GUIDI

[sissyleaks]

CONT = CONTRARIO in italian. so reverse.

with guidi its not 'shell'. Im pretty sure that they only make whole butts- or double butts- the entire ass of the horse. They dont seperate the shells...

There are only 2 places in the world that do 'genuine shell cordovan'.
Horween and another one in japan i cannot remember.

The salesperson doesnt know his/her shit....


Treat the leather like suede.

[Teaserrams]

CONT = CONTRARIO in italian. so reverse.

with guidi its not 'shell'. Im pretty sure that they only make whole butts- or double butts- the entire ass of the horse. They dont seperate the shells...

There are only 2 places in the world that do 'genuine shell cordovan'.
Horween and another one in japan i cannot remember.

The salesperson doesnt know his/her shit....


Treat the leather like suede.

Hi Sissy, many thanks for your response. Most helpful! However it raises a few more questions for me which I hope you can help with. If the shells are not separated does that mean they are still encased within the leather? But why would any tanner do that i.e. not separate the shells when genuine shell Cordovan commands such a premium over ordinary horse leather? Wouldn't that be like selling an oyster without mentioning/showcasing the pearl contained within?

Isn't it misleading to label something as Cordovan or reverse Cordovan when most people will interpret it as shell Cordovan? Actually it's downright unhelpful because the care regime for shell Cordovan is totally different from that of other leathers.

[Vanquish_Gold]

I just gotten my horse full grain guidi in lightly distressed black (a bit greyish in some light). Anyone have any idea if the boots will fade into that greyish, matte look with time? Or guidi is good in holding their colors?

[old]

Hi Teaserrams, as far as I know, the process to separate and tan shell cordovans in the proper way takes more than 6 months and a lot of expertise to do, that's why so few tanneries do them. (The one in Japan is Shinki I remember, the quality however is not as good as Horween ones, tends to be stiffer) Since each horse has a butt, the "shell" itself is not that valuable but the process.

[Teaserrams]

Hi Teaserrams, as far as I know, the process to separate and tan shell cordovans in the proper way takes more than 6 months and a lot of expertise to do, that's why so few tanneries do them. (The one in Japan is Shinki I remember, the quality however is not as good as Horween ones, tends to be stiffer) Since each horse has a butt, the "shell" itself is not that valuable but the process.

Hi Old, thanks for the explanation! It makes perfect sense to me now. And Sissy's comments make sense to me now in light of your comments. Presumably any shoe (bag, watch strap or other product) made from the butt of the horse can legitimately be called Cordovan but not shell Cordovan. To qualify as shell, the butt must undergo an additional tanning process which separates out the shells. This process takes 6 months to complete and possibly only 2 tanneries in the world have the expertise to do it. Ok gottit. Thanks Old. Thanks Sissy.

[Teaserrams]

I just gotten my horse full grain guidi in lightly distressed black (a bit greyish in some light). Anyone have any idea if the boots will fade into that greyish, matte look with time? Or guidi is good in holding their colors?

Hi Vanquish,

Are you able to post a pix? I'm curious to see how full grain leather resembles or differs from Cordovan.

Many thanks.

[Vanquish_Gold]

There ya go...

[BBSLM]

I know this has been answered somewhere before, either on SZ or somewhere else, but I can't seem to find it again - what are the differences between the 988, 988S, 988MS, etc. The MS model appears to have a smaller heel, but I can't tell the difference between the S and non-S models.

[eckblk]

S has a slimmer shaft
MS smaller heel and soft toe (lacks toe puff)
normal 988 has a regular heel, toe puff & regular width shaft

[BBSLM]

S has a slimmer shaft
MS smaller heel and soft toe (lacks toe puff)
normal 988 has a regular heel, toe puff & regular width shaft

Thanks.

[Teaserrams]

There ya go...

Great thanks! The leather looks different from reverse Cordovan.

[jskidder1]

Has anyone ever had issues with the leather on your boots cracking and tearing? I have a pair in goat (EDIT: actually, they may be donkey) with some significant scarring in places, which I think looks great, but has proven to be their demise.

I noticed some minor cracking along the scars a while back but didn't think much of it, and even took the time to condition the leather to sloe the process. Today I found that the cracks have made their way clean through in several areas on the panel with the heaviest scarring, and as a result there are some places where the leather is completely torn. In one place it is torn near the eyelet, which I fear will be difficult to repair.

I've had these for a while and wear them regularly, but I would have expected to get at least 2 years out of them before getting to this point. Anyone experience similar or have any advice? I can post pics later if requested.

[Dane]

I've not had this happen, but I condition my shoes regularly when applicable.

[bonejelly]

I fell down some concrete steps and ripped a few holes in my baby calf boots, but that's somewhat of a different story. Never experienced the leather gettin overly dry or cracking though...

[jskidder1]

All of the cracking and breakage is along the lines of the grain, and I did condition the uppers regularly (every 2 months or so), so I feel like the leather was defective in some way.