Calfskin, Goatskin, Q & AJ. MARK BERTRAND26 Comments

Leather Smackdown: Goat vs. Calf

Calfskin, Goatskin, Q & AJ. MARK BERTRAND26 Comments

Q. Which is better, goatskin or calfskin?

It depends on which examples of goatskin and calfskin you're talking about. The Nelson calf is a soft, matte-finish calfskin, incredibly flexible. If you read my piece about the Nelson Signature KJV, you'll get more of my thoughts on that. Cambridge calfskin back in the 90s was a very different animal, something supple, sometimes stiff, but never matte and never soft. It had a more structured, traditional look than the dressed down Nelson approach. 

A lot depends on whether the leather has a stamped grain. The stamping process apparently uses heat, which results in a stiffer leather, which is why a mid-grain goatskin cover from R. L. Allan's isn't as limp as the highland goatskin (which has natural grain). Allan's bindings will have a more traditional, put-together appearance than the Nelson look.

In terms of longevity, I'm not sure whether there's an advantage choosing calf over goat or vice versa. The differences are probably more in the realm of aesthetics. Because goatskin tends to cost more, people think of it as a step up from calfskin, but I've seen calfskin covers I've preferred to goatskin (and vice versa). There are more factors in play, in other words, than just the type of leather.

I'm not even going to mention the so-called exotics.

Having said this, I'm the first to admit I'm no expert on leather. Also, I'm not a leather snob. Goatskin, calfskin, pigskin -- I like them all. I only turn my nose up at mystery leather, the stuff that doesn't specify its origin. So I have no use for "genuine leather" as a label.

I'd be interested in what other people think about the hierarchy of leather. What do you prefer and why? Have you experienced differences in longevity with one over the others? 

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.