Material quality comparison - oz/yd2 vs kg/m3 - weight & density

[born113]

I have to make a reservation, as always. I don't want to offend anyone. I just don't understand one thing.

Why do almost all clothing sellers use one of the characteristics of the weight of fabric or leather? For me personally, this is absolutely useless information. I almost never know the thickness of the material. In those cases when the seller reports the thickness of the material, he does not report the mass of the product.

In the scientific world (and even in the school I went to as a child) there is International system of units. This system has a wonderful density characteristic. The density of all materials on Earth can be easily and quickly recognized by any person. And every person understands the difference between the density of a wooden door and a metal knife. But how many people fully understand the quality of leather or denim just by its ephemeral weight (oz/yd2)?

And here I have seen many times attempts to compare the quality of leather from different manufacturers. But I have never seen attempts to compare the density of the leather. But the hardness depends on the density, for example.

In short, for what reasons in the field of clothing no one uses the term and designation of the density of the material?

 

[torfjord]

I think part of the explanation for why we don't see more scientific ways of measuring density or weight at least comes down to tradition and convention. Leather and garment industries are oooooold and as such they have long traditions on how to measure things like thickness and density and mass.
For example, in the Swedish leather industry they still use feet to measure the size of a hide, even though Sweden has used the metric system since 1878. So the Swedish leather industry have had a 144 years to adopt the metric system to measure the size of their hides, still they are using square foot. Old conventions die hard.

 

[born113]

Old conventions die hard.

The metric system is not even necessary. I wrote about the essence of the phenomenon. Weight is different from density.

 

[El Marro]

Why do almost all clothing sellers use one of the characteristics of the weight of fabric or leather? For me personally, this is absolutely useless information. I almost never know the thickness of the material. In those cases when the seller reports the thickness of the material, he does not report the mass of the product.

I agree that all of this is confusing when you start learning about leather jackets. The way that most of us learn is by experience, purchasing various leather jackets in different weights and thicknesses. While this may not be a scientific way to learn about leather it certainly is an effective one.
One problem with the idea of using density as an absolute guide to understanding leather is the fact that the same leather tanned two different ways will have very different characteristics. Therefore I think buying and owning jackets is a better way to go if you want to know leather.

 

[torfjord]

The metric system is not even necessary. I wrote about the essence of the phenomenon. Weight is different from density.

Yes, weight and density and thickness are different things. For historical reasons the English speaking world are using a weight measurement (oz) to measure thickness whereas the rest of us are measuring thickness (of leather) in mm. But the the weight measurement isn't really measuring weight, it's measuring thickness.
I know this is all a different thing from measuring leather in square foot instead of using the metric system, but it illustrates the same principle in an area that I'm better acquinted with. Old conventions die hard.
Another example: the way keyboards are built, the QWERTY-standard, are not the optimal way to build a keyboard for speed. It comes from a time way before computers, and was constructed for mechanical typewriter machines and optimized for them so as to minimize the risk that the "legs" of the tangent would get entangled with eachother. There are better ways to design keyboards for writing speed, still we are using QWERTY-standard.

 

[Monitor]

In all of Europe, leather thickness is conveniently measured in millimetres. It greatly simplifies things because it is a measurement you actually visualize. Ounces, you can not.

 

[born113]

It turns out that there are leather sellers who indicate more significant data.
I saw at the same time the thickness and weight and temper (laughed for a long time).
By and large, "temper" is a characteristic (direct consequence) of density. But apparently most leather buyers simply do not know what density is. But it is not important. The main thing is that there are places in the world where there is more useful information.
This may be useful information for those who are not going to collect leather, but just want to find what they need easier.