Question For Those In The Know - Jacket Leather

Indiana_Jonesing · Post by **Indiana_Jonesing** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:38 pm

Greetings. I need some sound advice and guidance regarding an Indy Jacket and which leather, in particular, to choose.

I’ve owned a FS Goatskin for over 4 years now. I love the jacket. It’s EXTREMLY well made and durable (almost too much so). In addition, I’m satisfied with the details in relation to what an Indy replica jacket should look like when it comes to pocket placement, cut, hardware and such. But despite all of this, I still don’t feel like it embodies the true “look” of Indy’s Raider’s jacket. And I believe it’s because of the LEATHER that it doesn’t.

For all intents and purposes, Flight Suits’ goatskin just doesn’t age. Sure, the leather has broken in. But there’s no sign of natural distressing, no color variances (like in the film), no scuffs – no nothing. I’ve owned leather jackets for half as long as this that I’ve treated FAR better that have shown more signs of aging and natural distressing. In fact, aside from the leather having softened up, this baby still looks brand new!

I’m in the market for a jacket that will eventually LOOK AND DRAPE like Indy’s, without me breaking out the acetone. I don’t care if it takes 25 years to happen, but as long as it does, I’ll be happy. I can tell by now that no matter what punishment my FS goat endures, it’ll NEVER age (drape, distress) like Indy’s jacket.

I know I have many options. I know the film jacket was lambskin, and I wouldn’t mind purchasing a FS lamb, but I’ve heard that it doesn’t look, drape or age like the film lamb. Can anyone speak to the aging, drape and color qualities of the FS Lambskin?

And if the FS lamb isn’t the clear choice, what is? That’s question. Of all the MANY vendor jackets available, which jacket and LEATHER combination not only embodies all of the correct measurements and details, but ages, drapes and matches in color the jacket that Harrison Ford wore in Raiders?

I’m relying on the vast base of knowledge from the members here. Obviously, it would be FAR too costly for me to conduct this research on my own. I need your HONEST, PREVENALNT feedback.

Thank you in advance.

High Regards,
Indiana_Jonesing

eazybox · Post by **eazybox** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:59 pm

Read the recent thread on Todd's Standard jacket-- the glowing praise speaks for itself. It lookis and drapes exactly like the film jacket-- and it's an incredible bargain at only $150.

Jack

Indiana G · Post by **Indiana G** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:49 pm

the film jacket was vegetable tanned lambskin. flightsuits goat and lamb are chrome tanned. if you search for my thread "why chrome tanned leather", _ does a nice breakdown of this hide and why vendors use it.....one of the reasons is that it is highly resiliant which is why your g&b's are meant to look nice and shiney forever unless you do something drastic with it.

wested offers a vegetable tanned lamb which distresses quite quickly. unfortunately it is of a lighter hue and not very SA. i've darkened my jacket significantly but it still has a reddish tone to her, far from the chocolate hue of the film used jacket (ie authentic brown)....she's pretty close though and i'm not complaining as the hide is packed full of character in the way it drapes and takes scuffs (castor can attest to this as well).

todd also seems to have sourced a lambskin that will distress readily as well.

hope this helps

Post by **Ken** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:15 am

_ wrote:Wash the Expedition... Really - wash it...

Cold water and liquid detergent. All by itself... Long wash cycle... Air dry - no heat...

Then tell us if it does not look the part...

With detergent? Interesting... . Does it affect the lining doing this?

I have found with a bit of sandpaper you can age the flightsuits goat - its worked for me

Ken

Chewbacca Jones · Post by **Chewbacca Jones** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:27 am

I would recommend one of the following for an authentic look that will come with natural use;
1. Wested Lamskin, Authentic Brown.
2. Todd's Lamskin (based on praises).
3. Todd's Cowhide (it's thinner and lighter than most cowhide jackets, but heavier than Lambskin. It has a soft finish, so it will distress very quickly, and it drapes freely right out of the box).

CM · Post by CM » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:14 am

_,

Can the same trick be done with a Wested goat?

Regards - Chris

CM · Post by CM » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:39 am

One more thing, after washing it should it be given a coat of leather dressing?

moses · Post by **moses** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:37 am

Would the washing machine trick work with a Wested horsehide too? And is a really good downpour nearly as good or is the detergent a necessary factor?

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:54 am

moses wrote:Would the washing machine trick work with a Wested horsehide too? And is a really good downpour nearly as good or is the detergent a necessary factor?

I have machine washed a Wested Horsehide, didn't do a lot to it to be honest.

Worked very nicely on a couple of lambskin jackets though.

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:53 am

Agreed on the lambskin, KT, but be careful if you DO that.

I HAD to wash a Wested lambskin with a cotton body/satin sleeves, as it reeked of cigar smoke, and nothing worked on removing the odor.

