Full grain The most robust leather is full-grain leather, which is also the most expensive. It comes from the area just below the animal's hair and has a marginal resistance to moisture.

Horween makes a revered corrected-grain leather called Chromexcel (written as CXL) it has produced for almost 100 years and is used by boot makers like Alden, Wolverine, and Grant Stone.

Ask if the covering is full grain leather, whether it contains different types of leather, or if it is part or wholly made from artificial leather. If the seller doesn’t know, walk away.

What is aniline leather? Poly & Bark Aniline leather — sometimes referred to as full-aniline or pure-aniline leather — is top-grain leather that has been dyed with a translucent, pigment-free dye ...