Cordovan is horsehide leather, made from the hindquarters of the animal and is the most non-porous leather available. The pores of a horse’s hindquarters are so dense that they are not visible to the naked eye. This makes cordovan leather incredibly water-resistant.
The leather is named after its place of origin in Córdoba; Spain, a city that was historically a noted centre for leather tanning and a renowned home for learning since the 8th century.
Cordovan is a bi-product of the food industry much like calf, kudu and the other hides we use. As with all of the hides we use at Tricker’s, our cordovan is sustainably sourced and tanned.
Cordovan is now extremely limited in supply; it is more complex for our shoemakers to work with; just the tanning of cordovan leather is an expert process and can take six months to complete. It is comparably expensive and takes a few wears to ‘break in,’ but Cordovan is a connoisseur’s leather, it is understated, unique in its strength and just gets better and better with age.
Shoes and boots made from Cordovan reward plenty of wear; with age, they mould to your feet, they don’t crease and as a material, it is close to indestructible – a true investment but one that requires a bit of patience and effort.
