It's actually more prone to tearing due to low tensile strength but it's the most durable after it's been lasted. Per Nick Horween on Ashland's podcast
Awesome to see the factory 0:40 I love my Carminas! I have 5 pairs, one of them in shell, a PTB and it’s one of my favs. Shell is incredible for its shine, it’s deep complex color, and the lack of creasing, and low low maintenance. Thanks! (That long wing in emerald shell 1:46 😍)
In my experience the durability of shell cordovan is a bit overstated. Shell will scuff, scratch and split if treated poorly. Just look at used shell shoes on eBay. It is true that you can recover from some rather bad looking abrasions with shell but it is not bulletproof. The Achilles heel with a lot of shell is water. Uncoated shell that is exposed to a significant amount of water, say in a storm, will develop water spots that are very hard to remove. The material's pores will swell creating raised spots that can take days to weeks to return to normal if at all. I generally don't get my cordovan shoes wet for that reason. I see this a lot with AE shoes as they don't coat their shell. Alden doesn't seem to have this issue at least when new. I think this is due to the coating Alden applies to their shell.
It seems like the best approach to shell cordovan is to treat them like normal dress shoes with common sense - i.e. don't wear them in a storm, try not to scuff them etc
IMO Aldens coated shell looks fake. Another thing is that shell indeed splits realtively easy with eyelets and broguing areas affected more frequently.
What do you mean by coat the shell? I have Alden and AE Cordovan, they are very similar, bipoth shine up nicely with some pure polish conditioner, both get dull if not brushed. The cracked shell I see on eBay is on very old pairs. I’ve never had a problem keeping shell from cracking. And scuffs are removed with about 10 seconds of brushing, unlike calf or veg tanned. Shell is really, really resilient. It just takes a small amount of attention.
Appreciated the interview, just have one thing to say on the bit around waterproofing. Waterproofing is useful in a work boot context. In a dress shoe context (which is often how cordovan is found), it's not really relevant to ask about the waterproofing nature of the shoe. Sure, a Goodyear welt can, in theory, be water resistant, but wearing a Goodyear welted derby calf leather shoe in the rain makes no sense. Even when cordovan is found in boots, it's actually one of the least waterproof leathers because of how it shows water spots when it gets wet. There's a tipping point where luxury comes at the expense of function, and I feel like cordovan is a bit beyond that point, there's nothing really inherent about cordovan that makes it better than any bovine leather, it's just that people like the way it looks and patinas and that's it.
Hi Nick. Of all the shoes and boots on display in this video my favorite far and away were the whole cut looking chukka boots.Very sleek looking. It kind of looked like the way you were holding and inspecting them you were impressed too. : )
Great to see it . I like Carmina although it is a bit outside my price range at the moment, I just got some cordwainers for my husband and they are really well made.
Another great factory video! 😀 Very interesting. Thank you. I wasn’t expecting her English accent… I assumed she would’ve had a Spanish accent. 🏴 🇪🇸
I think it is beautiful leather. It does not have a place in my closet. The only time I wear a suit is weddings and funerals. I have some calf skin ropers I keep shined well and those are my dress shoes. The rest of the time, I am in lace up 8" work boots. I do wear New Balance shoes for exercise walking. Those shoes are pretty. For business guys, hell yes.
Since you’re in Spain, see if you can do a video with Andres Sendra. They are a big family with boots making history and also make shoes with unique patinas
Well done, Nick. Thank you! I picked up a pair of Alden cordovan shoes recently and I'm still trying to sort out the best products used to care for them. There's a hornet's nest of disagreement on which products are best. Some say only Saphir Mirror Gloss because of solvents in Saphir High Gloss, that these solvents break down the cordovan. Others say that's hooey, and you there are a zillion pics online of cordovan covered with High Gloss that look amazing. Any thoughts?
Venetian Leather Balm or Venetian Shoe Cream for conditioning when needed, otherwise water + horsehair brush for cleaning/shine. Since Alden uses Horween shell cordovan, VSC is what they recommend for their leathers. They even use it during production, before they glaze the leather. The horsehair brush will add a really nice shine if that's what you're after. But if you want a higher shine than that, Saphir's Cordovan wax polish or Alden's Fine Paste Wax (both made specifically for shell cordovan) are great options. Honestly, the two you mention would work fine, they won't damage the leather. I don't think High Gloss has any solvents, it's purely made up of natural waxes according to Saphir. The thing about waxing/polishing being bad for leather is when people never strip the wax off the shoes; they build it up over years and either don't condition the leather, or the wax has been built up so much that conditioners can't get past the wax. That's when cracking in shell tends to happen, because it dries from the inside out. As long as you're stripping off the polishes every now and then, and conditioning the leather before reapplying waxes, you'll be good to go.
Think of all the old pairs of shell Florsheim Imperials available on places like ebay that are 30 or 40 years old. How many people do you think used Saphir or VSC in the 1980s to maintain them ? Think how much abuse your shoes and boots get when walking in snow and rain ? Solvents used in cheap products are not going to destroy your cordovan (or leather) shoes and they are much tougher than people give them credit for. It may be slightly better to use the very expensive creams on your shoes but they will be fine with whatever is available . BTW, I've yet to see any scientific evidence that "natural" solvents are better for leather than synthetic solvents and completely synthetic products like vaseline seem to work on skin quite well.
I would only use high end known products like saphir specifically meant for cordovan. I would stay away from solvents, cordovan is not porous like leather so I dont understand why solvents would even be beneficial
@@drzaius844 The older I get the more expenses I have and more money I put into savings. Ultimately, splurging on cordovan shoes is just not a priority. I COULD buy multiple pairs right now, if I wanted to be what would be irresponsible in my mind.
Other than USA Horween, are there other Shell Cordovan makers? Also, what happens to the horses? They’re not considered food in the USA? Or am I incorrect here?
Its actually between two layers of epidermis. Technically speaking it would be similar but not the same as top grain leather with full grain removed and the genuine leather underneath also removed. Except its different as it only exists in the rear of the horse. Not found elsewhere on the horse.
@@davidpielykh3996 The "butt", after tanning, is passed through a splitting-machine which removes the grain, or hair side, revealing what is termed the "shell".
@AsAnAtheistFilms I created a google photos link with a couple of shell photos where you can see the follicles. It won't go through here on youtube for some reason
@@davidpielykh3996 sounds like a defect in the splitting of the grain to me. Never seen follicle like pertusions on shell and ive had 5 pairs, 8 horween shells, 3 rocado, and 2 shinki (worst out of the three). In fact on the shink I found remnants of the grain on the shell. Also thickness variety and poorer finishing of the skins.
She keeps referring to it as leather...but it's not and he attempts to establish this point early on...this interview is a little backwards as it relates to interviewee and interviewer
Given our dear hosts attire I assume he grew up a bit casual? Having been raised in the traditional formal way, I never would have thought of cordovan as a formal material, and I wonder if our upbringings are the cause of our differing cordovan prejudice.