Ashland Leather Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan Wallet Review

I decided to splurge and buy myself a really nice wallet.  I bought the Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan wallet made by a company called Ashland Leather, which is a company based straight out of my hometown, Chicago, IL.  Owners of Ashland leather work at the Horween Leather Co, which has been the premier supplier of the finest leather hides in the country since 1905.

For those of you not familiar, Shell Cordovan leather is one of the best, if not the very best leather you can buy.  It’s an equine leather, which means it comes from a horse and not the more traditional cattle leather.  Click here to find out more about different leathers and tanning processes.  Additionally, a common misconception is that leather always comes from the top hide or skin of the animal.  In the case of shell cordovan, it’s fibrous muscle from just under the hide that is near the hind quarters of a horse.  Shell cordovan takes approximately 6 months to cure and tan.  The leather is shiny, somewhat waxy and feels supple yet firm and is completely different that all other types of leather.  Phil from Ashland leather told me that even he finds it difficult to describe what Shell Cordovan feels like.

Ashland Leather makes all their wallets with primarily 2 different leathers – Shell Cordovan and Chromexel.  Read more about both Chromexel and Shell Cordovan here.  They name their different wallet models after gangsters…. which is a cute play on the gangster era in Chicago.  Johnny the Fox, Tony the Ant, Fat Herbie, Bugs Moran, etc.

I bought the Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan in color #8, which is a brownish red or dark chestnut color (The colors from the photos do NOT represent the actual color.  Sorry, hard to get the lighting right.).  The wallet itself is a very simple bifold with 4 card/cash slots.  It’s a little wider than a traditional card wallet and can fit cash folded in half once.  It’s basically a minimalist wallet that will fit 2-3 cards per slot and about 5-10 bills.  At the time of this writing, this wallet is selling for $200.

Ashland Leather – Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan Wallet

The wallet measures (4.1 x 6.3 in) or (10.3 x 16cm) OPEN and (4.1 x 3.1in) or (10.3 x 7.8cm) CLOSED.  Look at the stitching on this wallet.  Flawless.  And you know how some wallets don’t fold in half perfectly (ahem, Saddleback Leather)?  Well this one folds in half perfectly.  Each corner lines up precisely.  Another thing I like is that there are NO logos on the outside of the wallet…front or back.  As you will see in the photos below, the logos are on the inside of the wallet.

Ashland Leather – Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan Wallet – Open

It’s a simple bi-fold with 4 card/bill slots.  I carry mine with about 10 cards and about 6 bills.  Inside spine of the wallet has the Horween Shell Cordovan stamp (I think the stamp here is a brilliant design element)

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Ashland Leather – Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan Wallet – Horween

On the inside left of the wallet there is a “Genuine Horween Shell Cordovan” stamp.  The 1905 is when the Horween Leather company started.

Ashland Leather – Bugs Moran Shell Cordovan Wallet – Logo

On the inside right of the wallet, there is an Ashland Leather logo.  All the logos are understated and in my opinion, very elegant and classy.  Incidentally, the photo above is the best photo to see the shininess of the shell cordovan leather.

I’ve been using this wallet for about a month now and I really like it.  I’ve managed to get a few deeper scratches on the front of the wallet already, which I’m a bit concerned about.  None of my other wallets get these kind of scratches.  Time will tell on how durable this leather is based on my lifestyle…

One other issue I had was the outside spine of the wallet appeared rough to the touch when I first received it.  It was a little bit like sandpaper when you would rub in one direction on the spine.  This roughness was unlike the rest of the wallet, which was all very smooth.  I emailed Ashland leather and they said that 80% of the Shell Cordovan has this roughness at the fold.  They recommended I put some of the Venetian Cream leather conditioner on it and said it was more than likely the roughness would go away after some time.  I’m happy to say that the roughness has definitely subsided.  It’s not completely gone but I’m pretty confident it will be unnoticeable after a few more months.  I didn’t use the leather conditioner either.

So, if you are in the market for a very, very nice wallet, I’d highly recommend Ashland Leather.  It’s awesome leather, very well made, the craftsmanship is top notch and it just feels classy.  It’s subtle enough to not catch everyone’s attention yet is still something I feel proud to own.   I look forward to using this wallet for many years.

Ashland Leather – http://www.ashlandleather.com

Horween Leather Co. – http://www.horween.com