Nick Horween put up a fascinating post today about the production of chromexcel leather, which is used on some of my more favorite pairs of Alden’s (I’m wearing a pair of Indy boots made from it right now in fact).
Chromexcel, or CXL as it’s written in the building, is a combination tanned leather that undergoes at least 89 separate processes taking 28 working days and utilizing all 5 floors of our facility. Needless to say, it’s complicated. For any tannery, the chemistry that transforms salted or cured hides into leather often requires a degree of “cooking.” By cooking I mean there are slight variations that must be managed and corrected from lot to lot.
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