the life of a cowhide

Post by **Holt** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:50 pm

This hide is not so often talked about here on this board.

I have looked and read everywhere about this hide..but the anwsers I am looking for is not to be found.

I am wondering how different the standard cowhide(with protective surface) is from the HH? stiffer? thicker? drape? etc...

and how long would that hide last? regular wear fall/winter time...

this would be mostly a winter jacket...as the winters here in the north get PRETTY cold

if you have some info and pictures I would love to see and read it...

thanks
Holt

jacksdad · Post by **jacksdad** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:30 pm

My dad has a cowhide jacket from the early 70's it's held up pretty good, it has cracked in some places but he wore it for 20 years before retiring it to his snowblowing jacket and that's when it started to crack.because it would get wet and he would hang it up in the basement without drying or treating it once a year,like he did before. hope this helps.

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:39 pm

I had one for a little while. Really didn't like it... was too heavy.

Post by **Holt** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:02 pm

I find that the HH is a nice leater but I dont like the way it grains up..I mean I knew a jacket would give grain..but nothing like the HH...I have never seen so much grain on a jacket like the HH....

thats why I wonder so much about the cowhide..

Nova and regular...

I could use another winter jacket but I would love to have a jacket that could last 30 years+ and I was hoping that a cow could do that,...

by post by Jacksdad help though..thanks..

and KT the cow looks really dark..how much lighter/darker is it from the HH?

thanks
Holt

Rundquist · Post by **Rundquist** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:04 pm

Cowhide can be tanned a gazillion different ways. It can be skived to many different thicknesses. Different parts of the animal also derive very different leather characteristics. There’s no real answer to this question.

Scratch my post. I didn't realize that you were talking about Wested cowhide specifically.

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:04 pm

It's the same colour as the HH.

CM · Post by CM » Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:23 am

Kt Templar wrote:I had one for a little while. Really didn't like it... was too heavy.

It was those huge pockets - they are really heavy

Mississippi Jones · Post by **Mississippi Jones** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:48 am

The cowhide is heavier, yes. But isn't Novapelle cow hide? Shouldn't Novapelle be the same weight as Cow Hide?

Post by **Michaelson** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:26 pm

I've had more cowhide jackets come in and out of my closet than anything else, and can state that the weight range seems to go all OVER the scale.

Wings cowhide (like the VIP) and the old Wested 'New Finish Cowhide' were VERY heavy weight. Perfect cold weather jackets.

I've had other thinner cowhide jackets in the collection that were as thin and draped as good as lambskin.

It all depends.

Either way, they've all been great performers, if purchased from a high end producer like Wings, Wested, G&B, etc. as they source their hides from Italy, England, and South America where the tanning process is very well done.

I've been around (never owned) some really CHEAP cowhide jackets that reeked, as the tannery used other means of producing the hide, and are not to be approached from on the downwind side.

All that said, my personal experience with cowhide as always been good, and it's usually the jacket I reach for when the winds are howling and snow blowing on a cold winters day.

Regards! Michaelson

Mola Ram · Post by **Mola Ram** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:28 pm

I've worn my cowhide wested just about as hard as possible for the 5 years I've had it. It's looking rather....distressed these days. There's basically no liner left, I've stitched and re stitched the side straps multiple times. I've worn it to school for the past 5 years just about every day from fall to spring.

Post by **Michaelson** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:29 pm

Now THAT'S the appearance of a well used and well loved jacket, no matter WHO the maker is!

HIGH regard! Michaelson

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:45 pm

Mola Ram wrote:I've worn my cowhide wested just about as hard as possible for the 5 years I've had it. It's looking rather....distressed these days. There's basically no liner left, I've stitched and re stitched the side straps multiple times. I've worn it to school for the past 5 years just about every day from fall to spring.

Can you please post a more detailed pic of the jacket? Just to see better the distressing after 5 years!

Post by **Holt** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:26 pm

wow.Mola Ram,

the drape of that jacket is just wonderfull for a cowhide.

really makes me want one.

how has it grained up over the years?

how heavy is it.

how dark?

and the most important question for me is has it strecthed/shrunken any???

please post some more pictures of it

thanx
Holt

Post by **Holt** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:40 pm

Kt Templar wrote:I had one for a little while. Really didn't like it... was too heavy.
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I think that because of the two heavy bound leater inside pockets.the big leather facings and the HUGE pockets makes the jacket even heavier then it actually needed to be.

strip those thing and I think it would feel alot more lighter.

and I came to think about it just now.

what if the original jackets in raiders was made from cowhide..we would not even think twice about getting an SA raiders cowhide. thats funny sometimes when I think about it.

then we would actually hate the idea to get a raiders in lambskin cause then it would be too thin and too drapy and too weak...

funny stuff

bests
Holt

Castor Dioscuri · Post by **Castor Dioscuri** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:54 pm

Just to throw in my two cents, I've had my Wested Novapelle for about 10 months now, and I've noticed some change.

