Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

Unit 2. Sampling
2.1. Objective
The aim of the sampling operation is the obtainment of a small-sized sample representative for the
composition and properties of the batch that has to be analysed.
Sampling is an essential part of the analytic process.

Sampling practice involves the determination of two questions:

a) How many leathers will be taken from the target batch?
b) What area of the leather the samples have to be taken from?

2.2. Number of leathers to analyse from the batch

Economic issues play an important role in the layout of the sampling.

The cost of physical tests will be directly proportional to the number of samples taken.

There is a reduction of area yield in leathers from which a sample has been taken. Depending on
the region of the leather and its commercial destination, this may involve the downgrading of the
entire piece of leather.

Considering what has been mentioned, sampling has to be carried out using the least amount of
leather possible. However, an insufficient sampling may render the results useless as they may not
be representative for the batch of leathers under examination.

Criteria to follow

Degree of homogeneity of the batch of leathers.

Random selection

ISO methods and standards

IUP IUC Standards

The number of samples is not considered in standards IUP2 - IUC2.

ISO 2588:2014 - IUF 110 standard "Leather Sampling - Number of items for a gross sample

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

This ISO standard, which is not yet official, recommends the minimum number of items in a gross
sample to form a gross sample:
The standard acknowledges that those parties involved may have an agreement to use a different
sampling method.
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply:
Lot (or batch): Quantity of some commodity manufactured or produced under conditions which
are presumed uniform.
Gross sample: Number of items collected as a sample from a lot.
Item: Whole piece of leather that belongs to the gross sample.

Number of leathers in lot

Non-destructive testing

Destructive testing

1 10

11 50

51 100

101 500

> 500

10

Table for determining the minimum number of items (ISO 2588:2014)

ASTM D 2813-91 standard "Sampling leather for Physical and Chemical Test"
This standard serves to regulate the minimum number of leathers that have to be taken for the
sampling of a batch of leather produced goods.

Number of elements from

the batch

Number of samples to
be taken

50 or less

From 51 to 500

From 501 to 3200

More than 3201

Table 9. Sampling of a batch of leather produced goods according to ASTM

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

2.3. Location of sampling on the leather

Objective:
Determine the region of the leather from which samples have to be taken for the results to be
comparable and reproducible.

Problem:
Leather has an irregular fibrous structure, presenting difference in compactness and in the order
and orientation of the fibre packages. With this in mind, both the physical and chemical properties
of leather vary considerably across its different regions. Hence, there are differences higher than
200% in mechanical resistances and in elongation in certain areas between the belly and butt. In
addition, the value of certain physical parameters varies in accordance with the direction
considered.
There are preferential directions tension lines- along which a larger amount of fibre packages.
These preferential directions are different near the backbone than in the bellies.
The National Bureau of Standards of USA (N.B.S.) carried out a study of the topographical
distribution of the physical-chemical properties of leather. In this study, the bovine sides analysed
were split into 21 different sections, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Location of sample taking according to the N.B.S. study.

As an example of the high degree of variability of physical test results according to different
sampling areas, Figure 2 is a summary of the values obtained for the tear resistance measured
following the ALCA E10 method. For other properties, read the original paper.

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

Figure 2. Differences in Tear Resistance in different areas of the hide.

Conclusions obtained for sampling for physical tests

Location
1.

There is a strong dependency of physical tests results with regard to the location of the
sampling.

2.

With the object of sampling, leather may be considered to comprise two symmetrical
pieces, two sides. The properties of the sides on those points placed symmetrically
regarding the backbone are approximately the same.

3.

The topographical distribution of the physical properties is different for each of the
properties (For instance, tear resistance has a different distribution of grain resistance).

4.

The topographical distribution of the physical properties is essentially the same in all the
leathers of the same animal species.

Directionality
1.

The results of the physical tests tensile strength and tear resistance depend on the direction
of the test pieces.

Generally, when taken near the backbone, the test pieces cut in parallel to the backbone give
tensile strength values higher than those cut in perpendicular. But this is not the case in other
regions of the leather.

