All bikers love their leather jackets, pants, and chaps, boots and gloves. The Harley Davidson brand on a set of leathers not only insures the quality of the apparel but the quality of workmanship that goes into making the finished product. There are a lot of different, and good, brands of motorcycle leathers out there in a wide range of prices. The purpose of this article is to give a short history of leather and factors, besides brand, that determine the price of a particular set of leathers.



Leather is one the oldest materials known to man. Our caveman ancestors used animal hides to protect their body from the elements and on their hands and feet to protect from physical injury. Leather can and is made from the skin of any animal through a process known as tanning. This preserves the skin which would otherwise quickly go bad and decay.

Today the leather industry is industrialized and scientifically controlled. Research is ongoing and is done to ensure leather products are improved using the latest technology to meet modern day needs. Hides and skins used for the comercial making of leather are, in most cases, the byproduct of animals that are raised for their meat, milk and hait or wool. The value of the hides are a result of the care and quality of the process of removing the skins. This normally means that the tanner is not able to control the supply of raw hides. Hides are traded in the marketplace as a commodity and on open markets world wide, placing tanners in direct competition with other tanners. The markerplace dictates the price of hides through supply and demand as is the case with any other commodity. When demand is heavy, prices are high and vice versa. As with other products traded on the global market, variations in the world economy and fluctuations in currency can cause major up and down value changes in the raw hide market. The supply of cattle hides for leather is, however, dependent upon peoples demand for beef as food.

Today it is estimated that at least half of the leather produced goes into the making of footwear, around 25 goes to upholstery. The other 10% is used for other leather goods and consumer products. The durability and comfort of leather has made it popular seating purposes. This includes use in the transportation industry, as well as, for home and office furniture.

The domestic leathers in modern day times are largely made from cow, calf, pig, and goat hides that are raised for food purposes. In earlier times leather was tanned from hides from deer, elk, bear and other wild animals that were hunted or trapped for the duel purpose of using the skins for clothing and the meat for food.

In todays market the upholstery of choice for fine home and office seating furniture is leather made from cow hides. Fine leather seats in the transportation industry are also highly desirable. This leather is readily available, is luxurious and supple as well as highly durable. These qualities satisfy the demands, and continues to be the material of choice for, not just the furniture industry, but the automotive, aviation, and pleasure water craft industries as well.

A fairly new market has opened up using wild and exotic animal leather for boots, belts, purses, and other personal accessories. This leather can be from the skins of mammals, sea animals, reptiles, and large birds. Just a few examples are water buffalo, elephant, lizzard, snake, alligator, eel, shark, and osterich. The cost of these items, depending on the size of the piece, can range from moderate to very expensive. Here again the laws of supply and demand determine price.

Look for my next article for tips on the maintance and care for your Harley and other motorcycle rider and biker leathers.