Club Obi Wan

Well, This weekend when I first really inspected my Wested lambskin, I was questioning on the durability. Some places it didn't exactly look too strong, well of course today, I sit down and I have my hand in the pockets or hand warmers and RIP!!!!!! There is now a big gash in the leather and the pocket is ready to just fly off! I know the lambskin isnt that durable but I mean come on!! All I did was sit down and rip. I'm very disappointed, I saved up and this is what I wanted to get? I can't believe it. I've emailed Peter about it, now I just dont know what to do.

Regards, a very sad Dan.

Ouch buddy. (Cool Profile pic. Excellent Theme use) One or two stiches on my lamb tore but not to the degree you described. Hope it all works out.

Pyr.

WOW! How could this happen dear friend??? I am amazed, really I am! I feel for you...

Breaks the heart Dan! Peter can repair it, but oh the wait back and forth. And the worry that it will happen again, once repaired. That's the tragedy of lamb, good drape, nice and soft, but I don't know how they survived any stunts in the movie. -Sergei

Do you think this is more related to the stitching (loose stitches maybe?) or the type of leather? I'm planning on ordering a Wested at the QM, but I may need to rethink my leather choice if you think that it ripped due to lack of leather durability.

Holly. The lambskin has never been known to be a good durable leather. It can tear very easily. And as far as surviving stunts. It didn't. Watch the making of Raiders. There are holes galore in that jacket. Sincerest Regards. Dan

Oh Dan, I realize that about the lamb. I'm just wondering if the major contributing factor was the lack of durability (which it probably was) or if there were loose stitches.

P.S. I picked up a 12 inch Holy Grail Black Knight Action Figure this weekend; his limbs break off.

ouch.... sorry buddy.
I hope things will work out for you.
I believe Peter will repair it for you.... but again, you
would have to wait for several weeks.

Thats what I'm thinking ITG. I'm worried that this is going to happen in more places because I'm questioning the stitiching in certain areas. I'm just broken up over this, my first jacket and look what happens!!




Dan

Man that stinks!!! And here I am waiting for my new, and first, Wested - authentic goat. My only angst is, or was, "Will it fit?" Until I read of your woes, Neo, I hadn't thought about any joint failure. What does the rest of it look like? I trust you've looked over the rest of the stitching at length by now.

So sorry about that.

Hey, everybody, anything like this happen to anyone else? All I have read to date is how great Wested's quality is. Is it slipping? Sorry about that question. It sounds almost blasphemous!!

Cab

Hey there Dan!

I'm sorry to hear about your mis-fortune with the jacket....

Its good that you notified Peter about the situation. If, for whatever reason, you choose not to send it back to Peter, perhaps you can find a local tailor who may be able to stitch it back up for you....

But then again, I can imagine how you must feel...especially with spending so much $$ and in just a matter of days, it tears on you already...

Keep us updated and best of luck!

Captain D

Sorry to hear about the jacket. I too was worried about the strength of the lambskin after I order my first Wested last fall and I was probaly overly cautious with it during the first few weeks I wore it. Just a few weeks ago however, I was goofing off with some of the guys at work when they decided to hop a chain link fence coming back from lunch just to be kids again. Before doing so myself I thought "I better not do that because I know I'll catch my jacket and totally rip it." Against my better judgement, I hopped the fence anyway. About half way over I felt the sleeve catch on a link in the fence but it was too late to stop my momentum. It was almost one of those slow mo moments when you look down and yell NOOOOOOOOO! After landing on the other side I inspected my sleeve, expecting to see some seriously damged leather. Much to my surprise the only damage done was that about an inch and a 1/2 of the stitching had come loose and this was easily fixed once I returned home. All I did was followed the holes that were already in the leather and went through them a couple of times with some brown thread to make sure it was sewn back tightly. Now you can barely tell that anything happened except one little scratch from the fence and the slightly different color of thread that was used. The Leather Factory even sells a kit with a needle for such occasions. It is a curved needle that makes such repairs a cinch. You may want to try doing it yourself (if you can sew) or having someone you know sew it back if the holes are still intact and the only thing damaged was in fact the stitching. It'll sure save some time and money if you know someone with some sewing abilities. That's just my experience though. Just wanted to give you guys a story where the lamb actually held up. I hope you can easily get your jacket fixed Dan.
Tim

Sergei wrote:That's the tragedy of lamb, good drape, nice and soft, but I don't know how they survived any stunts in the movie.

