ISO/FDIS 23974-2

ISO/FDIS 23974-2 is an ISO draft international standard for grading raw or cured, trimmed red hair sheep skins. It specifies classification guidelines based on visually apparent defects, so people handling these skins can sort them consistently in inspection, buying, and quality control.

What does ISO/FDIS 23974-2 specify?

ISO/FDIS 23974-2 specifies how to classify red hair sheep skins by the defects that can be seen on the skin surface. The document covers raw or cured, trimmed skins and organizes the grading rules into defect categories, four grades, and a rejection rule.

Clause 4 groups faults and defects into six locations or causes, and Clause 5 turns those defect groups into grading criteria. Clause 6 gives the cases that lead to rejection.

What are the key requirements of ISO/FDIS 23974-2?

ISO/FDIS 23974-2 grades skins from first grade to fourth grade, then rejects skins that fall outside the accepted limits. In practice, the standard is a visual sorting rule: the grader checks where defects are located, how many there are, and how much of the skin they affect.

How the document groups defects

Clause 4 divides faults and defects into six groups:

• defects related to the health of the animal
• defects related to breeding conditions, such as brands
• defects from insects and parasites
• open or cicatrized wounds, whether caused on the living animal or during flaying
• preservation defects such as putrefaction, chemical stains, hair slip and red heat
• dirt such as dung, urine stains, sand and dust

This matters because the grader is not looking at defects as one single category. The location and origin of the defect affect which grade the skin can still receive.

What first grade means

Clause 5.2 sets the strictest grade. A first-grade red hair sheep skin has no visible defects in the central part, no sign of putrefaction, and should be free from dirt. Only one defect is accepted at the periphery, on the legs or tail, such as a few parasite defects, one branding mark, or one wound.

In practice, first grade is for skins with very limited surface damage, mainly outside the best central area.

What second and third grade allow

Clause 5.3 allows more defects on the shoulder or belly, in addition to defects already accepted at the periphery, legs and tail. Clause 5.4 extends acceptance further, allowing low or medium concentrations of defects in the best part of the skin, identified as the butt.

For a buyer or quality manager, these two grades show how far defects may spread before the skin drops into a lower commercial class. The document uses both defect type and body location to set that limit.

What fourth grade means

Clause 5.5 accepts defects in low or medium concentration over the skin, as long as they do not cover more than 40 % of the total skin area.

This is the broadest usable grade before rejection. It gives a clear area limit, so graders can judge whether a damaged skin still belongs in the fourth grade.

When skins are rejected

Clause 6 rejects skins that exceed the fourth-grade allowance or where more than 50 % of the area cannot be processed into leather. It also rejects fallen skins, untrimmed or poorly trimmed skins, ground and ball dried skins, and smoked skins.

For users, this means rejection can result either from excessive defect levels or from a preparation condition that makes the skin unsuitable for normal leather processing.

Who uses ISO/FDIS 23974-2?

ISO/FDIS 23974-2 is used by people who inspect, grade, buy, or receive red hair sheep skins in the leather chain. That includes graders, tannery staff, traders, and quality teams who need a shared visual basis for acceptance and price class decisions.

What does the ISO/FDIS 23974-2 document contain?

ISO/FDIS 23974-2 is a short grading document rather than a test-method standard. It contains a scope, a defect classification in Clause 4, grading rules in Clause 5, and rejection criteria in Clause 6.

The content is practical and inspection-oriented. It focuses on where defects appear on the skin - central part, periphery, legs, tail, shoulder, belly and butt - and how those locations affect grade.

The document also uses descriptive lists for defect types such as disease-related marks, parasite damage, branding, wounds, preservation defects, and dirt. That structure helps users apply the same visual grading logic during receiving, sorting, and commercial evaluation.