Shell cordovan is an equine leather made from the shell, a dense, fibrous layer under the hide on a horse's hindquarters. Horween® Leather Company in Chicago vegetable-tans it over about six months in roughly 100 steps, then hand-curries it with natural waxes, oils and greases. The result is a smooth, glassy leather that resists creasing, polishes itself with a brush and develops a deep patina over years of use.
By Phil Kalas
Shell cordovan at a glance
- What it is: an equine leather cut from the shell, the tight connective layer below the hide of a horse's hindquarters. All equine animals have a shell; horses, mules and zebras are examples.
- Who tans it: Horween® Leather Company, which has produced shell cordovan in Chicago since 1905.
- How it is made: tanned over about six months with natural, food-grade fats, oils, greases and waxes, in about 100 steps, most of them done by hand or on old-world machines.
- Size: each shell is roughly 2 square feet, where most side leather is 20 to 25 square feet.
- Thickness: usually 1mm to 3mm, and it varies within a single shell.
- Where you see it: high-end shoes, boots, belts, wallets and watch straps.
Shell Cordovan Is Self-Polishing
Shell cordovan is a self-polishing leather. The shells are hand-curried with a rich blend of natural waxes, oils and greases that come up to the surface over time.
All you need to do is brush the leather with a soft horsehair brush to bring back a bright shine. In the photo below, the shoe on the right has a dull, waxy look, and the shoe on the left is after brushing. No other product was applied. For more on brushing, see does brushing leather work?
See a Shell Cordovan wallet wear in
These images show a new wallet on Day 1 alongside the deeper patina on Day 1,000. Daily handling and regular brushing help bring up the shell's luster.
The Exceptional Patina of Shell Cordovan Leather
Naturally finished, aniline leathers like shell cordovan age with use. Vegetable-tanned leathers like these become darker and more golden brown with wear, and layers of luster start to build.
Curious to see the transformation? Watch this YouTube video showing dramatic patina after 8 years of use, or see more examples in extreme patina on Horween® shell cordovan.
What Makes Shell Cordovan Different From Other Leather?
- Extreme durability: the dense fiber structure resists creasing and pebbling, so the leather stays smooth and supple through years of regular use.
- Bright luster without a plastic top coat: the shine comes from within the leather, not from an artificial finish.
- Rich aroma: a warm, subtly sweet scent from the traditional vegetable tanning process.
- Patina: with wear, the color deepens and the luster becomes more complex.
- Smooth-as-glass feel: the tightly packed fibers give an exceptionally sleek surface.
- Self-polishing: natural oils in the leather minimize the look of minor scuffs with simple brushing.
Comparing it with Horween® Chromexcel®? See shell cordovan vs Chromexcel®.
When Dan and I first started handcrafting wallets, friends and family would ask us, "What is so special about this leather? I can buy a $20 wallet from a big box store. Leather is leather, right?"
Our answer was to give them a wallet and let them experience the difference. Most people:
- First noticed the bright luster and extremely smooth feel, then the distinct, leathery aroma of the shell cordovan. They immediately "got it."
- Still carry their wallet seven years later. After years of abuse, the leather holds up, and their wallets look better than the day they got them.
Shell cordovan owners do not replace their wallets every year (like the big box store wallet), because the leather keeps developing a deeper color and luster. Like a fine wine, shell cordovan gets better with each wearing.
Before and After
Below is a new natural shell cordovan Fat Herbie on the left. On the right is my friend's Fat Herbie in the same natural shell cordovan after five years of daily use.
Spanish Origins of Shell Cordovan Leather
The original cordovan tannage was pioneered in Cordoba, Spain by the Visigoths in the seventh century and was called cordoban.
In the early 19th century, the Germans picked up the cordoban process and, because of its bright mirror-like luster, coined the term "speigalware," which translates to "mirror goods" in English.
The Dutch and Germans refined the shell cordovan tanning process, and it came to the United States in the middle of the 19th century.
Coming to America
In 1905, Horween® Leather Co. started producing shell cordovan exclusively for razor strops. At the time, razor strops were very popular for honing and sharpening straight razors used for men's shaving.
With the popularization of Gillette's safety razor, including replaceable razors in 1901, most people moved away from straight razors and their strops. Horween® needed a new market for its shell cordovan.
The first obvious home was the existing shaving-goods industry. Charles Doppelt of MA Doppelt & Co. created the first men's toiletry kits in shell cordovan, which became known as the Dopp Kit.
Shell cordovan also found a home in many hats and hat brims. There were also shell cordovan sleeve garters, which let men adjust their sleeve length without a tailor. But the most popular use was still to come.
