Semi-finished hides and leathers

The ”Semi-Finished Hides and Leathers” category includes crust, pickled, wet-blue, wet-white and other semi-finished pelts and leather. The hide or leather may be referred to as “semi-finished” provided it has not yet passed all stages of leather manufacturing. Hides which have passed preparatory stages (beamhouse or pre-tanning operations) are called pickled. After the tanning, hides usually are in wet-blue or wet-white stage. After the process called crusting (hides are thinned, retanned, lubricated, and, if necessary, colored) wet-blue or wet-white hides turn into crust. Crust is not considered finished leather, nevertheless some of footwear, haberdashery, harness and saddlery producers often use crust instead of finished leather.