Are you shopping for leather keychains? Leather keychains are classy gifts for employee appreciation events, bridal party gifts, and memorable milestones like retirement or the birth of a child. Leather keychains aren’t as expensive as other fine leather goods such as mens satchels, but still have a profound impact on the recipient.


However, if you want your leather keychains to be a reminder of the occasion you gave it for, you need to make sure it is made of genuine leather. Faux leather makers have gotten good at making products that look almost indistinguishable from the real deal, but in a matter of time they fall apart and become an embarrassment. Your best bet when shopping for leather keychains, especially in bulk, is to use a manufacturer with an established reputation for making quality leather goods. If you decide to go the independent route and use a boutique dealer for your leather purchase, make sure that you perform the following tests on them to ensure quality:


Four Ways to Distinguish Faux Leather From Genuine

1. Give it the sniff test.
   
   Real leather has an aroma that is impossible to replicate. When you put a genuine leather piece up to the ol’ sniffer, your mind is instantly transported to a cozy log cabin with a bear skin rug and a blazing fire. Instead of that warm musk that comes from genuine leather, when you smell faux leather, your mind’s eye will be transported to a hairspray factory. Or a place that makes goods with lots of chemicals. Because well, that’s what faux leather is. Chemicals.
2. Pay attention to the textures.
   
   Genuine leather has an organic texture that only God himself could create. You won’t see any repetition in the lines. You won’t see any geometric lines. The animal who made the leather wasn’t created in a factory with a press machine, as faux leather is. On the other hand, when you look at the texture of faux leather, you’ll find subtle details that clue you in on the fact that you’re looking at a fraud job. If you have the chance to look at more than one leather keychain from the same manufacturer, you’ll notice the texture on them is completely identical. This is impossible with genuine leather.
3. Fold it in half.
   
   Let’s address the elephant in the room: Real leather is the skin of an animal. Often a cow or bull. Cow skin was made to bend and fold freely, as the animal moves. On the other hand, fake leather does not have the same elasticity to bend that the real stuff has. If the product allows you to, fold it in half. If you see a crease mark, this is a red flag that your leather good is actually a leather bad. Because it’s a fake. Was that too corny?




4. Set it on fire.
   
   We recognize, there are about a million occasions that it is not appropriate to set a leather good on fire before you purchase it. However, if you’re about to purchase something in bulk (such as the leather keychains we mentioned), you could probably get away with doing this test. Put a small flame to the leather for just a moment and watch what happens. If the leather good get a slight blackened mark that can be buffed out, there’s a good chance you’re looking at the Real McCoy. On the other hand, if the item you’re inspecting melts like it’s plastic, well… that’s a good indication that the item you’re inspecting is actually made of plastic.

If you’re in the market for leather goods, good on you. Like they say, leather is the new gold. Someone says that at least, we’re confident of it. However, before you fork over the big bucks for a leather good, make sure it’s the real deal.


It’s not always easy to know if you are dealing with real or fake leather goods, especially if you’re purchasing from an independent supplier who doesn’t have a reputation you can rely on. Fakers are good at faking leather, but chances are, if it smells like real leather… if it has a natural texture like real leather… if it folds like real leather… and if it burns like real leather, then it is real leather!