So, in the ongoing horween curiosity that only interests me, I see from the imperial page that horween actually *treats* the cordovan for imperial, a special treatment specifically for strops. So horween certainly doesn't just supply shell for the high $ shoe and wallet industry.

Of course, it's unlikely they'd sell such a thing to me, I wouldn't expect them to, even if they do get back to me and I win the lottery (i.e. they will sell me a couple of shells or tell me where to get them). It does prove that they still know strops, though.