As a finalisation of the Shell Cordovan topic (for those interested and like to understand the details).
Cordovan is actually the subcutaneous layer of muscle, which in horses is called the panniculus carnosus. Because cordovan is muscle and not skin, it has no granularity and no outer layer of skin. It is simply a thin fibrous muscle.
This is one of the reasons why cordovan can be hot tanned as opposed to fat tanned. This allows tanners to add many more fats and waxes to cordovan.
In addition to the additional fats and waxes in cordovan, another aspect plays an even greater role: the difference between skin and muscle.
Both skin and muscle are made up of protein chains that form long fibres (fibrils). But these proteins are different. Skin contains mostly collagen and protein proteins, whereas muscle contains mostly actins and myosins. The difference is that muscle fibres are much thinner than skin fibres. Collagen protein fibres are 80nm in diameter, whereas actin protein fibres are 8mm (10 times thinner). This is why cordovan looks so smooth.
Because cordovan fibrils are so thin (10 times thinner than cow leather), they retain oils and waxes much better.
These dense fibres are truly grain free, and resemble waxed leather, only with a much denser surface.
Worldwide, Shell Cordovan leather is only produced in a few countries around the world. The best known supplier of Cordovan is Horween, which is based in the northern United States and has been around for over a century. However, it has some lesser-known competitors: Conceria Maryam, The Tannery Cloe Srl, Comipel and Shell Cordovan/Rocado in Italy, Clayton Leather in the UK, Rocinante in Argentina, Shinki Hikaku and Redel Ogawa in Japan.
Cordovan pros:
Durability, wear resistance (all other things being equal, it is more durable than calfskin).
- Scratch-resistant (cordovan is more difficult to scratch than calfskin).
- Suitable for cold weather.
- Ease of maintenance.
- subjective plus can be considered the appearance (special “wavy” appearance of creases, specific lustre).
