The Dark Side of Shell Cordovan

► My Buckleguy Materials Affiliate Link (I get a small percentage at no cost to you which funds my content): www.buckleguy.com/corter-leat...
► PATTERNS: corterleather.com/collections...
The Dark Side of Shell Cordovan
For Corter's 16th anniversary I'm going to do another run of shell cordovan wallets to offer at a super affordable price - I"ve been collecting shells all year to do a fun offering. I wanted to do this two part series a little different than last year with the custom tye die shell cordovan though, and talk a lot more about the economics behind working with shell cordovan. Pricing your product is always important - it's the difference between a successful business and a failing one.
But can one material become so well known, popular, and infamous that it can actually hurt your business? In my opinion, it can. And I think Shell Cordovan is on the brink of that. In this two part series I will do my best to show you how to get and use the right materials to make affordable smaller carry goods in shell cordovan that will allow you to make and sell your work in shell without breaking the bank, and how/why some small shell pieces are so expensive.

[@theoldbear4213]

Hah, this video sent me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. I'd forgotten exactly what shell was from last year's video, so I googled it... learned about shell itself, but further down the rabbit hole I learned how in England, there were folks called "Cordwainers", who's name came from working with Cordovan leather... But the English got weird - by law and the London Guild system, a "Cordwainer" became narrowly defined as a shoemaker, who made new shoes with new leather. Conversely, "Cobbler", which I had thought to simply be a shoemaker, was also narrowly defined as a person who repaired shoes, using old leather. Cobblers were forbidden to make new shoes, and forced to use leather taken from old shoes or other things to repair old-but-good shoes. The Cordwainers, meanwhile, were only allowed to use new leather, and forbidden from repairing shoes, even ones they had originally made. I find it all fascinating, personally. Anyway, I hope you feel better soon!

[@cody.the.collector]

So glad to watch y’all make and make money. Your grab bags were a big reason I started collecting in the first place. Thanks for all you’ve done for the community

[@fyyfu]

Thanks for doing this Eric! You have done lots for the leather community! I always try to watch your videos when they come out. I make some coffee, cozy up in my couch and begin listening to your knowledge. It's inspiring. 🙂

[@josephprice6617]

The information in this video was very interesting and thank you for the authentic presentation of the usage of your materials. It's fascinating.

[@les_edc]

This is a neat video. I would like to make some corrections, however. XXS means “extra extra small”. If you want to identify a piece of shell as a “chip” it would be stamped with a “c” near the tannery ink stamp. Sometimes though, you see an “xxs”, “xs”, “s”, “m” etc. stamp that was at some point stamped over with “c”. This is because when the shell was close to being finished and was stamped, the workers thought it would actually be that size at the end of the finishing process. However, at some point in the quality control process, they noticed imperfections in the shell that needed to be trimmed off. As such, they had to re-stamp the shell to match the new size-often resulting in a “c” if a lot of the shell had to be trimmed off. Additionally, pricing has changed drastically since those chips were purchased. The price of Horween shell cordovan goes up every year due to a multitude of reasons beyond my scope. If I remember correctly shell chips are currently $60-$70 depending on the color. They are likely to go up in price next year, as well. Additionally, for those unfamiliar with working with shell cordovan-just as each hide has unusable bits along the edges of the hide, shell cordovan also has unusable bits along all the edges. This is typical for all leather, regardless of the tannery. This means that the smaller your shell is, the less yield you will actually get. So while chips are cheaper, your yield will likely shrink due to the smaller size. This is why I personally try to purchase larger shells. Just thought I would add that for those curious.

[@joelesko3267]

Can’t get enough Corter! Your dedication and inspiration I think is a huge part as to why the leather community is blowing up the way it is! Thank you for everything pal! And get better soon!

[@Saltysteele]

This is awesome content, Eric! An awesome project, business education, and an opportunity to purchase a great product, all in one!

