How Is Shell Cordovan Made? Horween Leather Company Explains
Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль
★ Full article: stridewise.com/horween-shell-...
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If you're looking for the absolute highest quality material you can make a shoe from, the answer is just about always the same: shell cordovan. With at least six months of production time to create a material that can only be made from the quarters of a horse, the combination of scarcity, labor, time, and expertise all comes together to make shell cordovan. It's a leather - or a membrane, as some insist it should more rightfully be called - that is self shining, wrinkleproof, and incredibly durable. I went to the world's best makers of the stuff, Chicago's Horween Leather Company, to learn all the steps.
00:00 How is Cordovan made?
00:30 Hide inspection and trimming
01:20 Hair removal
01:37 Lime / pickle process
02:40 Vegetable tanning
03:50 Stuffing
05:05 Hand currying/smearing
06:04 Shell shaving
06:22 Inspection & trim
06:39 Finishing
07:25 Rolling the cordovan
08:02 Glazing
09:00 Final plating
09:25 Final grade/Quality control
#cordovan #leather #leathercraft
Пікірлер: 86
As someone who loves the aroma of shell, I can imagine how amazing it smells in there with the finished product
@jtee5957
10 ай бұрын
Mmmmm….pickled horse butt with beef grease!
@stevenkelby2169
10 ай бұрын
Some of the smells in a tannery are unpleasant...
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
You know some rooms didn't smell so great but overall it was a good smelling place, better than some other tanneries I've visited!
@frenettaoneal2482
10 ай бұрын
That place smells horrid
These factory tours are awesome.
@Stridewise
7 ай бұрын
well they get way fewer views than other videos so comments like this make me inordinately happy, thanks Tim!
Skip is a wealth of knowledge!
This video was awesome, really opened my eyes as to why leather is so expensive and how much care goes into the process. You convinced me, will be looking to get my first pair of shell cordovan boots later this year.
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I sent your comment to Horween to convince them that it was worth it showing me around all day :D thanks Patrick!
My favorite tannery. I have a leather jacket in natural horse hide leather and it's been a monster to break in, but it's looking awesome! I bought a shell cordovan leather from Ashland Leather for my son and it's an amazing piece. One day I'll get a pair of boots in shell cordovan
@davidmacy2252
10 ай бұрын
Shell cordovan wallet from Ashland leather
Wow, there is so much that goes into making Horween Shell Cordovan! Great video Nick!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Six months to make it!
Awesome, informative video Nick! 👍
Great video Nick, thank you for sharing.
That was fascinating. Thank you!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've learned so much from your videos, thanks!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I'm really grateful I can educate guys who care about this stuff like you Richard
I have a pair of dress shoes made with Horween number 8 shell. They are about 8 years old and still look almost new. Great shoes. Great leather.
Fantastic viewing Nick. Appreciate the process. Thank you
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Appreciate you dude, glad you luke it
Great video Nick
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
You must have loved seeing the birthplace of your Alden cordovan
I have a few items made with Horween shell and leather. They are all outstanding! My absolute favorite is my pastor of Alden tassel loafers in Horween shell #8. BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you. One of my favorite things in the world. Can't wear shoes made of any other type of leather.
@joshsher6327
Ай бұрын
Really? Good for you. You should travel to the third world. Lots kids walking the streets wearing nothing.
@HeavyProfessor
Ай бұрын
@@joshsher6327 what's that got to do with shell?
Another quality video 👍
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
worked hard on this one!
Amazing video!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Glad you think so!
Great stuff, I hope to someday own a pair of horween shell boots, love to see the process and all the history!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Heaps of Aldens and Allen Edmonds on eBay!
Fabulous! 😁 I thought your Crown Northampton video was good, but this one is definitely the best factory visit video so far. Really enjoyed watching that, thanks. 👍
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I need dedicated fans of my factory tours like you Darren, they never get many views but I'll never stop making them! Never!!!!
Now youknow why Cordovan leather is so expensive. It takes a lot of steps to make this leather. I have 3 pairs of boots and shoes that Horween Chromexcel leather and it wears and looks great...Thanks for the video Nick. It's nice to see how leather is made..
@JustClaude13
10 ай бұрын
It's also the scarcity. Shell cordovan is made from the connective tissue under the hide in the rump of a horse. As you might imagine, there isn't much total leather.
