Analysis of leather surface test
Leather shoes are a common item in daily life, yet people often focus on the style or comfort of shoes while rarely considering the quality of the leather surface itself. In this article, we will take a closer look at leather shoes and their surface characteristics.
Leather shoes, commonly referred to as the “heel surface,” are the parts of the shoe that contact the ground. This area bears the main force during walking, due to body weight and frequent friction with the ground. As a result, the durability of the leather surface directly affects the shoe’s wear resistance, comfort, stability, and service life.
In recent years, poor wear resistance of leather shoes has become a frequent cause of problems such as uneven wear, sprains, and falls, especially affecting women’s high-heeled shoes. Consequently, when selecting shoes, wear resistance has become a critical factor, particularly for safety and long-term health.
Current Standards and Limitations
In China, the current standard for shoe heels is QB/T 3643-1999 “Leather Heel Surface”, which refers to the GB/T 3903.2-1994 “General Method for Footwear Wear Testing”. While these standards provide testing methods for wear resistance, they face practical limitations:
Certain materials, especially the surfaces of women’s shoes, may not produce visible wear marks during standard tests.
When wear marks do appear, they are often unclear or insufficiently defined, making quantitative analysis difficult.
As a result, these methods cannot accurately reflect the real-world wear performance of leather shoe surfaces, nor can they provide enterprises with reliable guidance for product development or quality control.
Industry Practices
To address these limitations, many companies have:
Developed their own testing methods for leather surface wear resistance.
Established internal corporate standards to evaluate shoe performance.
Designed specialized testing equipment to better simulate wear conditions.
However, this has led to a fragmented industry landscape:
Performance data for leather surfaces vary widely between companies.
There is no comparability of test results across manufacturers.
Buyers, quality regulators, and consumers face difficulties when evaluating products.
Instruments used for measuring wear resistance in the market are highly inconsistent in design and performance.
Instruments Required for Leather Surface Wear Testing
Testing the wear resistance of leather shoe surfaces requires specialized equipment to simulate real-world friction and load conditions. Since standard methods (QB/T 3643-1999 and GB/T 3903.2-1994) may not produce clear or quantitative wear results, companies often use the following types of instruments:
Leather Wear Testing Machine
Simulates repetitive friction between shoe heel and ground surfaces.
Can adjust load, speed, and number of cycles to replicate real walking conditions.
Produces measurable wear marks or abrasion depth for analysis.
Rotary Abrasion Tester
Designed for high-precision testing of small leather samples or finished shoes.
Rotates under controlled pressure against abrasive materials to evaluate durability.
Often used for women’s high-heeled shoes, where conventional methods fail.
Dynamic Friction Tester
Measures slip resistance and coefficient of friction between leather and floor materials.
Ensures shoes are not only durable but also safe during walking or running.
Microscope / 3D Surface Profilometer
Analyzes micro-wear patterns and surface roughness after testing.
Provides detailed quantitative data for research and quality control.
Custom Corporate Equipment
Some companies develop proprietary machines to replicate specific wear scenarios.
Examples include simulated stair walking, treadmill testing, or angled load for high heels.
By combining these instruments, manufacturers can obtain more accurate and quantitative data on leather shoe wear performance. This helps improve product design, enhance safety, and guide material selection for different shoe types.
2017-04-27 17:28