Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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Phil Kalas (Ashland Leather) takes Dale from Dale's Leatherworks inside Horween® Leather Company — the 120-year-old Chicago tannery behind NBA basketballs, NFL footballs, and legendary leathers like Shell Cordovan, Chromexcel, and Latigo. Watch raw hides become finished leather step by step inside a working museum most people never get to see.

Horween® does not offer public tours. Private tours are occasionally announced on horween.com.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro / walking into Horween, history of the building
1:37 Front office, guestbook, Horween history
4:31 Basement, raw hides arrive, curing
5:42 Shell Cordovan hide selection, wet blue hides
8:43 Cook shed — tanning liquor, tree bark, pigment
13:41 Chrome tanning drums
17:24 Shell Cordovan room — the slow-tan process
21:55 Wet blue leather, splitting/grading
28:01 Coloring department, drum dyeing vs. stain
32:25 Hot stuffing (waxes/greases), Chromexcel path
36:21 Finishing room — Dublin roll coating, grading scheme
40:16 Texture/embossing, finishing machines
51:18 Curry department (Chromexcel blend)
53:20 Cordovan curing piles, aging color
59:46 Liquor shaving — exposing shell layer
1:05:10 Toggle drying room, veg-tan
1:07:28 Oven drying room, top floor
1:12:32 Chamois/oiler machine, dry milling
1:14:52 Final measuring, grading, shipping
1:18:01 Cordovan final sort, temper gauge
1:20:23 Guestbook signing, outro

#Horween #LeatherTannery #ShellCordovan #Chromexcel #AshlandLeather #DalesLeatherworks #ChicagoMade #LeatherFactoryTour