It washed up nicely, though the satin had to be resewn in a couple spots....but I found several places on the leather where the surface had 'sluffed' off (for lack of a better description), revealing the gray under surface of the lambskin before dyeing. I'm thinking it was just dye that didn't adhere to the leather...but what ever it was, it left several large patches on the front and back of the jacket. I was able to blend in the color by using brown Pecards, and though you can still see them when the light hits certain angles, it's not that noticable.

This is my 'knock about' leather jacket now, and it helped loosen up the jacket too....but like I said, proceed with caution when doing this procedure with lambskin. If it hadn't been for the cigar smell, I would not have done it myself, but it was the last thing I could do short of burning the jacket.

It worked, by the way. Oh, and I allowed it to air dry too....no dryer. Took 3 days, but it eventually dried out.

Regards! Michaelson

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:51 am

Problem was, I did this to mine in July when we were in the run of 100+ degree weather day after day after day.

I tried wearing it around the house (if you'll recall, you suggested that to me years ago), and just couldn't do it, even with A/C going.

Regards! Michaelson

Puppetboy · Post by **Puppetboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:31 pm

Michaelson,

I have seen the same thing on some lambskins - the finish is more like paint than dye, putting an actual plastic coating on the hide which comes loose in water or other solvents. It just rubs right off.

_ - I'm intrigued by the water methods!!! There is little information out there on costumers' distressing tricks - especially when it comes to leather. Do you know precisely how the distressing was done - or is it essentially the washing machine method you describe? I've got to try this now...

I did soak and dry a batch of my new lambskin - it did turn out interesting. My concern with doing it after the jacket is assembled is that it might cause spot shrinking and put the jacket out of shape. My thought was to do it to the hides before assembly.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:45 pm

When I get a new jacket that I want to make more comfortable (or to just make it cool-looking) I always toss it in the washing machine. Detergent has had no detrimental effects, but I did have an issue with the agitator once.

We now have a different machine and it has a gentle agitation cycle which has been perfect. Like P

Detergent just alters the molecular structure of water so that it becomes "wetter". It lowers the surface tension of the water to allow it to clean better - or penetrate better. There was an expirement we did in school that I still remember about surface tension. We took a pin and laid it into a bowl of water with tweezers so that it floated on the surface. Then you add a drop of detergent and the pin sinks to the bottom.

Like _ said, it is key to wear the jacket while it is at least damp. I try to push the sleeves up to my elbow and wear them like that, but you guys with actual forearm muscles probably will not be able to do that. But you get great wrinkles that way.

For what it is worth, I have also thrown HH jackets into the dryer on air dry with a full load of damp (not wet) towels to help soften them and break them in a bit quicker...

JulianK · Post by **JulianK** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:57 pm

What about cowhide? How would that react to a good washing?

My Wested cowhide (which was supposed to be goat..but lets not go there) is so stiff it can almost stand on its own. I've done the dryer thing with the tennis (then base)-balls but it didn't loosen up too much. Reason I'm asking is because I've heard that cowhide tends to not react too well to getting wet.

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:18 pm

Michaelson,

I have seen the same thing on some lambskins - the finish is more like paint than dye, putting an actual plastic coating on the hide which comes loose in water or other solvents. It just rubs right off.

I wonder if it's due to the nature of the lambskin having such tight pores that the dye doesn't penetrate evenly.

Regards! Michaelson

Puppetboy · Post by **Puppetboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:28 pm

I wonder if it's due to the nature of the lambskin having such tight pores that the dye doesn't penetrate evenly.

Beats me. Not all do it, though.

Sorry to ask about the distressing, _! I just saw your poll. I retract my question. I will wait for you to publish it!

Indiana_Jonesing · Post by **Indiana_Jonesing** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:19 pm

Thank you all for your responses.

_ - I’m MORE than willing to give the machine wash a try. And I really do love this jacket. It just doesn't seem to drape and age like Indy's. Although the leather is softer and more broken in than when I purchased it, it still has an elastic-like property. In addition, it lacks the dull, scuffed and draped look of Indy's. I'm not looking for a new jacket if the desired look can be accomplished with this one.

Lastly, is the FS lamb not an ideal choice? Unless I’m mistaken, it still has the same measurements and “accuracies” as the goat version, but shouldn’t it age more like Indy’s, since its lambskin? Why would this not be the simple answer to my question?

High Regards,
Matt

Indiana Joe · Post by **Indiana Joe** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:47 pm

JulianK wrote:What about cowhide? How would that react to a good washing?

My Wested cowhide (which was supposed to be goat..but lets not go there) is so stiff it can almost stand on its own. I've done the dryer thing with the tennis (then base)-balls but it didn't loosen up too much. Reason I'm asking is because I've heard that cowhide tends to not react too well to getting wet.

I'm curious about cowhide too. Not only for my cowhide wested but my especially my cowhide Expedition jacket. Although I'm concerned about the satin lining, I really don't want to ruin a $500 cowhide jacket, you know?

Anyone have any experience with washing a cowhide jacket?