Tanneries ship leather against buyer specifications for strength, finish durability and colour fastness, and disputes are decided in the lab. Our leather testing instruments follow the established physical test methods. As leather testing instruments manufacturers in India and suppliers in India, we supply tanneries, export houses and leather research labs.
The range is grouped by property. Strength is tested on the universal machine with leather grips, and the lastometer measures grain crack and burst. Finish durability uses the Bally flexometer, Taber type abrader and crockmeter for rub fastness. Hide quality is described by the shrinkage temperature tester, softness tester and dial thickness gauge. Water behaviour is tested by the penetrometer and the vapour permeability tester.
A tannery lab usually combines the thickness gauge, tensile machine and flexometer, and adds the water and permeability tests when it supplies shoe uppers and upholstery.
Last updated: November 2026
Rotary platform abrader for wear of leather finishes. Used for upholstery and automotive seat leather. It measures how long the finish lasts on seats and bags before wearing through.
Rubbing tester that evaluates colour transfer from leather finishes to dry or wet felt. Used for upholstery, garment and footwear leather. Dry and wet rubbing helps reduce staining complaints on light fabrics and linings.
Flexometer that repeatedly flexes leather uppers to find cracking and finish damage. Used by shoe upper and leather goods makers. The test reveals whether the finish will crack in everyday wear of shoes and bags.
Measures grain crack and burst distension of leather by pushing a ball through a clamped specimen. Used for shoe upper leather. It judges how well the grain withstands lasting over a shoe last.
Measures the temperature at which leather shrinks in a heated water bath, indicating degree of tanning. Used in chrome and vegetable tanneries. The value tells tanners how well the hide was tanned and heat resistant.
Pressure indentation gauge that measures softness of leather as depression depth. Used for handfeel grading of garment and upholstery leather. The result supports grading and customer approval of upholstery and garments.
Universal tester with leather grips measuring tensile strength, elongation and double-edge tear load of leather. Used in tanneries and leather goods factories. It also supports quality checks on finished garment, belt and upholstery leather.
Dial gauge with a large presser foot for reading leather thickness at standard pressure. Used in tanneries for grading and ordering. Consistent foot pressure gives comparable results across hides and batches.
Tests how long leather resists water penetration under continuous flexing. Used for waterproof boots and gloves. Results help rank waterproofed leathers for boots, gloves and outdoor gear.
Cup method tester determining breathability of leather in mg per cm2 per hour. Used for shoe uppers and garment leather. Higher permeability shows better comfort for shoe linings and uppers.
| Function | Products | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Strength and distension | Leather Tensile and Tear Strength Testing Machine, Leather Lastometer Grain Crack and Burst Tester | Load cell capacity, grip type for leather, test speed and the lastometer ball and ring dimensions. |
| Finish durability | Leather Flexing Resistance Tester Bally Flexometer, Leather Abrasion Tester Taber Type, Leather Colour Fastness to Rubbing Crockmeter | Flexing speed and sample number, abrader wheel type and load, and felt and rub cycle specifications. |
| Hide quality | Leather Shrinkage Temperature Tester, Leather Softness Tester with Digital Display, Leather Thickness Gauge Dial Type with Constant Pressure | Temperature bath range and heating rate, softness gauge range and thickness gauge presser foot size. |
| Water behaviour | Leather Water Resistance Penetrometer Maeser Type, Leather Water Vapour Permeability Tester | Flex rate for penetrometer, cup size and conditioning for vapour permeability tests, and the standard method. |
Leather instruments test the hide material before it is cut and stitched, covering tensile, tear, flexing of finish, rub fastness, shrinkage and permeability. Footwear instruments test the made-up shoe, including sole wear, toe caps, slip and bond strength. Tanneries rely mainly on leather instruments, while shoe factories need both.
See also: Footwear Testing Instruments
The complete Leather Testing Instruments range (10 products), in alphabetical order:
Choose a machine with a load capacity to suit your strongest leather, often 1 kN to 5 kN, and a speed of 100 mm per minute as in ISO 3376. Check wide grips that do not cut or slip on leather, a tear fixture for ISO 3377 and software with reports. Dumbbell or strip cutters and a thickness gauge complete the set.
The Bally flexometer flexes leather samples folded in a jaw for thousands of cycles, and cracking of the finish is checked visually. ISO 5402 describes the method. Check the number of stations, cycle counter, stroke, and whether the machine holds samples at a defined temperature for dry or wet tests.
It pushes a steel ball through leather held in a clamp to find the distension at which the grain cracks and at which the hide bursts. Check ring and ball dimensions, measuring accuracy of the distension scale and lighting for observing the grain crack, as in ISO 3379 type tests.
Tanneries making shoe upper, garment, upholstery and goods leather, leather product exporters, shoe and bag factories with incoming inspection, synthetic leather producers benchmarking against hide and leather research and testing labs. A common starter set is the thickness gauge, tensile and tear tester, flexometer and crockmeter.
It is the temperature at which leather contracts when heated in water. It shows how well the hide has been tanned, with higher values meaning better stability for hot processing and use.
Dye can transfer to clothes and light surfaces when finish is weak. The crockmeter rubs a felt pad on the leather for set cycles, dry and wet, and the staining of the pad is rated on a grey scale.
It presses a probe into the leather and records the indentation produced by a standard pressure. Soft leather for gloves and garments gives a high reading, and firm shoe leather gives a low one.
Yes. We manufacture the instruments in India and ship across the country and overseas. Technical specifications for tenders are available, and installation and training can be arranged at your tannery or lab.
It shows how much moisture passes through leather in a given time, which relates to the wear comfort of shoes and garments. Cups with leather over a desiccant or water source are weighed over time.
As established manufacturers and suppliers for tender requirements from India, we undertake civil laboratory and industrial testing tenders as well as bulk and OEM supply of mechanical engineering and testing laboratory equipment. Please forward your tender specifications and our team will prepare a detailed quotation for Leather Testing Instruments.
Send us your equipment list or tender specification. We quote against IS, BS, EN, ASTM and AASHTO standards and ship to 90+ countries.
