Thread: Why Horsehide?

I know the question has been asked before but i came accross some information that i wanted to share and see what the more learned members like Tony had to say about it.

A week or two ago an old saddle maker was telling me that horses are the only animal (i would think he meant only hooved animal or leather baring animal) that sweats through the skin... cows for example sweat through their nose.

He seemed to think that this gives horsehide a porous quality that other leathers dont have and may explain why it better leant itself to strop making.

Anyone heard similar?

Greg Frazer

Personally, having used all types of strops from all kinds of animals I don't think the animal it comes from really makes a difference as far as the edge goes. Some skins do feel different but that's another issue. I think the only instance where a particular hide really is different is Cordovan. It really is different stuff.

Ok... good information

You might be able to answer another question I had... is Cordovan a particular type of leather or is it the name of the process the leather has been subjected to... sometimes that isnt clear.

I know that other types of leather have been used with great success but i have always wondered why horsehide was the most popular (or atleast appears the most popular)

Horsehide is very difficult to get hold of now... but I am thinking that it probably always was hard to get hold of. I am told there is only one tannery in the world now processing horsehide on a commercial scale, which is in japan.

Any discussion i've read about horsehide seems to put its choice as a strop material down to some "mystical" property which no two people can agree on...

Maybe its the engineer in me... but i find it hard to accept that a material has "mystical" qualities. Particularly when you (correctly) point out that other leathers do just as well... I have to wonder why horsehide was sought after particularly.

Greg Frazer

Cordovan leather is the cut from the butt of a horse, which is why this type of leather is expensive. Makes really nice shoes and the leather gets better with age and will shine up like no body's business! One horse will get you one pair of shoes... $$$

Originally Posted by Greg Frazer

Ok... good information

You might be able to answer another question I had... is Cordovan a particular type of leather or is it the name of the process the leather has been subjected to... sometimes that isnt clear.

My friend Jim who used to make shoes (cordwainery...) told me that cordovan leather came from only one source, horses' butts. It apparently is a gristle like membrane (fascial tissue?) under the skin that makes a very tough, nearly non-porous, smooth, shiny, supple leather. And there is very little of it around as the source is very limited and there are very few tanneries still producing it. Horsehide is a wonderful, tough leather, but there are apparently to many stigmas attached to it to make it popular in this country - unless you're talking about baseballs or strops.

Horsehide has a different feel (like most leathers) but that does not make it better or worse than other leathers. Latigo typically have more draw, veg tanned leathers less (cowhide here in most cases) and horse has it's own, in between feel.

Cordovan is from the horse butt section, specifically two medium sized ovals corresponding to the horse's but cheeks. It rarely goes over 18-20" long and the really good stuff can run $175 an oval......just enough for one really short strop.

There are several sources for horsehide actually both domestic and overseas. Much of the horse "fronts" go to the garment trade....the butt cheeks to fancy shoe makers, the hips and surrounding butt areas go to holster and gunbelt makers as well as into strops in my case.

Tony