A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology goatskin Leather manufactured from a number of varieties of goats, especially of the genus Capra.
Supplies are also available from the Far East.
Most goatskin for use in bookbinding is vegetable tanned, but some skins are alum tawed. Some skins are even tanned by a combination vegetable and chrome process. Goatskin is tougher and more tightly fibered than sheepskin, has a hard-wearing grain, and, when properly tanned, can last for centuries. It colors beautifully and has a distinctive texture identified by ridges and furrows in the grain, and hair pits in groups all over the surface. Straight-grained goatskin is produced by rolling damp skins until all the furrows in the grain run in the same direction, while crushed goatskins have had the ridges flattened by ironing, rolling or plating.