Leather-like sheet and process for producing the same

A leather-like sheet which comprises a microfine long-fiber nonwoven fabric comprising an entangled web structure comprising bundles of microfine long fibers and an elastic polymer impregnated in the microfine long-fiber nonwoven fabric, wherein

• (1) each of the bundles of microfine long fibers comprises 5 to 70 microfine long fibers having an average single fiber fineness of 0.5 dtex or less;
• (2) the bundles of microfine long fibers have an average fineness of 3 dtex or less;
• (3) the entangled web structure comprises superposed webs, wherein the superposed webs comprise a long-fiber web obtained from composite fibers by a spun-bonding method, wherein the composite fibers are capable of converting into the bundles of microfine long fibers, and wherein each of the superposed webs comprises the bundles of microfine long fibers;
• (4) a web orientation angle in the leather-like sheet is 73° or more, wherein the web orientation angle in the leather-like sheet is the web orientation angle at least after an entangled treatment and a microfine-fiberization;
• (5) a ratio of the microfine long fibers and the elastic polymer is 70/30 to 40/60 by mass;
• (6) the elastic polymer is substantially continuous;
• (7) the leather-like sheet comprises an oil agent in an amount of 0.1 to 10 mass % on the basis of the leather-like sheet;
• and
• (8) a machine direction/transverse direction ratio of breaking strength is 1/1 to 1.3/1, an elongation at break in each of the machine direction and the transverse direction is 80% or more, and a machine direction/transverse direction ratio of elongation at break is 1/1 to 1/1.5,
• and wherein the leather-like sheet satisfies the following properties (i) to (viii):
• A1≦40% (i)
• B1≦15% (ii)
• 10%≦A1−B1≦30% (iii)
• A10≦40% (iv)
• B10≦15% (v)
• 10%≦A10−B10≦30% (vi)
• A10−A1≦9% (vii)
• B10−B1≦4% (viii)
• wherein A1 is an elongation obtained by the following expression:
• (length under load−initial length)/(initial length)×100
• wherein the length under load is a length of the leather-like sheet when a load of 8 kg/2.5 cm is put at a lower end of the leather-like sheet held vertically;
• B1 is an elongation obtained by the following expression after unloading:
• (length after unloading−initial length)/(initial length)×100;
• A10 is an elongation when loaded after repeating a loading/unloading operation 9 times and obtained by the same manner as in A1;
• and
• B10 is an elongation after repeating the loading/unloading operation 10 times and obtained by the same manner as in B1.