In a quandry!

[whiskyman]

Oh my poor brain is in meltdown!!!
I placed an order for a new Wested. I have an imported OTR in washed goat, and am happy with it generally except for the dull flat rather grey colour. Hence the order of a new one. This time I'm going custom and I originally opted for old stock dark brown goat. I chose this based on pics of my old jacket from years ago - lovely warm brown undertones when distressed.
BUT... the more I review old pics of my jacket, the more I remember the plasticy feel of the goat - which bugged me quite a bit!

SO - my order is on hold while i reconsider which hide to order. I've been through countless threads, bothered Peter on the phone and KT via pm. And I still don't know what to do.

I want a leather that is dark brown and passable for a Raiders jacket
It should be durable. I owned an authentic lamb and this is too soft
It mustn't feel plasticy (and I once owned a "soft" goat - it was plasticy too)
It should not be dyed through and through
It should have a brown rather than grey undertone

Looking at lots of pics - the dark brown lamb has a terrific colour, but it's lamb.
Novapelle seems a bit too light and verging on grey
Predistressed cow is too light in colour - unless it can be permanently darkened??
waxy cow... haven't seen enough pics.

ANY ADVICE????? I MAY HAVE TO GIVE UP!!!

[Hollowpond]

The new distressed cow that Ben (fifthchamber) has is as you described. Might be a little light, but it didn't seem CS fake distressing light...

Travis

[Holt]

man....

dunno what to tell you my friend.. it seems you been through most of the wested skins over the years without finding anything to your liking. I could recommmend the waxy cow for you. it is dark and has a very nice warm red undertone and distresses quite easily. (much like washed goat) but then again it may be too heavy for you. my 3 year old soft goat is not plasticy anymore. it was alittle bit at first but now it is just soft and leathery feeling all the way. you jsut have to keep wearing it...

what I have learned over the years when it comes to Indy jackets is that you can't be too nit picky about what you want ( and I still learn.. I sometimes fall back to my old pattern. ) I was like you. I had a large huge list about what the skin should be and absolutely NOT be, but it is almost impossible to get what you REALLY want and what you THINK you see on screen. even the shrunken lamb (which the original was) loooks totally of in real life sometimes. it's hard nut to crack. It's ''movie magic'' and it should be that way to IMO.

Personally, I would just get the old dark goat and pecard it once in a while and just wear it. so what if the undertone is alittle more towards grey then brown. the film jackets was greyish undertone. it was the stage lights that made it look red.

good luck.

[whiskyman]

Yeah, the waxy cow does sound interesting. I've only seem pics of Tremelo's jacket, and the lighting wasn't great. He showed some comparison shots with horse and old dark brown cow and the waxy cow looked to be lighter than authentic brown. But that's pics for you!
I think you had a sample - how would you compare the colour to authentic brown?

[whiskyman]

My dark goat from 2003 (?). Distressed to show nice undertones - but it did feel pretty plasticy despite daily use for over a year.

[Texan Scott]

This may be just the leather for you, according to KT:

He has a lightweight dark brown cowhide, that is.... lovely. It almost feels like lamb it's so thin.

[whiskyman]

Alas, it is dyed all the way through - so impossible to get any lighter highlights.

[Texan Scott]

I think that the n/p hides are a bit too heavy for a Raiders jacket, but LC is a different story. jmo.

[Rundquist]

Go with unicorn skin.

[ron521]

The Nauga provides a hide which is nearly indestructible, and often has the nice reddish brown tone you seek...

[whiskyman]

Found these pics on a german forum. Anyone got any similar comparison pics?
http://indy.mamo-net.de/attachments.php ... nt&id=4442
http://indy.mamo-net.de/attachments.php ... nt&id=4443

[Chewbacca Jones]

If Wested doesn't have the hide/color combination that you'd like, have you considered other vendors? Or have you locked in on Wested for sure?

[fifthchamber]

As Travis mentioned, the new "Distressed Hide" Cow is pretty close to what you're asking for I'd say.. It's a little lighter than the Lamb leather I have (Authentic Lamb), but only really seems "too light" under a flash.. In sunlight it's dark enough for Temple at least, if perhaps not Raiders... Under flash it's a little closer to Crusade.... I'd guess it depends on the cowhide that you get, but mine was lovely.. And did darken up well under one application of Pecards... So with more over time I'm expecting it to darken well...

It's certainly thick enough to pass what you asked for with flying colours..

I wouldn't say that it's "too light" is my point.... It has a very deep richness to it than only really stands out as visibly "light" under a camera flash... Well worth the consideration...

Regards..

[whiskyman]

If Wested doesn't have the hide/color combination that you'd like, have you considered other vendors? Or have you locked in on Wested for sure?

There are some good looking jacket from other vendors, but quite frankly apart from roohides I've stopped buying things from outside Europe - just too much hassle.

As for pre-dist cow - I have been quite impressed with some of the newer jackets I've seen. However, my very first wested was made of this hide and I remember it as too light. Also my friend Breineder Indy had one for years and struggled constantly with leather dyes to get it darker. It always seemed to return to its original colour eventually - even after an application of leather dye!!

It was a lovely feeling hide though, although not terribly water resistent and possibly too heavy to come close to a Raiders drape.
I would say it's definitely in the running.

[Holt]

novapella and pre-d hide will soak up water like toilet paper if not some pecards is added but eventually it will dry out and get back to being dry.

[tomek9210]

Why don't you look for some skin that you like on your own and then deliver it to Wested?

[whiskyman]

Thanks for the help! Have made my decision. Will post pics when the jacket arrives!

[Texan Scott]

Go with unicorn skin.

Never play leapfrog with a unicorn, according to Robin Williams.






Bison...USW?

[Chris]

Never play leapfrog with a unicorn, according to Robin Williams.

Like so much of Robin William's work- plagerism.

Let's just say "Murphy was an optomist."