cordovan leather

[bowfanatik]

Where to buy ? no on the E b a y -  I can´t find ...only find shoes

I need for shooting tab , 3 under . two piece circles  3" diameter  


thanks for any info

[Alexander Traditional]

Big Jim sells little square pieces.

[Butch Speer]

Eagle's Flight Archery sells a very good cordovan tab. $12 plus shipping. I don't think you can buy the leather that cheap. Good folks to do business with. IMO you won't find a better tab at a better price.

[Lowrider]

2x on Big Jim.

[LostNation_Larry]

I asked my leather working friend to find me some and he came up with a 1/4 of a hide tanned to be very smooth.  He said it was cowhide but cordovan tanned.  I had always heard that cordovan came from a patch on the horses rump.  

If you are interested I can sell you some of this stuff I have.  I have a fair amount left.

[fujimo]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_cordovan

[Arctic Hunter]

Check with E W Bateman. Not sure if they sell just the raw material, but their tabs are top notch.

[Nala]

I think the place that makes the highest quality stuff is out of Chicago.  I think it's this place

 http://horween.com/


You might be able to buy a sheet from them, but get your wallet out, it's PRICEY stuff.  In fact I think they have all their stuff allocated or something like that.  They sell it to these places all over the world that use it to make those shoes that cost $1,000 per pair.  Italian shoes and such....purses too.
Surely they would have end pieces that weren't up to their specs that they could sell you.


One thing I can tell you is that not all cordovan leather is the same.  I've got some on an Eagles Flight Archery tab and it's great stuff.  Really stiff and durable and would last for decades...I'm sure of that.

A while back a member on here sold me a sheet of cordovan that he got from a local leather shop out west or something.  It is cordovan, but it's NOT the stuff like the place I posted would sell for those expensive bags and shoes.


Maybe you could go raid the closet of your wife and see what you could come up with.  You might be surprised.  You'd end up with a few really sweet tabs and probably a nice pop knot or 2 from a frying pan.


Good luck in your search and let us know how you make out.


Nalajr

[bowfanatik]

Pursuit is started

[30coupe]

Unless you are dead set on making your tabs, the best cordovan tabs I have found are from Screaming Eagle Archery out of Montana for $14.95 each. They are just plain, one layer, no divider, slick as snot, tough as nails, awesome tabs. They will last you until you lose them as near as I can tell. I haven't been able to wear one out so far.

[damascusdave]

There was a big shortage of cordovan a while ago...wondering if that is now a thing of the past

DDave

[Pete McMiller]

One of the reasons for the difficulty and the apparent disparity in finding good Cordovan is that real Shell Cordovan ONLY comes from the hip of a horse.  The patch is fairly small so it is very expensive and most if not all is allocated to high end leather shoes.  It is quite tough and the process to make it is laborious but the end results are exceptional.   http://horween.com/leathers/shell-cordovan/

Most of the "Cordovan Leather" we see is actually from a cow and finished with a cordovan type process that yields a product that is quite good but no comparison to the real Shell Cordovan.

 http://bestleather.org/all-about-shell-cordovan-with-horween-leather-co/

[TSP]

Cordovan is an excellent tab material but to be honest almost ANY mid-thickness animal leather with a semi-slick surface will do fine once  broken in.  An arrow nock leaving the fingers smoothly doesn't depend nearly as much on tab slickness as it does on a clean technique/no pluck release by the shooter.    

After using several Cordovan tabs and at least several dozen other types over the years, IMO, unless you just want one to say that you've tried one the performance difference isn't enough to warrant the extra expense.  The biggest difference (other than cost) might be durability...but you'll probably lose a tab before you wear it out no matter what leather it's made of.