to conform to a relatively tight radius.
That sums it up to two conclusions:
Leather problem:
The leather cannot tolerate the bending radius that should reasonably be expected of jacket construction. . If so, the leather is substandard and not suitable for its intended purpose.
Construction problem:
The manufacturer created an excessively tight bend or damaged the grain during folding or sewing. The manufacturer ignored the issue, carelessly repeated the same mistake several times and the jacket was continued through production despite the visible cracking.
Conclusion
So, was this a manufacturing error or an inherent characteristic of the leather? The answer is both.
If the manufacturer clearly saw the cracking during production and deliberately chose to ignore it, completed the jacket, and shipped it anyway, this goes beyond poor quality control. It is a serious failure of professional integrity and responsibility toward the customer. It reflects a clear disregard for the customer’s legitimate expectations and for the standard of the product being delivered.
Even more concerning is that, when the customer subsequently complained, the manufacturer dismissed the problem rather than acknowledging it and taking responsibility.
Lesson learned?
A customer who has paid for a new jacket is entitled to expect the manufacturer to stand behind its workmanship. If the same thing ever happens to you, do not accept the explanation that structural cracking is simply a normal characteristic of teacore leather. Request a replacement, or, if that is not possible, a full refund.