My New Zealand Lambskin HERO Raiders

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:36 am

Hey all,
I just wanted to report that I made a visit to Wested about a week and a half ago to pay my respects to Mr. Botwright. I really didn't have any intention of making a purchase as I have a Magnoli in thin cowhide that I like a lot. But as Peter and I talked about the history of the jacket I spied a small bundle of leather sitting on a table. I asked him what it was and he said that it's a sample of a new selection of New Zealand lambskin that he's excited about. He said it's the closest leather he's ever had to the original jacket he made for Ford, which was also made in New Zealand lambskin. I flipped through the skins and they were beautiful - lots of nice grain and growth/stretch marks.

It was then that I knew I was going to order a jacket.

I rec'd it a few days ago and I've given it a hot water treatment and I'm breaking it in. I have to say that I'm extremely happy with it and the leather is phenomenal. The color is spot on. I love it. Apparently my order was the first out of this batch of leather. I think I was just at the right place at the right time. Pics to come soon.

-J

The Character · Post by **The Character** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:33 am

Ha Ha ... i came in on the Friday and he was talking about your visit! ... Said you had your Magnoli with you but that you were turned to the Dark side ...
He showed me that batch of Lambskin and its beautiful ... super soft!

hope you got what you were after and enjoyed your visit .. when he warms up Peter is a very entertaining chap to speak to with a lot of stories to tell.

Good choice on the jacket!

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:38 am

Oh that's funny. Yeah, Peter was incredibly friendly after learning that I had come all the way from California to see him. (I mean I'm here for other things, but part of my excitement about this trip was to meet Peter.)

Yes, the leather is incredibly thin, drapey and soft.

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 7:27 am

What's ironic is, Gibson and Barnes used New Zealand lambskin to make their Expedition.

What was once old is now new again.

Regards! Michaelson

xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:46 am

This is slightly big news isn't it? If this leather becomes a standard wested offering for the Raiders/ Hero jackets..

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:54 am

Absolutely!

The New Zealand lambskin is top rated stuff, and even being the lowest leather on the 'tensile strength' scale, is still super tough stuff.

Once again, I'm comparing it to my prototype New Zealand lambskin Expedition, and mine has been plugging and chugging away since 2000-01, so 17 years later, we're STILL talking about a strong jacket.

It's just a win-win for everyone!

Regards! Michaelson

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:56 am

I thought so too.

This is with a light water treatment. Today put it in the shower and wore it all day and it’s shaping nicely.

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Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:01 am

DANG that's a nice looking jacket!!!!!!

Regards! Michaelson

xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:04 am

Looks amazing!!

Did Peter say if he plans to use this lamb instead the Shrunken Lamb. I notice no change to the website as of yet.

Charybdis · Post by **Charybdis** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:01 pm

I love the ridges/folds up the arms. Looks cool!

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:02 pm

He said that he ordered a sample to see how it looks on a few jackets. He seems very excited about the new skin and said he probably will go ahead and get a bunch of it.

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Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:03 pm

GOOD CALL!!!!

Regard! Michaelson

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:13 pm

More pics from today.

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xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:27 pm

fine looking!!

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 1:48 pm

Probably the nicest lambskin example I've seen come out of Wested, bar none, and I've handled a LOT of Wested jackets in my day!

WELL DONE PETER!!!!

Regard! Michaelson

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 1:54 pm

Thanks guys. And yes, many thanks to Peter.

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Post by **Cajunkraut** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 2:50 pm

Nice! I'm 99% sure that Todd's jackets are NZ lamb as well.

Jones-Solo · Post by **Jones-Solo** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 1:30 am

Wow that looks amazing might be the best Raiders jacket I have ever seen and the fit is perfect too. I assume he took your measurements while you were there and that is why it fits so nicely? I have ordered a LC from Steele and Jones and I hope it fits me as nice as that one does you.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:43 am

Jones, yeah Peter took my measurements while I was there. Honestly he didn’t take that many. He said, “your a 36,” without measuring. I said, “are you sure? He said, “I’ll measure if you want me too, but I’ve been doing this for 40 years and you’re a 36.” Made me laugh.

If I had to do it over again I probably would go one inch shorter in the front and back. I think it might be more SA that way. But I’n fine with it the way it is now after treating it.

This is how it looked when I first put it on in the store:

I considered having them shorten the arms right then and there as I was a little worried it was too big. But they suggested I let It break in first. I did and I’m glad now. I still might go a half an inch shorter in the arms later. But It’s not a big issue.

-J

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Holt · Post by **Holt** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 5:31 am

I want one!!!

