Comparative Studies of Physical-Mechanical Properties of Noble Furs

The current work aims to highlight the structural differences of noble furs, more precisely of nutria fur and nutriette fur, especially following their behavior in various physical-mechanical analyzes. Noble furs have always had a special role in people's lives, over time the mankind crossed the seas and continents in search of the precious furs (noble furs). Since the 17th century, noble furs have been so appreciated that they have been used in certain geographical areas instead of money. In the past, noble furs were used only by those with a very good financial situation, but nowadays, noble furs are used on a large scale to make clothes, collars, and hats. The main purpose of this article is, therefore, to determine which of the two noble furs has superior physical and mechanical qualities. The reason why these two furs were chosen was that one is believed to be an imitation of the other on the market. The two types of fur were carefully analyzed by subjecting them to different types of physical-mechanical tests, the most relevant being: “Determination of tensile strength and percentage elongation”, “Determination of tear strength”, “Determination of shrinkage index”, “Resistance at plucking the fur”. All the tests were performed according to actual standards in ICPI accredited laboratory. The obtained results showed that although the two noble furs seem similar at first sight, the original has a superior quality, but also nutriette fur has proven to have some appreciable physical-mechanical properties.