When talking about what makes a full grain leather piece of furniture better versus a piece, let’s say, top grain leather it really comes down to the basic difference of durability and quality.
Durability of a piece of full grain leather furniture comes is evident when you hold respective swatches of both full grain and top grain leather. Full grain leather is thick and usually is the same thickness of the cowhide where it came from and top grain is a shaved piece, almost like a piece of turkey from the deli, of leather that is thinner in nature. Your full grain furniture is less pliable and more resistant to constant use whereas top grain will wear and tear more easily simply because the leather is thinner and more at risk of puncture or damaging.
With regard to quality there is no equal. Holding a piece of full grain leather and top grain leather you’ll notice how much more substantial the full grain leather is and, as a result, the quality of any furniture made from it is unsurpassed. The thickness helps the longevity of whatever it is eventually made into as the hide acts like a shield against most any external threat against it, be it dirt, grime, spills, or the occasional key that’s left in the back pocket and then pushed into the cushion of an unsuspecting leather seat. Most other fabrics would puncture, tear or rip depending on their quality but a
full grain leather piece endures simply by its inherent impenetrability to most threats.
Make no mistake, though, that the sofas, recliners, stools, what have you, that are made from full grain leather will cost you a little more than a piece manufactured from thinner top grain leather but what you’re making up in price you are giving up in the opportunity to have a piece of furniture that is poised to last years and years longer than its thinner made cousins. When it comes to top of the line, the choice certainly isn’t top grain, it’s full.