I believe I recall _ mentioning they wanted the look to be cowhide with a brass zipper. They used lamb for comfort and drape and the paint kept coming off that nickel zipper. I've never been able to figure out how those lambskin jackets survived not only the stunts but the general wear. I mean, did Harrison's jacket ever tear when he just sat down? I suppose if if it did, they coulda just patched it up, but see what I mean. You have to walk around on like you're on thin ice when wearing lambskin. Be very careful. Don't even sneeze wrong! Something may tear.

Indiana Joe wrote: You have to walk around on like you're on thin ice when wearing lambskin. Be very careful. Don't even sneeze wrong! Something may tear.

Let me toss in a few pennies and say that I own a Wested lamb and that hasn't been experience. I have found it to be durable enough to go horseback riding and take it to the office. I guess it's just a matter of where you go and what you do. Heck, even my cowhide has a gash from some of the stuff I have done. And, I think it's one of the most durable jackets out there.

Cheers,
Pyro.

Here's MY 2 cents...

as with Pyroxene, I have never had ANY trouble with my lamb. I do believe in the future I am getting the lambtouch cowhide, but I have worn my dark brown lamb almost everyday since October with no tears. I agree with Pyroxene...it all depends on what kind of stress you put on the jacket. I would never take mine camping or anything like that, but stuff happens everyday.

My jacket has proven to be fairly tough, even with some close calls like Raider 1138. But I know it shouldn't tear that easy. Good luck Neo...let us know what happens.

Peace,
Cliffhanger

I've dropped a line to Peter to take a look at this string. Lambskin is an interesting leather, and my personal opinion is that due to the age of the animal, it really varies from hide to hide, unlike an adult animal. I've posted this many times (not unlike Renderkinds '20 years' statement) that my eldest daughter has one of the old 1997 originals that I gave her that LOOKS like it came from the original stunt Raiders left over jackets AFTER the stunts had been preformed! The natural distressing on the lambskin is unbelievable, and it's seen hard field use by a practicing archaeologist, and on recent visit to her house I took a close look at the jacket, and it's as structurally sound as the day it was made. Rough looking and incorrectly detailed compared to what we now have, but one I'd wear in a heartbeat. I observed the same quality when handing the new authentic lambskin leather sample that Peter mailed me before the announcement here at IndyGear, and the sample seemed even better than the batch my daughters jacket is made of. I'm hoping the problem here is a thread problem and not a leather problem as well. Yes, the lambskin is more of an urban adventurers material, but it shouldn't be tearing like wet paper either, whether at the seams or in the leather itself. I hope Peter has time to drop in to read this. Since his computer email rework, I haven't seen or heard a word from him, so hopefully he'll have time in the near future to address what we're reading about here. I personally think we just got a 'rogue' jacket that escaped the Wested factory, rather than a condemnation of the whole lambskin venture. Regards. Michaelson

Without looking at it I really cannot comment, as for the leather to rip as quoted seems very unusual as it is quite durable. Anyway I have advised the writer to send the jacket back and I will give it my urgent attention with a view to replacing it.
I can do no more.
Cheers
Peter

Can't ask for better than that, in my opinion. Regards. Michaelson

I believe that when you order lambskin, you have to ask yourself, "Am I a lambskin kind of guy?". Some guys are hard on clothes. I dig lambskin, but it's not for everybody. If you are in doubt, I'd go with the goatskin or lambtouch cowhide. You'll keep out of trouble that way (grin). Cheers

Alrighty, Thank you everbody for the opinions and help on this matter. Since a Goatskin jacket is a possibility in the future what changes would I see? More grain, heavier and more durable, but what else, could someone give me a detailed description of the differences between Lambskin and Goatskin??