[@daverooni7763]

Super excited about this video series. Thank you for the inspiration, guidance and entertainment

[@karonbeilunka6845]

Oh sweet sixteeeeeen!! Congratulations on 16 years of crafting, creating, glamorously failing and proudly succeding! Thank you for your dedication and hard work, Eric. I enjoy your videos a lot as they can be a great help in times when all my creativity decides to leave me. Now keep working you! 16 years is only the first Corter ;)

[@meissner14]

The wallets from last year, with their distinct colors, were truly stunning. I appreciate you for generously sharing your expertise and craftsmanship.

[@elwoodmaker]

Where do you buy the chips?

[@jimandrews89]

I was so bummed I missed the splatter limited wallets. Will def jump on this one early.

[@ChristianPsencik]

LOVE seeing more about the business side of things. Its been a struggle for me and its awesome to see how you are doing it! Thank you!

[@MultiFish]

Thanks Eric. Shell has been put on a pedestal for sure! Can I come rummage through your archive pretty please? 😂😂😂

[@dadhands]

It’s pretty wild!

[@MultiFish]

@@dadhands I’m so jealous!

[@pickleleatherworkx2218]

Eric I thank you for your videos, I have learned so much in the last couple of years

[@jeremycorvialis4085]

Thank you for providing such great information while ill. Hoping you get well soon. Take care!

[@ianthomas3653]

I love to see transparency of the business side of the industry. I’ve always wanted to try shell, but didn’t realize I could get chips. Once I have the chance I want to try that and some Herman oak after seeing dad hands latest video.

[@jkatzj]

Thanks! Would you be willing to share where you find the Shell "chips." Leatherwork has been a godsend to get my teenage son motivated to do things, and I think this would be a great treat for him to experiment with shell a little bit. Thanks!

[@LDsplace]

Thanks Bro! Can't wait for pt 2

[@kat_koe]

sorry, camera moving so much makes it hard to watch without getting dizzy but love having you share your expertise

[@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536]

Don't worry. Be happy.

[@oakridgereview1359]

Have you not been on KZbin long? Lol

[@tjduprey]

Could use a Gambol to get the same smooth camera work that teenage artists and homesteaders get. They're not expensive and decrease the viewer seasickness. That said, carry on with the quirky camera work until you find one .

[@joe_ferreira]

Yeah a gimbal would be nice

[@bbrachman]

Since you are cutting all the pieces using a press, a video showing how to create a file for die manufacture might be a good for 'business content'. Just to create a file in Illustrator and make absolutely sure that it will cut correctly. I would really be interested in that. It might give me a reason for buying a press or using my arbor press. Just a suggestion.

[@dannymarkgraf34]

i just made my nephew a bifold wallet from the horween basketball leather. it was interesting leather, but i was happy with how it came out. i also used their baseball glove leather to make a trifold wallet for someone else as a christmas gift. i really liked the baseball glove leather. might hit up buckle guy and get some more of it. congrats on 16 years, and thank you for the great videos

[@DenyTheZeitgeist]

I LOVE THE IDEA of being campy with shell! Makes me less scared to work with it because you always see these glassy edges that you need machines for and perfect punched out lines. I hand cut everything and it varies.

[@bboy9955]

Heal up homie. Get yourself some smoothies with lots of greens in them. I appreciate your will to create and the knowledge you shared.

[@chriswing823]

Hope ya feel better. Tanks

[@FatManLeather]

I'm looking forward to the videos regarding the business side of things.

[@lelandphill4408]

How to you get /make the cut out dies? Hope you start feeling better ! 🤘🏼

[@jacobfielding8661]

I would love to try and snag one of these. When’s the release date again?

[@baberoot1998]

Would love to have a shell cordovan wallet. I have two pair of shell cordovan shoes, thrifted at Goodwill, (Allen Edmonds "Leeds", and a pair I can't seem to determine its maker). Both are likely from the 70's and/or 80's. Would love to take the unknown brand and make a wallet like yours, out of it.

[@jenkins1979]

Thanks Eric

[@johndavidlynn8653]

Happy birthday.

