Harsh cord with neat woven binding (10)
I believe the answer is:
astringent
'harsh' is the definition.
(harsh can mean astringent or severe)
'cord with neat woven binding' is the wordplay.
'cord with' becomes 'string' (string is a kind of cord. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'woven' is an anagram indicator.
'binding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'neat' is an anagram of 'aent'.
'string' inserted inside 'aent' is 'ASTRINGENT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for astringent that I've seen before include "(Of taste) sharp, bitter" , "biting" , "for checking bleeding" , "Lotion" , "Severe - checking the flow of blood" .)