Obersalzberg · Post by **Obersalzberg** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:56 am

I gotta stop visiting COW and seeing pics of awesome jackets. I'm spending too much money. i've got bills to pay people!

but really, your jacket looks great. that lambskin looks good...looks reeeeal good. i'm a size 36 too if you ever wanna let it go.

Holt · Post by **Holt** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 7:46 am

Man... this just screams for a good soak to get the woodoo in it.

The Character · Post by **The Character** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 9:53 am

Thats a great colour ...

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:51 am

Ober, I’ll let you know

.

Holt, I’ve soaked it once already. May do another soon. I’d like to take a sponge to it and rough it up just a bit.

Just rec’d word that Peter very likely will include this skin in his lineup very soon.

-J

The Character · Post by **The Character** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:54 am

I saw the bundle .... the leathers nice. Peter offered me some for my Skyfall but i went with a different lambskin. He did say he was after more of it as it was bang on what he was looking for ... all in all great news ..

Marv · Post by **Marv** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:35 pm

Looks really great, one question did you ask for different pockets / flaps on your Hero as they looks different to mine and more like the photos on the Hero vs Raiders blog.

The pocket flaps on my Hero are quite pointed maybe too so and from what I have read, the Hero should have more a more scalloped shaped rather than pointed.

Anyway, just an observation, the lamb looks fantastic and a really SA shade to it

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:43 pm

Hey Marv. No I didn’t ask for anything special or different. The pocket flaps are the standard ones from the Hero patterns as far as I know.

I’m very happy with the shade of the leather. Like I said, when I saw the bundle sitting there on the table I immediately felt that it was the right look, color and feel. And I knew I had to have it.

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Tinplatejeff · Post by **Tinplatejeff** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 3:18 pm

What is the lining?

All cotton or cotton body and satin sleeves?

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 3:19 pm

Cotton body, satin sleeves.

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Jones-Solo · Post by **Jones-Solo** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:45 am

I like the length of the jacket front and back myself its how I want mine to look I might have to tell Diego to look at your pics before he starts my LC. I feel like my Raiders was a little short although Diego and everyone else says that is the style of the Raiders and that it looked good on me from the pics I posted of me wearing it.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:00 am

Jones, I like your jacket a lot.

It’s funny about the length, it’s very hard to figure what it “should” be. I thought mine was too long at first. I thought I should’ve gotten it an inch shorter. Then I soaked it and kept wearing it and now I really like the length. It might have shrunk just a little or maybe my perception changed. I don’t know if it’s SA or not. But I like it.

Perception is a funny thing.

CM · Post by CM » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:38 am

That jacket is nice but it does seem very long. My guess is that it is about 3 inches too long. But having said that it looks good and is an interesting take on the Indy jacket. Out of interest how long is it and how tall are you?

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:48 am

Jacket back length is 25. I’m 5’6”. Depending on where I wear the jacket on my shoulders, the hem comes either to the top of my back pants pockets or to the middle of them.

Again, perception is funny. You think it’s too long — I think it’s just right. Then again, I thought my Magnoli in cowhide was just right and now I’ve completely reversed that opinion based on this jacket. It probably IS too long to be strictly SA. But I’m happy with it.

Chewbacca Jones · Post by **Chewbacca Jones** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:56 am

The length was the first thing I noticed. I like, but it's got to be the longest Wested I have ever seen! That's how long I asked mine to be, years ago, but it's not what I got. So, I bought a Magnoli, which looked almost exactly like the first photo you posted of the Wested!

CM · Post by CM » Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:13 pm

senorjacob wrote:Jacket back length is 25. I’m 5’6”. Depending on where I wear the jacket on my shoulders, the hem comes either to the top of my back pants pockets or to the middle of them.

Again, perception is funny. You think it’s too long — I think it’s just right. Then again, I thought my Magnoli in cowhide was just right and now I’ve completely reversed that opinion based on this jacket. It probably IS too long to be strictly SA. But I’m happy with it.

Of course as long as you are happy that's all that matters however Harrison Ford's jacket was 22 inches long and he was/is 6ft 1. I am 6ft 2 and my jacket is 25 inches at the back too. It looks longish on me (compared to the movie jacket) and I am 8 inches taller than you. I would say your ideal length - if you were going for a more screen accurate look - would be around 21 inches.

xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:06 pm

21 inches is too short. There won't be enough material on the back panel to drape properly. Fords Raiders jacket was 23.5 inches long. There's loads of references to this. However he also wore his pants/trousers pulled up higher than most people these days especially if you are wearing jeans. I always suggest staying in the 23-25 area for backlength of this jacket and of course take your height into account. Of course none of this matters if you're not concerned with a screen look.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:23 pm

If I had to do it over again (and I might do it over again) I’d go 24 inches. But I wouldn’t do 21. I’ve rolled up the bottom hem to get a sense of how short that would be and it looks kind of silly on me.

