Touring the 120-Year-Old Factory That Makes Shell Cordovan (World's Best Leather)

Phil Kalas (Ashland Leather) takes Dale from Dale's Leatherworks inside Horween® Leather Company — the 120-year-old Chicago tannery behind NBA basketballs, NFL footballs, and legendary leathers like Shell Cordovan, Chromexcel, and Latigo. Watch raw hides become finished leather step by step inside a working museum most people never get to see. Horween® does not offer public tours. Private tours are occasionally announced on horween.com. Chapters: 0:00 Intro / walking into Horween, history of the building 1:37 Front office, guestbook, Horween history 4:31 Basement, raw hides arrive, curing 5:42 Shell Cordovan hide selection, wet blue hides 8:43 Cook shed — tanning liquor, tree bark, pigment 13:41 Chrome tanning drums 17:24 Shell Cordovan room — the slow-tan process 21:55 Wet blue leather, splitting/grading 28:01 Coloring department, drum dyeing vs. stain 32:25 Hot stuffing (waxes/greases), Chromexcel path 36:21 Finishing room — Dublin roll coating, grading scheme 40:16 Texture/embossing, finishing machines 51:18 Curry department (Chromexcel blend) 53:20 Cordovan curing piles, aging color 59:46 Liquor shaving — exposing shell layer 1:05:10 Toggle drying room, veg-tan 1:07:28 Oven drying room, top floor 1:12:32 Chamois/oiler machine, dry milling 1:14:52 Final measuring, grading, shipping 1:18:01 Cordovan final sort, temper gauge 1:20:23 Guestbook signing, outro #Horween #LeatherTannery #ShellCordovan #Chromexcel #AshlandLeather #DalesLeatherworks #ChicagoMade #LeatherFactoryTour