Are these little dots on my cordovan leather wallet normal?

August 13, 2012 2:05 PM

A new cordovan-leather wallet has a number of small pock-marks on the finished surface. They are a bit grayish on the brown leather and look like they appeared after tanning. The vendor says it's a normal part of the cordovan tanning process. Is that true? Will they go away as the leather ages?

They don't look a) normal or b) like they should be there.

I'll try to get a good photo of it when I get home. Thanks!

posted by SirNovember to shopping (4 answers total)

Some shell cordovan is reputed to develop spots if you get it wet in the rain (here is the best picture I could find). Do they look like that? If so, googling "shell cordovan water spots" will yield many results on people's attempts to fix them, usually in the context of shoes.
posted by enn at 2:12 PM on August 13, 2012

It could be Leather Spue.
posted by Ostara at 2:54 PM on August 13, 2012

Thanks for the suggestions - I don't think they're just rain spots. Googling for spue, I see that it wipes off, but comes back unless properly treated. My spots don't wipe off.

Finally got a picture: http://imgur.com/NAs81
The spots are visible, but I wish I could get more macro to show the indentations associated with each one.
posted by SirNovember at 6:05 AM on August 14, 2012

Sounds like you might have pockmarks or small scratches where the finish has been breached from rubbing against something or getting nicked. If this is the case then what you are seeing is the less polished leather underneath.
Over time, you will have a lot of scratches and nicks on the wallet since I assume you will be using it everyday. These do weather down to a polish again when you continue to use it, especially if this is a wallet that you are going to be sliding in and out of your pocket frequently.
Basically, I think your wallet has begun its life already and you are going to nick it up further for a while before it smooths out again.
posted by rmless at 6:45 AM on August 14, 2012