Question (originally posted by @GimpArm): I've seen numerous posts about people asking whether a shoe they post a photo of is cordovan leather or not and people can identify them. How are you magicians doing this? Is there some kind of a definitive way to tell or are these just very informed guesses?

Answer (posted by @Chris Waffles):
Shell cordovan leather does not form creases (or microcreases) like calf does, instead forming ripples. If you are able to handle the leather, one way to identify shell is that scratches that would leave a permanent mark on calf are easily removed with a quick polish on shell.
This video, shown on Put This On, should give you a better idea of what to look for. Watch the first one and skip to around the 8:00 mark: http://putthison.com/post/5219725232...thers-are-made

Answer 2 (posted by @Larson McCord): These are shell cordovan, notice the humps. You can't see it exactly but there are no creases which appear in calf.
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