Horween Leather - Chrome Tanning Explained 

Thanks, Daniel. The content here is good but I'm really upset with the quality I put out back then. Esteban and I have plans to chat again about tanning and RE-tanning soon

When Horween is back up I will have to chat again with Esteban about re-tanning. I am not aware of horween making any leather that is first veg tanned with a chrome retannage.

I’m not able to give out their formulas. The agent used in the tanning process after pickling is chrome salts

@@AshlandLeather alright, Thanks anyways :)

I'm very biased because Fat Herbie was the first wallet design I made. Having said that: I have my choice of many wallets and I keep coming back to the Fat Herbie. To me Herbie is the best. He holds tons of stuff, lays super flat, and I love how easily cash and cards are accessed. Really glad you found me. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Everything is generally the same as it was 100 years ago. You are correct, there used to be a mechanical process to remove the hair. The mills and orange mixers are all "new" within the last 40 years.There are some modern technologies that are much more friendly to the environment. For example, chrome uptake is much better these days so we don't have any chromium in the wastewater.

Great comment. We do make horsebutt Chromexcel. As I think about it, the only place using this that I know of is in fact Viberg. The Chromexcel horsebutt is much more dense than Chromexcel steerhide. It has more of a "veggie" feel and a bite too it. The horsehide/horsebutts also have a different and more intense grain character. The shells are hidden underneath the finish of these chromexcel horsebutts. I'd expect them to be very durable and wear in nicely!

Ashland Leather Co. thanks for the reply! I have a pair of Vibergs made with Color 4 horsebutt that does have a more veggie feel, in comparison to the steerhide varieties. I’ve seen the name Work Shoe Butt used by some companies, is it safe to assume that’s the same as Horsebutt CXL or is it a variation?

@@gabemaldonado2624 The work shoe butt should be analogous to the horsebutt CXL. I'm not sure who is making product with this other than Viberg at the moment.

Thanks for the feedback! I should really remake this video in higher quality. Esteban is very knowledgeable

@@AshlandLeather he is! Just learning what leather is chemically changed my perspective on some things

Great questions. The Horween Chrome tanning formulation maximizes for quality over yield. The Horween blue is more plump and full than other chrome tanned formulas. They are also designed with our re-tanning formulations in mind so we make the best Chromexcel and Football leather with the Horween Chrome tanning formulation. When you ask "what is the benefit of a Horween tanned hide vs veg tanned hide" -- Horween actually makes vegetable tanned leathers as well. The most popular vegetable tanned leather Horween makes is Shell Cordovan. Guessing at what you are getting at: Horween Chrome tanned leather has a stronger slit tear and tensile strength and it is more heat resistant than the vegetable tanned leather.

I'm sure you appreciated this more than I did! A lot of the chemistry details are way over my head. Essex is Horween's most popular chrome-free tannage. It is an aldehyde base that is tanned with the exact same veg tree bark blend we use in the coveted shell cordovan leather. There are a few variations on the Essex as well. I prefer the Dublin leather which IS Essex but finished with a hard wax on top... great pull-up effect, depth of color, and amazing patina.

Thanks for the comment! I love how leather changes over time so I almost always pick a veg tanned leather or at least combination tanned leather that has some tree bark in the retannage. It is easy to generalize veg vs chrome but there are SO many types of veg and SO many types of chrome tanned leather. I think you may be surprised to find you prefer many chrome-tanned leathers to veg. It gets even more complicated because there are different chrome tanning formulations used by each tannery. In my experience the chrome tanned leather fibers have a much much much stronger bond than the veg. Either way: If you pick what you think looks awesome you can't lose!

Hi, Ed! Glad you got some value from this. We have plans to do the whole process.

Hi Phil, I have a question related to one of your previous videos. (I believe it was a recent video with Robert Powers). Actually, it would be much easier to ask the question I have, if we had a chance to speak by phone. In summary, in the aforementioned video you mentioned that you might be interested in videotaping the tanning process at Horween and have someone accompany you and ask questions of you while you were creating the video. I would be interested in speaking with you on this topic to learn more of your interests/needs, etc.; as I would very much enjoy assisting you in whatever capacity you have in mind. As I mentioned earlier, I think it would be easier to articulate my question and how I think I could be of assistance, if we had a chance to speak live. Let me know if talking by phone for a few minutes might be of interest to you, and if so, let me know how we can set up a time to talk. Thanks, Ed

@@edf2953 Hey Ed: Send me and email and we'll set something up. Phil@ashlandleather.com

Chrome tanned leather can be either full grain or corrected grain or even a split. The base tannage has very little relevance to the grain being sanded or not

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