I've wondered that if the TN jacket was used in the outdoor scenes if it was the jacket Ford wore when he jumped into the river? Wouldn't a complete soaking shrink it up quite a bit and also have an effect on the leather...
My thoughts exactly.... I don't think it is possible that the raiders jacket was 4" shorter than the temple jacket. Compare the scenes in Imans pad from Raiders and the arrival in Pankot from TOD. Both about the same length in the back.
I am not claiming that shrinkage is indigenous to Wested lambskin, just that Wested lambskins DO shrink.
I have owned over a hundred leather jackets, (though not at once). I think I still have about 30 at this time. There have been a few lambskins, but the majority have been horsehide and cowhide. Very few goat, and more than a few that I have NO idea what leather they are made from.
While I cannot claim that Wested lambskin shrinks more than any other lambskin, I can say that the majority of my Westeds ( 8 ) were lambskin and ALL of them have shrunk to some degree - some substantially, and certainly more than the Wested cowhide or Wested goats. To be fair, the Todd's calfskin wizzled up pretty good as well.
My Aero horsehide and my Vanson cowhides are heavy jacket (4.0 ounce or better) and have braved everything I can throw at them with no ill effects. If you have a Schott perfecto, they are what I consider a midrange cowhide (2.5-3.0 ounce) and I have worn them countless times in the rain while riding my motorcycle. No problems at all. Same with my Lost Worlds horsehide.
It may be the very thing that many want - a light leather with the right drape - is the same thing that makes the jacket the most impractical to wear in rainy weather. It is NOT all about the way it is dried either and that is what I was wondering here with Holt's jacket. Surely he has had plenty of experience with these jackets and would not use heat to dry them unless he was trying to shrink the jacket somewhat.
It drives me crazy to hear that leather is not meant to be worn as a raincoat. I think that the real meaning is that the "specific leather that I am selling" is not meant to be used as a raincoat. Most of the leathers I have owned just get heavy when wet and a bit stiff when dried, but suffer no permanent visible damage or shrinkage. The softness returns with wear.
I do not own any designer "mall" lambskin jackets, but I expect them to be the same. If I pay anywhere between $300-1500 for a leather jacket, it had better be able to handle a rainstorm or two (or three). No point wearing a garment that supposed to protect you from the elements if it cannot do so. That is how I decide what stays in my collection. With few exceptions, all the ones I own now have survived a few soakings.
rick5150 wrote:
I have owned over a hundred leather jackets, (though not at once). I think I still have about 30 at this time.
You, my friend, are my new hero! I can't wait to show this post to my wife. I currently have forty-plus jackets/coats but more than half of them are not leather. She has always thought I was nuts when it came to all of the jackets I've collected over the years!
Holt, you are a genius.
I just now got around to reading this thread. I keep telling myself my Wested is fine, I'll never need another one, but I continue to find little details I'd like to change 'if I ever did buy another'...but I won't, maybe...
The '42 back panel on a 44' is absolutely the best detail on yours, as far as I'm concerned. That's my biggest regret with my Wested is the 'flying squirrel' look. The back panel looks too wide for he jacket...you have solved a big problem with these jackets. Again, my opinion.
coronado3 wrote:I just can't buy the fact that Harrison's Raiders jacket was 22.5" in the back what with the TOD back at 26". They really fit about the same - maybe an 1" to 1.5" difference not a difference of 4.5 inches in the back.
I think it's partly in how the Shorter Raiders falls off the shoulders to the back
Wow, Holt, that's amazing, your comparison pictures really bring it home too. How do you think the new goat compares with your horsehide, by the way? Absolutely phenomenal work.
Holt, you are a genius.
I just now got around to reading this thread. I keep telling myself my Wested is fine, I'll never need another one, but I continue to find little details I'd like to change 'if I ever did buy another'...but I won't, maybe...
The '42 back panel on a 44' is absolutely the best detail on yours, as far as I'm concerned. That's my biggest regret with my Wested is the 'flying squirrel' look. The back panel looks too wide for he jacket...you have solved a big problem with these jackets. Again, my opinion.
my friend...you have a LC right?
this is raiders..
I dont know how a smaller backpanel would look one a LC..
also the flying squirl look does not come from the back panel,but the side panel and low armholes.
the armholes on a LC are much more lower cut and pushed more to the front. thats why you have that ''flying squirl'' effect when zipped.
bigger and lower armholes makes the jacket also thighten up and restrict the movement to the extreme when zipped
Last edited by Holt on Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yeah, I really don't like the low armholes, and really need to get a Raiders jacket again. I skydived with my G&B one halloween, and had planned to with my TN CS to send pics to Tony to prove I was beating the heck out of it, but my arms are too restricted, and it's not worth risk! Also, I have problems with my pleats kinking at the top, near the seam on all the jackets I've had, and I think it's because the back panel is too wide. I believe you got the formula.
There's not enough superlatives to describe this jacket, Holt. The comparison shots really do bring it home. Just awesome work.
And as for the lamb shrinking, that must have been a factor as I also doubt that there could be 4 inches of difference between the Raiders and ToD jacket (but I don't doubt Tony at his word). The way the jacket fits has some to do with it. For example, my Indy I is around an inch shorter in back than my CS but they hit right around the same spot at the bottom. So some length could be accounted for but not 4 inches.
Holt, you are a genius.
I just now got around to reading this thread. I keep telling myself my Wested is fine, I'll never need another one, but I continue to find little details I'd like to change 'if I ever did buy another'...but I won't, maybe...
The '42 back panel on a 44' is absolutely the best detail on yours, as far as I'm concerned. That's my biggest regret with my Wested is the 'flying squirrel' look. The back panel looks too wide for he jacket...you have solved a big problem with these jackets. Again, my opinion.
my friend...you have a LC right?
this is raiders..
I dont know how a smaller backpanel would look one a LC..
also the flying squirl look does not come from the back panel,but the side panel and low armholes.
the armholes on a LC are much more lower cut and pushed more to the front. thats why you have that ''flying squirl'' effect when zipped.
bigger and lower armholes makes the jacket also thighten up and restrict the movement to the extreme when zipped
Wow...you are a wealth of information. So...my next Wested...I mean, if i ever... will be a Raiders!
It really is amazing how Holt's one jacket can mimic several different jackets from several different scenes. It's like a Wested Raiders endgame. That's definitely a keeper!
crismans wrote:There's not enough superlatives to describe this jacket, Holt. The comparison shots really do bring it home. Just awesome work.
And as for the lamb shrinking, that must have been a factor as I also doubt that there could be 4 inches of difference between the Raiders and ToD jacket (but I don't doubt Tony at his word). The way the jacket fits has some to do with it. For example, my Indy I is around an inch shorter in back than my CS but they hit right around the same spot at the bottom. So some length could be accounted for but not 4 inches.
It's actually not 4" shorter, more like 3 to 3 1/2" shorter. They can be that different because they are completely different jackets, different cuts
Oby1ITA wrote:but, does harrison uses differents leatherjackets in one movie or he keeps the same leather?
For example, what does harrison uses in the last pictures you posted?
The jackets for Raiders and Temple were lambskin. It's been widely assumed/said that the LC jacket was also lambskin but now it's been postulated that it might have been cowhide.
gwyddion wrote:Holt, isn't horse supposed to be stronger than goat? I always heard that after roo-hide horsehide was the strongest
Regards, Geert
they are about the same strength.
I put goat over horse becasue its way more waterrepelant then Horse.water is a goats friend..so yeah..stronger ;-)
Ok, that makes perfect sence to me. I know goat also drapes better than horse, but with the water repelling quality it would seem goat realy is a winner