[@DenyTheZeitgeist]

Im scared to start working with shell. I desperately want a wallet for myself from Rocado’s marbled line or the art shell but I’m just a random dude and that’s 150-170 a shell depending on size. I got a good deal on a premade wallet, so I’m gonna check it out and see, maybe I’m right and it’s my favorite. Maybe I should take the plunge. So neat seeing this side from someone who’s actually in the industry.

[@landmarkleather]

Want to sell the weaver? I was set to buy the buckleguy clicker but they are out of stock (for months, according to customer service) and the new weaver's are super pricey.

[@TheeManWIthNoLife]

Judging by the title, I thought the video was gonna bring to light a dark history of shell cordovan and maybe end with "Shell Cordovan is made oF PEOPLE!!!"!

[@dshe8637]

Ha ha, just ponies

[@danielirvine7468]

Great vid man I would love to work with shell one day

[@pepleatherlab3872]

Hey Eric, what are your thoughts on the cross hatched shell I've been seeing in the market? I'm wondering if it's simply a returning trend. ~cheers!🥃

[@Corter]

So from what I know, the cross hatch design is actually from leather that was pulled up from a ship wreck or uncovered from an ice cap from hundreds of years ago and was not originally ever made in shell? I think it was reindeer hide or something similar. For me, the art of shell isn't in the back of the shell or a stamp or a texture being added - because it's a membrane, the art is in just how glassy it can be made, just how perfectly oiled and luxurious it can be made. I'll fully admit that belief to be sort of an "old school" view - I've visited tanneries, I've watched 70 year old dudes roll shell to a shine with 40 years experience on 100 year old machines. I'd guess there are just so many tanneries making their own version of shell now that the innovation race has begun, which is exciting. To me, it doesn't make sense to add a texture to it because of how hard it is to make it NOT textured. However once a single tannery doesn't have complete control over a material, we're bound to see innovation and change and I think it looks really cool, I'd just probably end up saving some money and going with a cross hatched veg tan myself. I'd also assume it's probably a way to save on some losses when a tannery gets in a raw hide that's not good enough to fully tan and polish to a shine - add a texture, lower your raw material loss

[@pepleatherlab3872]

@@Corter I agree that it does seem counter intuitive after they spend so much time getting the surface polished smooth. It would make more sense to perhaps cross hatch horse hide rather than the shell. We've seen this cross hatching trend seem to evolved over the last year in leather textures and it initially seemed peculiar. Thank you for your thoughts.

[@paulgibson305]

Hi contacted Rocado. I live in the UK. They only sell the cordovan in bulk, i.e. 10 pieces (€110 per piece). At least that is what I was told when I spoke to them. They do sell horse front which they are willing to sell 1 or 2 pieces per order which was quoted at €34 per metre. I am relatively new to leather crafting and have never used horse leather before so don't know anything about the sizing (thickness) or ease of use or acceptability.

[@Corter]

ok perfect - that's a really decent price but it has gone up this year which is to be expected. I"m assuming they were having too many small orders and had to put a minimum order on it but that price will still work for our little exercise :)

[@paulgibson305]

@@Corter have you ever used horse leather. I am a lover of horses and haven't considered it before.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@paulgibson305Horse front is a great leather for wallets, it’s stronger than bovine leather so you can use thinner leather for a less bulky wallet. I made a wallet out of Horween horse front for my nephew about 7 years ago. He uses it everyday and it looks fabulous.

[@temporalsoliton]

Someone makes a calf hide finished to look and feel like shell. Anyone have a clue how it wears over time?

[@Face_Meat]

I think y wife and daughter ended up with whatever bug you’re dealing with. I somehow didn’t get sick. Feel better soon!

[@DJG_Official]

Can I buy your weaver press? @CorterLeather ?

[@AdeToz]

I've had my shoemaker say the same thing about Horween. Ricardo cordovan sounds like the way to go

[@Bernardo-wr8lp]

Is that big shell 9 euro?

