I recently received a belt from Jim, “The Beltman.” I have to say, it’s really stiff, but really well made. This particular model is made from our natural horsehide strips – a fully vegetable tanned product. The leather is hand-stained and stitched in the US in Apex, North Carolina, and after just one full day of wear I can already tell it’s going to break-in and soften beautifully.
Tan Horsehide Belt with a Round Powder-Coated Black Buckle
Filed under Products
From Ryan Plett
Well Worn: Arnold Horween Sr.’s Briefcase
Every time I enter the Horween Leather Company here in Chicago, I’m always excited to stumble upon some sort of nostalgic leather item and an accompanying story. The place reeks of classic woodwork, Americana, and obvious superior quality leathers.
Filed under Guest Post, History, Products
I recently received an email asking why there are no straight razor leather sharpening strops being made in the US anymore. I think the answer is because no one uses straight razors anymore? What the email enlightened me to is the fact that straight razors are enjoying a bit of a resurgence. And there still is at least one honing strap still made here. I’ll admit to only ever getting a straight razor shave from the barber, but I did go digging through the leather goods archives here and turned up some old strops. After all, Horween Leather used to do their primary cordovan business for the making razor strops. Clearly, the invention by good ol’ Mr. Gillette didn’t do a lot to help that business.
Two razor strops that belonged to my great grandfather - they feature two different sides for sharpening and honing.
The last post featured a picture of some old longwings that generated a fair amount of questions regarding patina, polishing, and the general care of Shell Cordovan. Maybe I should say re-generated, as we do get a fair amount of inquiries on the subject. In response, this will be the first in (at least) a three part series addressing these topics (and we’ll get on to something other than just shoes in the future – so if shoes aren’t your thing don’t give up on us).
Someone had recently asked if there was “a way to make shoes patina faster?
They both started as the same color...
Filed under Products
On a recent trip to New York City, I made sure to leave enough time to stop by the Alden Shoe Store on Madison Avenue (@44th street). I get so used to seeing the raw material on a daily basis that it’s really great to see a room full of finished product from time to time. With burgundy, the loafer, and hand-sewn deck shoes enjoying a revival, the store on Madison is a viable option for choices of all three. They also had a nice stock of some of the browns and lighter colors – whiskey, cigar, and ravello.
The Alden Shoe Shop of New York
A few of the choices available in whiskey shell cordovan.
The Florsheim by Duckie Brown designers came through the other day and brought with them a ubiquitous brown paper bag filled with shoes that were anything but. You can see some of the shoes here.
Great colorways, meet classic design.
Just a sample of some of the colorways in the line - I'm especially fond of the Bone Long Wings.
Ryan Plett was also in on the day, and happened to have his (much fancier than mine) camera. Thanks for the images!
We recently made a trip out to Wilson Sporting Goods’ football factory in Ada, Ohio. It’s a great facility run by some equally great people. The facility and the crafters there are quite unassuming in my approximation, but you can’t argue with their product. Their sewing and lacing are pretty much unbeatable. I snapped a few photos while I was there, here are some highlights…
Blue sky, white roof, and the red, white and blue.
From a recent write-up by Michael Williams on his site, A Continuous Lean. I’m carrying one of these right now – great work from Jason at MAKR. See the whole post here.
Horween Leather Co. 