Is Horsehide Leather Fragile and Creaky?

Castor Dioscuri · Post by **Castor Dioscuri** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:22 pm

I had a hard time deciding between horsehide and cowhide, and finally settled on the former since I've been to led to believe that horsehide is lighter and not as stiff as cowhide.

However, in anticipation of my new jacket, I did some research that makes me wonder if HH is really such a good idea... Some people have claimed that their HH jackets are very creaky, and will crack and tear, and are generally more fragile than their other jackets.

Has anyone here ordered a HH from Wested? If so, please tell me this isn't so!

Hemingway Jones · Post by **Hemingway Jones** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 10:29 pm

I have ordered one and "it ain't so."

You have chosen... wisely.

Bjones · Post by **Bjones** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:29 am

Fragile???

......HH is one of the hides farthest from. Rest easy.

Last Crusader · Post by **Last Crusader** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:26 am

HH is definitely the most durable leather and it´s heavier than cowhide. But HH is a bit stiffer, esp. in cold weather. It´s important you treat the HH with Pecards or something similar every six months or the leather will dry out and could get cracks in it. The HH breakes in soon while goat or even cow can look like new for years.

Garzo · Post by **Garzo** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:47 am

I own three differen horsehide jackets, including a Wested Indy, and I have to say all three horsehides are very different in feel. The Wested HH is tough and heavy but very pliable and comfortable and not stiff at all. It really depends on how the particular leather is made.

I also own an Aero Highwayman made of "jerky" horsehide and that leather feels much stiffer and tends to crack more. I've had the Wested for about a year and wear it often but aside from a little wear on the seams and corners, it still looks very new, where as the creaky jerky Aero has worn faster because the type of horsehide it's made from creases easier.

I have a horsehide A2 from Gibson & Barnes and the leather is similar somewhere in between the Wested and the Aero. It doesn't crease as much as the Aero but slightly more than the Wested.

Creasing is not a bad thing. It adds character to the leather.

I'm no leather expert but I imagine stiffness and creasing has to do with the way the leather was preparred or tanned, so in the end, horse leather can vary extremely from one sort to another. My two cents.

Fatdutchman · Post by **Fatdutchman** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:37 am

I'm having a leather jacket made for me by Johnson leather. They sent me some leather samples to choose from. Among them was brown horsehide. I was sold. Their horsehide is just as flexible as the cowhide, but felt denser (therefore, heavier), and does NOT stretch...at all. The surface of the horsehide feels just like good cowhide, and looking at the two leathers, you would never know the difference. I can't imagine this particular leather cracking. It bends and flexes quite easily.

I had never seen horsehide before. Everyone talked about how "stiff" it was... I had imagined something like 5 oz. oak tanned cowhide! Nothing like it at all. This horsehide may be "stiffer" than cowhide, but not by much, and only due to the fact that it is so much denser than cowhide.

I think possibly one of the "problems" is that some of the jacket makers specify a type of horsehide that "ages" rapidly, so that you have a "vintage" look right off. I personally DON'T like this, but a lot of people do. I want leather to look new, and the longer it looks new, the better (and the longer it will last!). Johnson makes "working" motorcycle jackets, so they need good, flexible leather, which is probably why my sample seems so nice! I'll report when the jacket comes in. I'm really itchin' for it!

Bjones · Post by **Bjones** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:19 pm

Last Crusader wrote:It´s important you treat the HH with Pecards or something similar every six months or the leather will dry out and could get cracks in it. .

Crusader, I have to disagree my friend. My Wested HH has yet to yield to an application of Pecards, and its almost 2 years old. I've tried both regular Pecards and the Jell. Neither will penetrate the hide with any significance. I ended up wiping off 95% of the product, and what did stick was hard to buff off - it just left the whole thing feeling greasy for a few days.

I also own an Aero Bootlegger in Front Quarter HH, which is extremely thick, heavy & tough, but is tanned by a totally different method. It will soak up some Pecards, but still will only allow a minimal application.

As some have pointed out, it depends on how the leather was tanned. The finish on the Wested HH is very resilient to scratches etc., while as Fatdutchman commented, other HH (like the FQ HH Aero uses) breaks in very quickly. One of the tags in the Aero jacket even states that the leather was tanned using methods replicating 1920's processes. I like both for their individual properties.

The heavier Aero does tend to get stiff in the cold as you mentioned Crusader, and I think it is due to its thickness (considerably thicker than the Wested). My Wested never got stiff (that I noticed). Its a great all around comfortable yet durable leather.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:58 am

Horsehide CAN be incredibly stiff, but it breaks in and fits your body like no other leather. My Aero FQHH Highwayman is now pretty soft for a thick horsehide.

Fragile? No way, unless you have a ridiculously thin jacket. Horsehides in the 3-4oz. range are really tough jackets.

Creaky? Some are. My Lost Worlds Ryder jacket creaks like heck. I actually use Fuller's Earth to stop the creaking. Most other horsehides I have owned have not been particularly squeaky.

Last Crusader · Post by **Last Crusader** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:26 pm

Bjones wrote:
Last Crusader wrote:It´s important you treat the HH with Pecards or something similar every six months or the leather will dry out and could get cracks in it.
Crusader, I have to disagree my friend. My Wested HH has yet to yield to an application of Pecards, and its almost 2 years old. I've tried both regular Pecards and the Jell. Neither will penetrate the hide with any significance. I ended up wiping off 95% of the product, and what did stick was hard to buff off - it just left the whole thing feeling greasy for a few days.

I allways start the treatment after the break in. In my experience the HH gets dry and stiff after the leather begins to break in when I don´t treat it with leather dressing and the leather begins to age rapidly.
Indeet some HHs soaks very little leather dressing when they are new.
I´ve never seen Wested´s HH in person, so I can´t make any comments on that.
Is the Wested HH chrome tanned or vegitable tanned?

Bjones · Post by **Bjones** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:50 pm

I believe its chrome tanned, but I don't know for sure.

My TOD HH is very well broken in, and it still says "No" to Pecard's. Now the surface is still intact - not too many scratches etc, so maybe that has something to do with it. Was your HH experience with older or vintage jackets? I could see then that the leather would need more frequent care.