Has anyone tumbled a horse hide Wested in the dryer?

Discuss technique for prolonging the life of your gear or giving it that aged look

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jeff
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Has anyone tumbled a horse hide Wested in the dryer?

Post by jeff »

Subject says it all: curious if this would loosen it up any?

I've worn my HH Wested for 2 years, and it still looks like new. Talk about a tough leather!

Anyway, I'd like to speed up the process a little, and wondering what people recommend.
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PSBIndy
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Post by PSBIndy »

I used Pecard creme on my Wested HH LC....softened it up real nicely after couple days.
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Louisiana Jones
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Post by Louisiana Jones »

In the world of HH jackets, the Westeds are the thinnest and softest I've ever handled (I owned a HH LC). I once threw a Schott HH (that is 3 or 4 times as thick as the Wested HH) moto jacket in the wash and it loosened it up considerably, but even if the leather can take it you have to be careful of the lining. From what I've heard about their linings you might want to avoid the ol' washer treatment...the jackets really aren't stiff at all to begin with.

Perhaps a coat or two of leather dressing will help out.

LJ
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jeff
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Post by jeff »

Thanks for the replies...

I've now tumbled it in the dryer (no heat) for about 2 hours with one of these in the mix:

Image

I can't say that it's loosened up much, so I pulled it out, grabbed some Pecards (I have the standard dressing, not the jell), which I nuked until it melted (as per advice from someone at Pecards for use on horse hide), applied, and now letting it settle in.

One immediate thing I noticed is that the pecards soaked into the few areas of the leather that were scuffed and had a pinkish color to it, and it now appears to have turned back to a dark brown (yay). We'll see if that lasts.

I'll see how it feels tomorrow, and maybe toss it back in the dryer for further tumble treatment.
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