How many jacket owners -- when you received your jacket -- wore it 12-24 hours a day even though it was 80+ degrees outside and your wife was looking at you like you were a little nuts?
How many of you have ever slept in your jacket to get it "broken in" even though it didn't exactly match your T-shirt or boxer shorts?
How many of you have said, "Forget it -- I'm not waiting until it rains" and hopped into the shower with your jacket on to give it a little misting?
Yup, I wore/wear it almost all the time. People look at me like I'm crazy wearing it when it's in the upper 70's but I just don't feel hot...so who cares?
Although I've slept in my jacket several times, I've never showered with it on or washed it in the machine---I'm concerned I might ruin it.
I've bought two Wested's now, and each one I've worn as much as possible for the first month I had it. I got the first one in the fall, so that was painless, but my new jacket is killing me. I still wear it though. I haven't slept in a jacket, I have no idea how much I thrash in my sleep, better not risk it. However, I do wear it every night while I work my way through Next Generation on the recliner.
.....Funny!.....remember Happy Days when the "Fonz" wore his black leather jacket 24/7....summer, winter, rain, snow, ....and during that one episode when he was water-skiing!
I've slept in my jacket (an A2 type, not SA), but that was because I was travelling or stuck somewhere and that was about all I had for a bedroll. No intent to distress it, just unintended distress.
Never slept in a jacket, but I have thrown a Lost Worlds in the washing machine to soften it up (4.5 oz horsehide.. about as thick and tough as wearing three or four westeds all at the same time).
The best way I've found to soften up new leathers in the first few weeks is to work 'em while watching tv at night. Just sit there and roll up your jacket, twist it, unroll it, ball it up, smush it, twist it some more, etc. Do that for a half hour every night and your jacket will break in quickly. Just be careful when twisting...watch that you don't break any threads.. it happened to me on my Wested.
To be honest, most of the Indy jackets out there are so thin that a half hour would probably be plenty. When I got my Wested HH it already felt super comfortable and didn't need any scrunching at all. It's just what you're used to I guess.
My wife already thinks I'm nuts with my jackets as it is... she'd surely leave me if I started sleeping with them.
Long ago, a friend of mine told me that the best way to break-in a leather jacket very quickly was to run a 5-mile jog in it for about a week.....all that sweat and body movement will soften it up in no time.......too bad I'm not a runner
Still waiting on my Raiders Novapelle to arrive but have definately hopped in the shower and misted all of my horsehide / goatskin A2s.
Water treatment works better on horse that it does goat I have found but still helps with the lived in look on both.
Not sure whether I'll does this on my Novapelle as I don't know what the effects will be also if the jacket is more of an authentic brown when it arrives I think I will give it a coat of Pecards first to darken it slightly then maybe decide after seeing the outcome.
I've rolled my CE USW while watching TV, like Louisiana mentioned, I also wore it for the first week while watching TV, trying to move around a lot, and left it on while out watching a couple movies; one movie, I rolled it up and used it as lumbar support, turning and punching it a couple times through Kung Fu Panda
Haven't slept in it (although I did consider it a couple times), and no shower for this one, it's been raining a lot lately in calgary, so I've used it a lot outside lately, just for the initial work-in
I live in swampy East Georgia, so while I could easily break in a jacket by wearing it while mowing the lawn, I don't think I could survive the experience I'm waiting till Fall and hopefully some of the movie related jacket fever has died down a bit so prices are reasonable and choices are broad.
I have broken in leather boots by wearing them in the shower and walking them dry. We wear nylon sided rough out boots in the Army now, but this trick used to work wonders on the older black boots. No reason it wouldn't work on a good leather jacket.
wore it 12-24 hours a day even though it was 80+ degrees outside and your wife was looking at you like you were a little nuts?
You say that like it's a bad thing!!! Actually my wife and I have come to an agreement. I can wear a new Indy jacket to bed only 3 times!!!
....oh and the trick is to get skivies to match!!
jason10mm wrote:I have broken in leather boots by wearing them in the shower and walking them dry.... No reason it wouldn't work on a good leather jacket.
Jay, yeah man that's probably the best way to get a good pair of leather boots or a leather jacket to fit you the best.. it'll help it mold to your body (and boots to your feet, obviously) very quickly. I don't usually soak the whole jacket though, just the sleeves..but either will work fine.
LOL, that reminds me of an episode of Malcolm in the Middle, where the oldest brother is on a ranch, and he tells everyone that's the best way to break in his new cowboy boots. He soaks them in a large bucket of water and wears them constantly for three days.. when he finally takes them out, his feet are pasty white with sores and blisters all over them.
I wear my horsehide jackets in the rain even if I have to run outside at night to do it. (Which gets me some strange looks sometimes.) Heavy front quarter horse takes a long time to break-in, and even though it's "waterproof", it does absorb some water. Getting them wet helps soften up the hide and brings out the grain, and takes off just a little of the shine. I'm always careful to let it dry in hanging on a nice wide wood hanger, away from any direct heat source.
I don't treat my jackets with Pecards or anything else. I could never bring myself to run it through the wash, because I'd probably never get over it if I ruined an 800 dollar jacket that way. (More by ruining the lining than damagine the leather, I think.)
I don't have experience with lambskin jackets, but I think that goat is at least as waterproof as horse.
I've worn mine as passanger on a long distance road trip. After about 4 hours in a car taking naps and pushing the sleeves up, your own body heat & pressure wrinkles it up nicely. Do that over a couple of days and you have lived in it.
PSBIndy wrote:.....Funny!.....remember Happy Days when the "Fonz" wore his black leather jacket 24/7....summer, winter, rain, snow, ....and during that one episode when he was water-skiing!
I got my first wested on saturday 6/14/08 and I love it been wearing all that I can my wife gives me greif about wearing a jacket in summer in the house says I look dumb. she's not home now and I'm wearing it and feel great. I have to take it to the tailor to have the sleeves shorten abit other wise I REALLY FEEL THIS IS GOING TO BE MY JACKET FOR LIFE. I just have to see how it holds up in Illinois winters. I will post pictures as soon as I learn how. wife said she'll teach me tonight we will see.
Definitely guilty as charged. My first jacket was the Wested Raiders lambskin so it wasn't too difficult to pull off. I was shocked at first how light that jacket was when I first got it - disappointed almost really - but found that I was definitely able to extend the wearing time due to that light weight especially when compared to some of the other jackets such as a G&B or the now available TN. Wearing one of those in 90 plus degree weather - well that's definitely a little less comfortable!
PSBIndy wrote:.....Funny!.....remember Happy Days when the "Fonz" wore his black leather jacket 24/7....summer, winter, rain, snow, ....and during that one episode when he was water-skiing!
Ahhh.... you just can't beat it. Funny thing is that Happy Days stayed one of the number 1 shows for like the next 5 or 6 years after the infamous shark jumping ep.
Danny Dravot wrote:
When I ordered it, I pondered how I would go about distressing it. Steel wool... sandpaper... alcohol... a shower... balling it up on the floor...
I distressed mine when it was about a week old... and regretted it. The leather is thin enough to really break in pretty quickly, and if you just wear it a lot it'll start to get that "well worn" look before you know it. I'd save the shower treatment to the heavier leathers (which it works very well on).
