Leather Texture: large grain vs small grain?

[similarmindz]

Hi everyone! My handbag is made from top grain leather, and I understand differences in leather texture is normal. I noticed my handbag has panels with distinctly different leather textures.

Can you help me understand why there’s a drastic difference in these two leather textures? The left pic has larger grains (pebbles? not sure if that’s the correct terminology) whereas the right picture has smoother leather. Both textures feel soft, however the larger grains look slouchier.

thanks for any help you can provide! I have been racking my head trying to figure this out.

Is it the age of the leather?? Which is more preferable/durable?

 

[jellyv]

The reason is that the bag wasn't subjected to the kind of quality control that would have assured consistency in the grain. There could have been several batches of leather available, and care should have been taken to match it up.

Quality wise, several factors matter, but a given size of grain isn't inherently better or worse. Realize that this grain is, in many products, added to the hide by an etching process rather than originating in the hide.