Fish skin leather and method of making the same

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, the first preferred embodiment of a method of making a fish skin leather having vivid fish skin grains according to the this invention is shown to include steps 11 to step 16. The fish skin leather is prepared from a fish skin having a skin substrate 22 and scales 21 covering the skin substrate 22. Initially, in step 11, the fish skin with the scales 21 intact thereon is washed in running water to which bactericides are added so as to remove any dirt thereon (including blood and flesh attached to the skin substrate 22), followed by treatments using alkali and proteinase to disintegrate keratin and any flesh remaining on the fish skin, and chrome-tanning using a chromium salt.

[0020] At this stage, the tanned fish skin resulting from step 11 still has the scales 21 intact thereon (see FIG. 2). As such, ridges 23 (connective tissues of the dermis of the fish skin from which the scales 21 emerge and to which the scales 21 adhere) which present fish skin grains