There's not much you can do, that's the nature of that particular hide. Typically the more 'finished' the leather is, the more it can make those movement squeaking noises. The very first recliner I bought (my 1987 Hancock and Moore) is like that and it still does it today, 21 years later (yes, it can be irritating). I learned the hard way as well. Its not going to break-in or go away, sorry. You can try a little leather conditioner on the friction points, which is where the seat cushion contacts the inner arm. I've experimented with this and it does help some, but of course you have to remember to re-apply periodically. I now buy finer hides for my own personal use on motion furniture and with less topcoating they stay quiet and supple. In all the years I've been selling leather, I find two axioms on customer purchasers to be fairly constant. 1) Most people are very apprehensive to buy the finer 'unprotected' hides for fear they will soil and stain excessively (my experience with them in my own home with my own kids shows that to be not as much an issue as most people think it is). 2) The vast majority of customer (probably 90%) buy on price, and stay in the less expensive leathers which are finished / stiffer / squeakier. -Duane Collie

Leathercraft makes a premium product, one of the best in the business. Yes, you have to purchase from an authorized dealer and cannot buy factory direct. Have you called Leathercraft direct for a list of dealers where you live? As for hides to select, that depends on the typical variables of Price/Usage/Lifetyle/Hand/Color. One of my personal favorites is the Hampton series, a Class 3 Aniline hide they source from Germany. I am a Leathercraft dealer and have their product in my own home as well. Feel free to ping me off list if I can help you further with any questions. -Duane Collie

Did more research (bradington-young) and am corn-fused. Yeah, I want leather, however, it too is vulnerable to wear, tear, fading, etc., and I'm including the pure aniline leather (top grade) which is not recommended for animals, stains from spills, etc. I will be using the sofa everyday and evening. SOOO here's the question: To fabric or not to fabric (recliner) sofa? My biggest concern is spill-staining as I have friends who are professional klutzes and drop/spill/break is their middle name...me 2! This probably sounds nutz but so far all my decisions on my remodeling have been spot-on and so it goes for the sofa & chairs. Just thought I'd throw this out there and the last thing I wanna do is go on a tangent but that's how things get distilled for me. Thanks everybody for the great feedback so far and by far this site seems to have the best information. Price is a consideration. Am willing to spend up to $2k for the sofa and about $800 per chair. If you're going to recommend a fabric, a little explanation would help. J/L

If you paid $ 7K for a B-Y sofa, someone took you to the cleaners and back again. You overpaid by double for any sofa in the line. I've been a B-Y dealer for over 30 years, and quite honestly there's a lot of bad information in the above threads. I have very few issues with B-Y, it's made in the USA and they back their product well. While its not at the level of Hancock and Moore, it's not H&M price points, either. Most people don't know this, but the single largest cost in making a leather sofa is the hide itself, and B-Y uses good leathers, same as Hancock and Moore. The second largest cost factor is the foam (not the frame as everything thinks). Here's where premium lines like H&M excel, they use the best foam and lots of it in places where B-Y skimps, the back panels, side panels, arm caps, etc. Third is the frame, B-Y is an all-plywood line, H&M is a mix of plywoods in motion pieces, and still uses solid hardwood in stationary. Finally labor, and here H&M does detail tailoring that you won't find on B-Y, not even close. Myself? I buy Hancock and Moore for my home. If you are buying leather motion furniture, the most important elements for longevity are the quality of the leather itself (should be all top-grain, no bonded, no bi-cast, no splits, no vinyl combos) and the mechanism itself. Mechs should only be either Leggett and Platt or Ultra-Mek, and both are marked with a label on the mechanism itself when you extend it. Here's what their labels look like on the mechs, the L&P label is the lower one. .