Popularization in Men's Dress Shoes
Around 1912, Florsheim began making men's shell cordovan dress shoes. The most popular color then was Color #4 (also called burnt cherry), a medium reddish brown that uses half the dye mix of today's popular Color #8.
Most industry in the early 1900s was local, and leather and footwear were no exception. Suppliers and manufacturers for the footwear industry sat close together in Chicago.
We theorize that Isadore Horween (a first-generation American and founder of the tannery) took a horse and buggy four miles across town from the tannery to the Florsheim factory at Pulaski and Belmont (the building is still there!) to show shell cordovan as a superior footwear leather.
Shell cordovan works exceptionally well for dress shoes because:
- Its vegetable tannage lets the shoe hold its shape and develop a great shine.
- The shell cordovan membrane is porous, even though people disagree about how breathable it is.
Arnold Horween Jr. (third-generation tanner) had a great way to show how porous the leather was: he blew smoke straight through it. Florsheim was a pioneer in shell cordovan footwear, and its shell cordovan dress shoes are still highly collectible.
Shell cordovan was used in boots made for officers in WWI. There is a remarkable framed letter from General Pershing hanging in Horween® Leather's offices.
Shell Cordovan Leather Today
More than 120 years after Horween® began tanning shell cordovan in Chicago, shell cordovan is still a favorite of the great footwear makers, including Alden, Allen Edmonds, Viberg, Crockett & Jones, Carmina, Church, Edward Green, Paraboot, Ludwig Reiter, Dinkelacker, Rancourt and many more.
At Ashland, we handcraft shell cordovan wallets, belts and accessories in our Chicago workshop. Browse the shell cordovan collection, or start with a classic like the Johnny the Fox in Black Shell Cordovan or the Fat Herbie in Black Shell Cordovan. To compare Shell Cordovan with Dublin and Chromexcel® in the same styles, browse every leather wallet we make for men.
Shell cordovan's appeal goes beyond footwear and wallets. We spent 15 months and more than 20 prototypes developing a bag from Horween® Black Shell Cordovan. See how our Shell Cordovan Sling Bag came together.
What customers say about Shell Cordovan
"Beautiful shell cordovan wallet. Ashland did not disappoint. Looks, feels, and smells great! Can't wait to see how it will patina over time."
Dain R.
"The shell cordovan Apple Watch band exceeds expectations as always. I think Ashland continues to make the best quality readily available leather products you can get anywhere."
Benjamin C.
"This is my second Johnny the Fox wallet purchase. I loved the first one so much I ordered a second one to have as a spare. I then ordered a custom Passport holder in the same Black and Teal combo because it looks amazing and your quality is simply the best available."
Michael F.
Shell Cordovan FAQs
What part of the horse does shell cordovan come from?
The shell is a dense layer of connective tissue under the hide on a horse's hindquarters. Tanners shave away the layers above and below it to expose the shell. In 1961, Ralph Horween illustrated how the shell sits between those layers like a sandwich (photo below).
Is shell cordovan the same as the color cordovan?
No. Shell cordovan is the leather. "Cordovan" as a color name usually means Color #8, a deep brown and burgundy shade that is the most ordered shell color, especially by footwear brands like Alden and Allen Edmonds. Horween® also makes shell in Black, Natural, Dark Cognac, Color #4 and other shades. For the full color story, read Cordovan: Classic Leather, Classic Color.
Why are light shell cordovan colors harder to make?
Every shell starts with a different base color because of the vegetable tanning and natural oils, which makes light colors especially hard to achieve.
How thick is shell cordovan?
Each shell is different, and thickness can vary dramatically within one shell. The normal range is 1mm to 3mm, depending on how far the tanner has to shave to expose the shell.
How do you care for shell cordovan?
Mostly by brushing. A soft horsehair brush brings the waxes and oils back to the surface and restores the shine. See our leather care collection for more.
Why is shell cordovan so expensive?
Each shell is small (about 2 square feet) and takes about 100 steps over six months to finish. We cover price and value in depth in Is Shell Cordovan Worth It?
Shell Cordovan versus Chromexcel® at a glance
| Feature | Shell Cordovan | Chromexcel® |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Dense shell beneath an equine hide | Steerhide |
| Tannage | Vegetable-tanned over about six months | Combination-tanned and hot-stuffed |
| Character | Dense, resists creasing, builds a glassy luster | Supple, with a rich pull-up |
| Care | Brush often; use Venetian Shoe Cream sparingly for polishing | Brush to move the waxes and oils; use Tanner's Blend sparingly when conditioning is needed |
Read the complete Shell Cordovan versus Chromexcel® comparison, or shop Shell Cordovan wallets.
Shell cordovan is one of several tannages we work with. See how it compares to the rest in our guide to Horween® leather, tanned six-tenths of a mile from our Chicago workshop.