[@Stevieboy7]

Your Rocado math is a bit off. 90euro would not include shipping and taxes/duty fees. If you're looking at a more realistic number, RM sells Rocado shell @ $199 for 3sqft (around what you were holding and equal to 5 wallets) which would mean your price per piece is $40/pc, not $20/pc. The easiest way to break it down is literally per square foot. Top horween/italian vegtan is $12-15sqft+, and Shell Cordovan is ~$60/sqft, so about 3-4x more expensive. In a small wallet like yours, thats a very large difference, as the labour is tiny. So you would still expect a shell wallet to be about 2x the cost of the next comparable leather.

[@kenforche7684]

Yeah, his Horween math isn’t accurate (in my experience) either...XXS is the size larger than ‘chips’ and the cost nearly doubles...chips are currently ~$50-55 each (.8-.9sf) and XXS are ~$95-100 each (1.0-1.1sf). Again, just my experience buying Horween shell over the last 12 months...

[@ffotograffydd]

@@kenforche7684He did say the prices might be off because he bought most of it a while ago and/or when they were having sales. It’s just an example of how to work out prices, the numbers themselves are irrelevant.

[@giraffchen_]

I avoid consuming shell products. No judgement on anyone who does--it's a beautiful and strong material, and I still use cowhide, so I may have as bit of a double standard. A close friend of mine was involved with a horse rescue organization that would save vulnerable horses (e.g., blind, disabled) from auction, which would 100% have gone to market. Her horse was mostly blind but still made a good trail and arena riding horse. While it made a small dent in the actual amount of horses going to market, it definitely put a different understanding on the process to me.

[@margodphd]

Until people stop eating milk and meat, there will be leather - it's a by-product of meat production. I am against that, but consume leather - I know its a waste product and it lasts longer than much more harmful plastic. I make it up by volunteering and donating for animal rescue. Cows don't suffer for long and there are still farms, the ones with best quality, that treat them well and free graze them, a little consolation. Horses however..not only they are worked for the entirety of their long lives, often suffering abuse but don't even get to be humanely put down but suffering long transports they may not survive? I helped a horsw rescue during the auction, and I have yet to see the barbarically cruel treatment of any other animals other than fur bearers in any other industry.

[@ffotograffydd]

Horse leather is a byproduct of the meat industry the same way bovine leather is, if we don’t use it it’ll go into landfill. The day people stop eating meat I’ll stop using leather, until then I’m simply ensuring that none of the animal is wasted.

[@cherr979]

Man - sounds like you got hammered with the flu. Hope your better now.

[@josephmcelroy1090]

"camp wallet" reminds me of the trucker/cowboy wallet I made with #8 shell. Kinda an oxymoron lol.

[@longpoint17]

Any chance you want to part with that dumb old Weaver press for a couple bucks? Hey, I'd never know if I didn't ask 😉

[@6creeder688]

Man that left overs would make me a happy man being I can’t find chips ever

[@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536]

I 👍 dark sides.

[@andreatthatsme]

Hey "E". Sorry your not feeling well. Whatever it is, it's traveling RAPIDLY through the country. I'm in ohio, NOT from here (seriously not my fault and planning my exodus to Japan) lol... caught whatever this crap it from my son. I have remained masked since my first 1 in 2020 even though i didn't leave the apartment until 2021. Not joking. So the only time I catch anything is because my son is unmasked at some point when going out. My mother is in a nursing facility, so I'm super vigilant about remaining covid-19 free for her and my terrible immune system.

[@2kidsnosleep]

Good God don’t work when you are sick; super dangerous. Also hard to watch when you seem struggling to be coherent and moving the camera so much. Otherwise love your stuff. Make a profit, pay your bills, put part of money into development R&D or equipment so always moving upwards.

[@tommygamba170]

You look the same as every other video

[@VanessaBasora]

Thank you for providing this video Eric despite you being sick. 🫶🏽 I really appreciate your videos. They’re very informative and helpful. 😊