[REVIEW] Radermecker Niagara vegtan leather
Have you heard of Radermecker and are thinking of trying their Niagara leather?
This review is just what you need!
What is Radermecker’s Niagara leather
Niagara leather is an aniline dyed vegetable tanned leather that has been given a special oil bath in order to fill it with oils and waxes. This gives it great water and tear resistances while making it great to work with.
Despite the oil bath, the look is clean and natural with rich colors throughout. This is full-grain leather, meaning that the surface of the leather has not been corrected and, as you can see, this means you can see the stretch marks from the animal's life on the leather.
I personally think this is a wonderful added character and shows how premium this leather is, though it is something you may want to take into consideration depending on your project.
We’re going to test this chocolate piece as I want to see how the color does in my testing.
Pro tip
Make the stretch marks an integral part of your build to add loads of character to the final piece!
Testing Radermecker’s Niagara vegtan Leather
I start by cutting a 5cm wide strip, that I will then cut into equal squares for my tests.
While playing with the 5cm wide strip it’s worth noting that the leather tends to bend more along the stretch marks though this does not change the quality or the color of the leather, even under a lot of forced bending.
I mark each square for later reference, one for water, one for oil, one for wax and one for a fold and scratch test.
I also keep one test reference piece that I’ll put aside for later comparison.
My test process
I always keep a reference “test” piece that will be used as a comparison piece after each test.
Water resistance
Starting with the water test I sprinkle a few drops on the leather and gently massage the water around.
Immediately you can see that the water is just dancing around the surface, with no visible penetration whatsoever.
After about a minute I wipe off the water to look at the leather underneath. It’s looking good, with only the tiniest hint of moisture penetration in the middle of the piece.
The water, after having been left for 5 minutes on the leather really has had no effect. If you look REALLY close you can MAYYYBE see some moisture spots, but these are minimal and will clear away fast without leaving a mark.
I also can’t see any change in color in this leather by Radermecker.
This is a very strong result and, with a light layer of protective wax on your piece I would imagine this leather to hold up very well against rain or spillages as long as you let it dry properly.
Oil stains
For the oil test I’m using 100% pure neatsfoot oil, a common product used in leatherwork.
As I spread this on I’m really not expecting much. If the water did next to nothing, oil is going to do even less… And as I’m spreading it on, I can instantly see that this won’t yield any results (a good thing in this case).
We’ll let it rest for 5 minutes also to give it as much chance as possible to penetrate this vegtan leather
The oil test yields similar results to the water test, with no trace of any oil having penetrated the Niagara leather. The color is intact and upon close inspection, the only indication that there was any oil whatsover is a slight extra shine.
Well done Radermecker!
Waxing the leather
For the wax test I’m using Saphir Medaille d’Or, another staple of the leatherworking industry, and apply a generous coat of wax to the piece. This too needs to be left to dry for a few minutes before we can buff the excess wax off the leather.
The main reason you would add wax here is to protect the leather further, bring back color and shine to an older piece of leather, or fill in possible scratches.
The wax has also not had any significant effect to Radermecker’s Niagara leather. The color remains the same (rich, deep and glorious) with only maybe a hint of extra depth to the leather. What you do see however is some extra shine when the light hits it juuuust right!
How does it fold?
The fold test is a great way to push leather to its limits, trying to see if any cracks or discoloration happen along the fold. As this is 1,2mm thick leather I would normally expect a slight bulge along the fold but am very pleased to report that I see neither cracks nor discoloration.
The leather is moderately soft and pliable and even under the worst stress conditions possible, we still can’t see any change!
I can only give this piece top marks here as this means that the pigments are deep within the leather and that the leather should last longer over time.
What about scratches?
Using a scratching tool and applying moderate to hard pressure, I try to scratch up the surface to see how fast I can get below the top layer of leather.
We’re looking here to see if the leather peels off or shreds into small particles indicating brittle or dry leather… Or, as it is here, if the leather remains whole despite the scratching.
Not bad at all, though the softness of the leather does mean it shows marks fast. One nice upside is that it buffs up well after the fact so I’m confident this leather will age beautifully, showing loads of patina and character with age.
Review conclusion - Niagara leather by Radermecker
So overall, what are my thoughts of this Niagara leather by Radermecker?
This leather really looks like it has everything you may be looking for in a good leather and I definitely could see myself using this again in the future. It’s silky soft to the touch and yet still nice and firm, tough with a nice hint of delicacy, and I really enjoyed working with this leather.
I recommend this to anyone in leatherwork and especially love the stretch marks you can see on the leather which I am certain will age in a unique and gorgeous manner.
Before this review I actually made a whole bag using this same leather in a different color and thickness. You can watch the video for that build along with the free PDF pattern for the bag right now in the video below!