Also I think you need to take into consideration that people have different size torsos relative to their overall height. Some people have long torsos and some are more leggy.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:22 am

I don't think 24 inches makes enough difference. May was well stay at 25.

Even at 23 inches the original jacket is shorter than this for a much taller guy.

My friend is 5 ft 7 and he finds 21 inches about the correct length for bike jackets - they drape and look fine on him.

But heck, if you're not wanting screen accuracy I think it is an interesting twist to have a 3/4 length Indy jacket, it looks kind of cool in its own right and I remember wondering a few years back what a 30 inch Indy might look like on me.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:25 am

Maybe I’ll throw it in the dryer and see if it shrinks up some more.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:27 am

I think it looks cool like that. Don't sweat it over one inch, you would hardly notice it.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:29 am

The problem with this hobby for me is perfectionism. It can always be better or closer to the real thing. It becomes kind of a head game.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:00 am

My take on this hobby changed early on. I am inspired by the costume and the character but I am not Harrison Ford on a multi-million dollar film set of an action film. I have no special effects or kind lighting. So I just want a real world jacket like Indy but not a Paramount prop jacket. Cosplay isn't my thing. I prefer to wear my jacket with my jeans and black t-shirts. I do not own Indy shirts or boots or anything related to these films. The jacket is what I saw in 1981 and I wanted one for 20 plus years before I blundered onto this site. But everyone has a different story.

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:05 am

I like your story. Nice and efficient. I’m pretty similar. Though I do have some of the other items. But the jacket is tops. I want to get as close to the original as possible but still have it be a real world jacket I can wear anywhere. So far this is the closest I’ve gotten.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:12 am

Cool. You know I went about 10 different (sometimes costly) leather jackets that stood in for an Indy look before I got a Wested and then a G&B. Too baggy, too short, too long, too heavy, etc. Before the internet here in Australia it was very hard to get good information on leather jackets and certainly nothing much on Indy. All we had was a bad video copy of Raiders and some magazine photos. Had no idea there were cargo pockets until Last Crusade. And I had no idea the jackets were lamb. I went through a bunch of heavy, unwearable 3oz cowhides trying to get the look. This site helped complete my knowledge.

xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 11:59 am

senorjacob wrote:The problem with this hobby for me is perfectionism. It can always be better or closer to the real thing. It becomes kind of a head game.

I would say 24", but you may be able shrink this by about an inch. Just the lower part of the jacket. Carefully with warm water. I usually find you lose half an inch on the length of a jacket just from wear. little creases and folds. It all adds up to shortening the length.

Still a great fitting jacket regardless of how the backlength is.

It goes the other way too. You order the perfect length, but then you lose a bit of length from wear and it's too short. lol

Post by **Indiana Jeff** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 12:04 pm

When it comes to shrinking a jacket, use caution, we've had members try to do this and different parts of the jacket reacted differently resulting in uneven sleeves, wonky back panels, etc.

There's no guarantee each piece of leather making up the jacket will shrink uniformly.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 2:05 pm

Yeah I’ve read some the posts about people ruining their jackets.

Xmasters how would you suggest I go about shrinking the lower half. I’ve already soaked it a bit overall. Do I just do some more soaking and then air dry?

xmasters · Post by **xmasters** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:06 pm

It's a tricky business as mentioned, I probably wouldn't bother. But I was thinking literally just wetting the lower two inches of the back (and maybe front). Then air dry. It might just cause a little bit of shrinkage there that might make a difference, but this is just a guess. Leathers react differently and I'm unfamiliar with this New Zealand lamb. What's the thickness of it comapred to Wested's usual Authentic lamb?

senorjacob · Post by **senorjacob** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:36 pm

I think it’s thinner but I’m not familiar enough with authentic lamb to really tell you.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:37 pm

If SJ is trying to shrink the jacket into screen accuracy then loosing one inch will make no discernible difference. This is a long jacket.

I've bought and sold (and washed) jackets since the mid 1980's and shrinking rarely works well unless you can wet the whole jacket in warm water. Lamb is pretty susceptible to wear and shrinkage compared to cowhide and goat. For every story of it working out there are those where it ended up uneven. Holt may have some advice on this - he is the jacket altering King.