Now, taking my Wested Horsehide that I've had for 19 months now into consideration, I've given both the Horsehide and the Novapelle the same amount of babying, applying Pecards either after it rains, or at the end/start of each season, yet they've both aged differently.

First, starting with the Horsehide, I've taken it on almost every trip that I've gone on. It's been worn with quite a bit of frequency, and yet, the texture and color of that jacket is virtually identical to the day I first recieved it. Shape-wise, it has conformed to my frame very nicely, although very subtley, and still retains more than a few traces of it's original shape.

Now, if you're wondering where I'm going with this... The reason why I brought up the Horsehide was to point out the differences to my Novapelle, which is only half as old as that Horsehide.

The Horsehide has gone through ALOT of changes ever since I got it. The first time I felt it, it had a velvety texture to it, and the leather had an intentionally uneven and "rusty" appearance. After a quick session of Pecards in the same week, it lost that rusty-brownish color and became almost completely black, and somewhere along the way, it developed a very smooth, new-leather furniture feel in place of that velvety feeling.

I wore it for the end of Winter/Spring season, then around late April/Early May, finally retired it for the Summer.

One thing I notice is that when you wear your jackets religiously and finally put them away, that long period during which they are in closet-retirement will refresh your perspective on them. You'll notice things about them that you didn't use to when you wore them everyday. The same goes for friends that you haven't seen in a long time...

When I pulled the Horsehide out of the closet to give it a Pecard once over in preperation for Winter, the jacket looked almost brand new, and I couldn't believe this had faithfully served me for almost two years.

Putting it away, I then pulled out the Novapelle, and was shocked at how it had aged. The jacket still had that black-ish color, but now certainly looked the part of an Indy jacket. It looked three times as old as my Horsehide jacket, with creases covering the back panel.

In those areas of great stress or 'bunching' (i.e: the area by the sidestraps, the area by the zipper, the bottom portion of the back panel), the leather had developed a very puffed-up, cotton-ish feeling, as if it were suffering from some severe leather bruising. The leather overall on the jacket also now felt alot looser than what I had remembered, and I was afraid that if I rubbed the Pecards on it too hard, it might rub a hole into the leather...

That's just my own experience with the matter, and I'm not trying to promote horsehide over cowhide, but rather, I'm just calling it as I see it. In fact, if you ask me, I'm not a big fan of Horsehide Indy jackets, since they don't get the drape the way I like, nor were any production-used jackets made from that leather; two factors that are important to me.

The novapelle certainly looks the part of an original-trilogy jacket (since the KotCS jacket was thicker), but I suppose if what I experienced was normal, then the tradeoff is rapid aging... though that may not be such a bad thing to some gearheads?

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:57 pm

That last reply just goes to show that it's "horses for courses" (no pun intended), in this hobby.

Case in point: I have a Wested horse and the reason I LOVE it being horse is that, to my mind, many jackets back in the 30s were being made of horse.

So although no Indy film jackets were made of the material (which is important to Castor), the jackets of the actual era were - which is important to me.

We're a weird mob, eh?

Baldwyn · Post by **Baldwyn** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:22 pm

Indiana Holt wrote:I find that the HH is a nice leater but I dont like the way it grains up..I mean I knew a jacket would give grain..but nothing like the HH...I have never seen so much grain on a jacket like the HH....

Hey Holt,

Can you photograph this grain? I was expecting the HH grain to be very pleasing, so this is interesting. I didn't like my goatskin grain, and thought the HH would be less pebbly.

Post by **Holt** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:31 pm

the Horsehide is very smooth,very soft and not pebbly goatskin like...

I just didnt care so much for the grain it gave after use..

but I start to get used to that look...

Baldwyn · Post by **Baldwyn** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:11 pm

Ah, smooth and not pebbly sounds great. I hope you keep that LC jacket and come to love it. If you do have a chance, it'd be great to see the grain you're talking about.

BlueSkyz · Post by **BlueSkyz** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:59 am

A few shots of a USWings 'Signature' cowhide. Nice jacket but I didn't like the collar,I'm a fan for G&B.

Kokopelli · Post by **Kokopelli** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:43 pm

Hey BlueSkyz- Is that a recently new VIP? -Looks just like mine. What's your opinion on the leather? I've heard the VIP 's were a thicker heavy cowhide, but mine is extremely thin, and as soft as cloth.

BlueSkyz · Post by **BlueSkyz** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:17 pm

I returned this several months ago.......the leather was really soft and pliable,I was bummed having to return it. The leather was pretty heavy,more so than goat...................

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:54 am

I love the grain that has popped up on my horsehide jacket.

(it has been washed).

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:57 am

Yep, reminds me of my collar:

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj25 ... acket3.jpg