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

Variation of the chemical composition with regard to sample taking

Table 10 shows the averaged percentages of chemical analysis carried out by a N.B.S. study on
four chrome tanned ox hides that were subsequently strongly vegetable retanned.
21 different samples were taken from each of the leathers and from the same regions indicated in
Figure 1.

pH

Humidity/
leather subst.
ratio

Cr2O3 / leather
subst. ratio

10.4

3.0

0.245

0.055

27.8

10.9

3.0

0.236

0.053

3.10

26.5

11.2

3.0

0.230

0.053

2.60

3.12

26.4

11.2

3.0

0.227

0.053

49.4

2.65

3.15

26.1

11.2

3.0

0.227

0.054

52.1

2.78

3.30

22.7

11.7

3.0

0.225

0.053

52.2

2.82

3.32

20.9

11.8

3.0

0.226

0.054

11

45.4

2.42

2.92

29.3

10.5

3.0

0.231

0.053

12

47.1

2.45

2.92

28.4

10.7

3.0

0.227

0.052

13

48.6

2.55

3.00

27.2

10.9

3.0

0.223

0.052

14

47.3

2.48

3.00

28.7

10.6

3.0

0.223

0.052

15

46.6

2.48

2.95

29.0

10.5

3.0

0.225

0.053

16

50.2

2.68

3.12

25.4

11.2

3.0

0.223

0.053

17

48.6

2.65

3.15

25.2

11.1

3.0

0.228

0.055

21

42.1

2.25

2.68

33.2

9.7

3.0

0.230

0.053

22

42.9

2.30

2.72

32.4

10.0

3.0

0.233

0.054

23

45.6

2.35

2.78

30.9

10.2

3.0

0.224

0.052

24

44.2

2.32

2.70

31.8

9.8

3.0

0.222

0.052

25

43.5

2.25

2.72

32.3

9.7

3.0

0.223

0.052

26

41.8

2.30

2.75

33.2

9.4

3.0

0.225

0.055

27

44.3

2.30

2.85

31.4

9.9

3.0

0.223

0.052

CV %

6.8

7.0

6.6

12.0

6.4

0.0

2.4

2.0

Sample

Leather
subst. %)

Cr2O3

Total ash

Fat

Humidity

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

42.4

2.32

2.85

30.7

46.2

2.45

2.98

48.7

2.58

49.4

Table 10. Topographic variation of the concentration of certain chemical components of leather
according to the study of the National Bureau of Standards.

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

Conclusions on sampling regarding chemical analyses

Depending on the location, fat content varies considerably. In addition, contents in leather
substance and chromium oxide are also subjected to a fairly high variation. Nonetheless, the
results are far less scattered than in the physical tests, and certain parameters such as pH,
chromium/leather substance ratio or humidity/leather substance quotient are practically constant.
The significance of these results is that the sampling for chemical analyses will have to be carried
out in accordance with a standardised procedure if it is desirable to obtain maximum reproducibility
of the results, although the variability caused by a non-systematic sampling regarding certain
parameters is not very high.

2.4. Standardisation of sampling

Most national standards replicate the contents of standards IUP 2 - IUC 2. These standards
describe the sampling for the performance of physical tests and chemical analyses.

Example 1. Sampling of whole leathers

Given the importance of complying with a correct sample taking, next is an adaptation of IUP 2-IUC 2
standards.

Figure 3- IUC2/IUP2. Representation of a hide or skin with the head removed showing sampling location
for whole hides, skins and sides.

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Master in Leather Engineering

Testing in the Leather Industry

Unit 2

B:

root of the tail.

A:

point of backbone, so that CA = 2AB.

AD:

line perpendicular to BC.

F:

middle point of AD.

AE =

50 mm 5 mm

JK =

EF

GE =

EH

Lines GH and JK are parallel to BC.

As for small skins, the distances EF and JK can be shorter than the length required for a single sample.
When sampling small skins, it is necessary to modify the method of sampling using the minimum
deviation from this procedure.

For sampling in bends, butts, shoulders, and bellies: please read the original Book in Spanish, or
look for the Standard IUC2/IUP 2.

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Master in Leather Engineering