Horween® leather. Ashland craft.
Horween® leather. Ashland craft.
Horween® is the Chicago tannery that's made some of the world's finest leathers since 1905. Ashland handcrafts every wallet and belt we sell from Horween® hides, six-tenths of a mile from the tannery floor.
Horween® bestsellers
Shell Cordovan, Dublin, Cypress, and Latigo. Handcrafted in Chicago.
From the tannery floor to our bench
Horween® Shell Cordovan spends about six months in drums, oils, and hands on the tannery floor before the leather reaches our bench. Then we cut and build it in Chicago.
Photographed on the Horween® tannery floor, Chicago. Ashland is six-tenths of a mile away.
Handcrafted in Chicago. Guaranteed for Life.
Shell Cordovan
An equine leather cut from the shell, vegetable-tanned at Horween® over roughly six months. It's naturally aniline-finished and self-polishing, with a dense fiber structure that builds luster instead of creasing.
Shop Shell Cordovan
Johnny the Fox
Our best-selling bifold, named for Johnny Torrio, the Chicago strategist who got sharper with age. Built in Dublin, Chromexcel, Cypress, and Shell Cordovan, so you can pick the leather before you pick the color.
Shop Johnny the FoxWhat is Horween® leather?
Horween® leather is full-grain leather tanned in Chicago since 1905, using traditional processes that run from weeks to months per hide depending on the leather. Ashland Leather handcrafts every wallet, belt, and accessory we sell from Horween® hides, most often Shell Cordovan, Dublin, Chromexcel, Cypress, and Latigo.
Each of those is a different tannage built for a different job. The map below is the short version: what the leather is, what it's best at, and how it changes once you start carrying it.
The Horween® tannage map
Five leathers, five different jobs. Every one of them is full grain, tanned in Chicago, and none of them are waterproof.
Shell Cordovan
Equine leather cut from the shell, the flat muscle beneath the hide of a horse's hindquarter. Vegetable-tanned at Horween® over roughly six months across about a hundred mostly manual steps, then hand-curried with waxes and oils so it polishes itself. A horsehair brush brings the shine back. No polish required.
Best for: wallets and small goods handled every single day. How it ages: the dense fiber structure rolls rather than creases, and the tone deepens while layers of luster build on top of each other. It is the most prized aging of any leather we use.
Shop Shell Cordovan →Dublin
Full-grain cowhide with real kinship to Shell Cordovan: it's vegetable-tanned with the same tree-bark extract blend. A hard wax finish sits on the grain, which is where the pull-up comes from. Flex it and the color shifts at the bend.
Best for: everyday wallets and belts you want to look lived-in fast. How it ages: breaks in quickly, softens at the folds, and matures into a rich, marked-up surface that reads as history rather than damage.
Shop Dublin →Chromexcel (CXL)
The most famous leather from Horween®, combination-tanned with a chrome base and a heavy vegetable retan across 89 or more processes and about 28 working days. It's hot-stuffed, meaning it's packed with oils, waxes, and greases that are solid at room temperature, then hand-rubbed with aniline coats and finished with neatsfoot oil.
Best for: wallets, bags, and belts that take real daily wear. How it ages: soft, supple, and full of pull-up from day one. It's water-resistant, not waterproof.
Shop Chromexcel →Cypress
The newest and most durable finish from Horween®. Combination-tanned with a heavy vegetable retannage, fat liquored in the drum so the oils soak deep, mechanically dried into a compact structure, then stained and finished with waxes ironed into the grain.
Best for: everyday carry with zero care routine. No conditioning, no buffing. How it ages: the self-healing wax finish melts scratches and wear marks back into the surface while the leather still builds a distinctive patina.
Shop Cypress →Latigo
A tough, structured full-grain leather with roots in saddlery and tack. Combination-tanned, aniline-finished, and hot-stuffed with rich waxes and a proprietary oil emulsion. Thicker and firmer than Chromexcel, with a tight, consistent grain that shrugs off scuffs.
Best for: belts like the Bucktown, watch straps, and heavy-duty bags. How it ages: firm temper means it molds to you and holds its shape instead of stretching out, and it builds a deep patina as it goes.
Shop Horween® Belts →Not sure yet?
If you want the finest leather made and you're willing to look after it, buy Shell Cordovan. If you want character fast, buy Dublin or Chromexcel. If you never want to think about care again, buy Cypress. If it's going around your waist, buy Latigo.
Still deciding? Every leather above shows up across the wallet lineup, so the easiest path is to browse the wallets and filter by the leather you like the look of.
Shop All Wallets →Shell Cordovan vs. Chromexcel: which should you buy?
These two account for most of the questions we get, and they sit at opposite ends of the same catalog. Here's the short commercial answer.
Shell Cordovan is the one people save up for. It takes six months to tan, supply never quite meets demand, and it rewards patience with a luster nothing else matches. Chromexcel is the one people carry hard and love faster, because the oils and waxes give it character the first week you own it.
Neither is waterproof. Both are guaranteed for life against the stitching and leather coming apart under normal use. Read the longer story on the blog, or start with Shell Cordovan and Chromexcel.
Shop Horween® by leather
Caring for Horween® leather
Condition occasionally with a leather-safe conditioner, not on a rigid schedule. Shell Cordovan usually needs nothing more than a horsehair brush, since the waxes curried into it rise to the surface on their own. Cypress needs nothing at all. Chromexcel, Dublin, and Latigo take a light conditioning when they start to look thirsty.
Water-resistant is not waterproof. If a piece gets wet, wipe it off and let it air dry away from direct heat. Darkening, patina, and surface character are what a good leather does as it ages, not defects.
Phil & Dan, off the tannery floor
Phil Kalas and Dan Cordova met working at Horween® Leather before starting Ashland in Chicago in 2011. Both learned the trade tanning the same Shell Cordovan, Chromexcel, and Dublin leathers Ashland still uses today. Every piece is handcrafted six-tenths of a mile from that tannery, by people who understand the material from the hide up.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Shell Cordovan and Chromexcel?
Shell Cordovan is equine leather cut from the shell, vegetable-tanned at Horween® over roughly six months, and it polishes itself to a deep luster that builds over years. Chromexcel is combination-tanned steer hide, hot-stuffed with oils and waxes, and known for pull-up that gives it a worn-in look within weeks. Shell is the heirloom choice. Chromexcel is the carry-hard choice.
Which Horween® leather needs the least care?
Cypress. It's finished with waxes ironed into the grain in a self-healing formula that blends scratches and wear marks back into the surface, so it asks for no conditioning and no buffing while still building a patina.
Is Horween® leather waterproof?
No. No leather we use is waterproof. Chromexcel, Latigo, and Cypress are water-resistant thanks to the oils and waxes worked into them during tanning, but none of them are meant for submersion or sustained rain. Wipe a wet piece off and let it air dry away from direct heat.
Which Horween® leather is best for a belt?
Latigo. It's thicker and firmer than Chromexcel with a tight, scuff-resistant grain, so it molds to you and holds its shape instead of stretching out. That's what our Bucktown Belt is built from. Shell Cordovan belts are also available for anyone who wants the crown jewel around their waist.
Where is Horween® leather made, and where is Ashland?
Horween® has tanned leather in Chicago since 1905. Ashland Leather is handcrafted in Chicago six-tenths of a mile from that tannery floor, by two founders who both started out working there.