The Horween family are good folks. Their leather is fantastic!
Nick, this is a super cool video 😎
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Worked crazy hard on it, appreciate that dude
Very Impressive and Interesting, thanks for sharing!!!
@Stridewise
25 күн бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it, this was a lot of work!
Look at that sweet, delicious cordovan! Thanks for covering this, super interesting!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
This was a real privilege to film
Love the channel. Please, do a video on how to condition crazy horse boots. Thanks!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Where's your crazy horse from?
@franciscocribari
10 ай бұрын
@@Stridewise Thorogood, Dr Martens. Thanks.
Wow! That man is far too humble.
I have a question.. is there such thing as a shell cordovan in a suede texture??
Calidad y humildad
I have two pairs of shell Cordovan shoes. One in oxblood made by Alden and the other in black made by Allen Edmonds. I can say without a shadow of doubt that horween shell Cordovan is the best in the world. The patina that occurs after wearing and caring for the leather is absolutely phenomenal.
Where is the spalding official nba basketball video? You guys had to take it down? It was one of my favorite videos! :(((
My favorite leather!!!
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
What boots ya got with it?
I’ve tried all the shell available, Horween, Rocado, Maryam, Meermin, Rocinante, Novapel, Cloe, Shinki, Ogawa and Clayton. Horween takes the cake. I would say Novapel and Maryam are second.
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
No love for Shinki cordovan!!
That glass polisher machine was crazy! I've never seen anything like that.
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
i was worried it'd take my hand off (bad) and polish it to a high sheen (good)
Great video Nick! Would be good if you could describe the factory? Is it noisy? Does it smell? What is the temperature like? Is it hot, cold or humid?
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I like how you want more word pictures to illustrate the place. The air is fairly dry and the smell varies from room to room, but overall the smells were a lot more pleasant than people had led me to believe tanneries were like. I've been to tanneries in like Morocco that smelt awful but Horween was good!
That was fantastic! What does it smell like in the tannery?
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
Depends on the room, the bottom floors with the pickling and stuff didn't smell so good but overall it was pleasant, woodsy, leathery, like a cologne heh
Where are they getting hides from? I don't see horse meet around.
What do they do with all the waste? For example, the shavings and trimmings. Is horsebutt leatherboard more desirable/expensive than standard steerhide leatherboard?
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
A lot of tanneries give the shavings to cosmetics/supplement companies that make stuff from the collagen, I can't remember if Horween does too
@_bats_
10 ай бұрын
@@Stridewise oh interesting, that makes sense. I just wonder if there's a different use/more value in the horse leather scraps than the cow stuff. What about the hair? Is that where the hair for, say, horsehair brushes comes from?
Skip is the best.
What really annoy me is when looking intentionally on my Shell cordovan shoes when they're catching the light. there're so many thin small scratching lines from horsehair brush. Im quiet sure my brush is soft enough which I also use it with other calf leather shoes. Do you think that is normal? shoes are meant to be wearing, brushing and taking care. but with the price I paid for them I cant get my mind off that I also have ruined them. So sad.
Please tell me where/ how do you get so many horse butts?
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I just bring a shotgun down to the track
can they bottle up and sell the smell ? I will buy it
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
I should have scooped a vial of the hot stuffing liquid for you!
How many horses have to die?
Good viewing 😊. Host’s repeating the steps after each one is a bit 😅😅
Hmm so they may be able to decrease the time it takes to use the shell.
The intro say this is the best Shell Cordovan tannery in the US. At 6 odd minutes, showing a shaving machine, the operator is sharpening the blade while shaving. Any decent veg tanner will know this is an absolute no-no as it WILL result in iron stains on the leather due to the iron grindings.
Hey wait you forgot to add that if a person can’t afford shell then they shouldn’t even comment about it (check his comments about people who can’t afford Alden’s and this will make sense). 😂
I didn’t know Bill Murray knew how to make leather and has a tannery.
The world’s best leather… that’s not really leather… lol
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
mEmBRaNe
Wax on. Wax off. Wax. Wax off. Daniel Son.
@Stridewise
10 ай бұрын
hahah! shoulda made that joke
I love that they disagreed so many times