What is crust leather?
In the world of dress shoes, there are two main types of calfskin: box calf and crust leather. Most people understand what box calf is, so we'll focus primarily on crust leather here, as it causes the most confusion. Simply put, crust leather is raw leather that's been tanned but not dyed at the tannery. It's naturally finished so someone else can apply the color afterward.
WHY IS IT CALLED CRUST LEATHER?
It's called crust leather because, well, crust is the term for a natural outer covering of a surface. A dictionary definition is "the hard outer shell or covering of an animal." So, since leather is animal hide, the term crust is simply used to describe a more natural state left after tanning. And because of this, it's always in a natural, unfinished color. However, despite being tanned and dried and not dyed, a crust can have a surface dye coating after the fact (undyed like box calf), which is quite common for English shoemakers. This finishing coating can also be done by the shoe factory itself and doesn't have to be done by the tannery. It's possible to buy regular, natural, and/or base-coated crust.
WHY MAKE CRUST LEATHER?
At one point, tanneries were likely receiving requests for custom dyes or blank canvases so the factories could experiment with applying their own treatments to the hides. With the rise of Italian shoe factories and French shoe brands producing colored shoes in various shades, styles, and with a patina, the crust leather option grew and grew. And now, every tannery offers some sort of crust option because it is now extremely common. With crust leather, any color is achievable on quality calfskin.
While high-end tanneries might produce pastel pink or lime green box calfskin, the reality is finding a classic shoe brand to buy would be like finding a needle in a haystack. But allowing them to buy a natural product and wear those colors if and when they want is a much smarter endeavor. Plus, when making unique colors like these, it's much more common to have them with a variation. A lime green box calf-style shoe wouldn't be the easiest thing to swallow. But if it had some depth with darker shades in certain parts of the shoe, it could easily make it more appealing.
Thus, split leather has become very common in the industry as the rise of unique and custom colors has gained popularity in recent decades.
IS IT BETTER OR WORSE THAN BOX CALF?
There's no easy answer to this. They both have their pros and cons. Split calfskin tends to be more pliable (drum dyeing stiffens the leather). It tends to shine more easily, too. But it's more susceptible to moisture, which means it can stain more easily and lose its finish more easily. But on the other hand, because its finish can be lost more easily, it can also be manually manipulated more easily, which means you can alter its color with polishing/dyeing, giving it depth and variation. So, it often ages more beautifully because of this variation. It also sets in more quickly.
Some will find the above to be positive attributes, but others will not. So the reality is that it's not better, it's not worse, it's different from box calf. But it does allow for more color variation, which, for a brand, is a positive.
THE DISADVANTAGE OF SPLIT LEATHER
The most difficult thing to manage when it comes to split leather may be its volatility. It is easily affected by moisture, and given that moisture comes in all its forms—rain, drinks, polishes, creams, etc.—it often requires more maintenance, so to speak. But at the same time, this maintenance must also be done properly. A novice in shoe care can easily ruin a pair of split leather shoes by overusing shoe care products. Spilled alcoholic drinks can ruin a split leather finish, while box calf would take it like a champ. So, while it looks beautiful, shines well, is soft, and often more comfortable, its downside is not for the faint of heart. This will definitely teach you how to hone your shoe care skills.
VOLZAK ®