Thank you so much

Dan

Definitely more durable, a bit heavier, a bit darker, but the grain was fairly fine if going by the sample Peter sent me. From all reports of those who have received them, a very nice jacket material indeed. Be sure to hit the iron while the iron is hot and return that jacket back to Peter ASAP, so he can get things turned around for you. Be sure to write on the customs papers AND the box 'Being returned for repairs' in big, black letters. This way no customs charges will be charged going to and coming from England, as it's a repair job and not 'new business'. Regards. Michaelson

Just my 2 cents but don't send your jacket back via FedEX. I wrote all the correct information on the box and in the documentation, and FedEX still billed me for $89.00 Duty and Tax. My suggestion is to ask Peter B. what he would recommend as the best way to ship your jacket.
Regards,
Forrestal

I used U.S. Global Priority Mail. The only bad part is you can't track it, but it got there and back in good shape. Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:I used U.S. Global Priority Mail. The only bad part is you can't track it, but it got there and back in good shape. Regards. Michaelson

You can track the U.S. Global Guaranteed Express, but I don't know how much that'll cost you. I think it's guaranteed to get there in 2 or 3 days, though.

Mike

Thanks Mike! That's a new one for me too! Regards. Michaelson

I am unclear about the original posting. Is the stitching ripped or the lambskin itself? Neo says "All I did was sit down and rip" but if the jacket was zipped and relatively tight and his hands were in the pocket and he sat down hard on the back of the jacket...I can see how that would happen. Maybe something has to give and it is better than breaking a hand. It is a lot of "ifs" and I am certainly not blaming Neo - just want to understand what happened since I have a lambskin on the way as well... If the leather itself ripped, that is a different story entirely, but again - something hs to give...

The jacket was zipped up but there was no stress on the seems, the pocket is coming off and there is a big hole in the leather.

I gotta say I’m amazed at hearing this. I’ve owned many leather jackets in the past (non-Wested however,) some of which were lamb, and have worn them for many years, and I have never had any rip or tear in that manner (although I have yet to find a ‘durable’ lining on most jackets that can stand up to more than a few years of hard use).

The only serious ‘leather’ damage I’ve ever received was actually on a so called durable goatskin jacket which received a small puncture-like tear. That being said however, I always assumed that because of the goats toughness, it most likely ‘did’ prevent the puncture from ripping ‘any further’ as I imagine a lamb might have done with similar damage once it occurred, and allowed a much easier, and cleaner repair. I should say also, that the lambskin jackets I have are non-Indy and are older and are noticeably heavier and thicker than what I’ve noticed being offered as years have gone by. I’m not exactly sure I know the reason for this, so I won’t speculate on whether it has to do with the desire for a more supple, fashionable drape, or something having to do with cost - I simply don’t know.

Hope things work out!

NeosMatrix003 wrote:Since a Goatskin jacket is a possibility in the future what changes would I see? More grain, heavier and more durable, but what else, could someone give me a detailed description of the differences between Lambskin and Goatskin??

I think it was noted somewhere before that the current weight difference between the authentic goats and lambs was almost imperceptible. You get a thicker (up until recently?) lamb but the Wested authentic goatskin is the thinnest I've seen between U.S. Wings and Flightsuits. It's not as buttery soft as the Wings but the thinness certainly helps the drape. Yes, genereally there's more grain in goat but I personally like that. One thig to add is that I cannot comment on how the Wested goat does in varying temps since I never really wore it outside. Logically, since the authentic goat is thinner than the Flightsuits chrome goat I had, I would think that it would not have been quite as warm in 20 degree weather but that is just a hunch. You may also want to see http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3180

Challenging decisions, huh? Rundquist is right, you know. You have to know yourself and figure out if your a lambskin person that is not so hard on your jacket or if you need something a lot tougher like cowhide or goatskin.

I.J.

I've had a few "accidents" in my lamb, but I'm rather tough on it. I recently had a similar thing happen to me. I stuck my right hand into the pocket and pulled a couple of the stiches out an the bottom. I can't really say I'm suprised. But like I said, I'm really tough on it.

If I do ghet another, it will be one that is a bit more durable. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my jacket. I just need something a bit stronger for the way I abuse it.

Saw

I'm wondering, Neo, if it mightn't be the strength of the wearer, rather than the strength of the jacket? I know you're a big guy - 6'9", wasn't it? Well, maybe not that tall, but still, a guy with your powerful physique might easily rip a hole in a jacket that a smaller person wouldn't have to worry about. Is that a possibliity?

Sounds like you sit down too hard to me. Never had a problem with either of my lambskins tearing, but I snagged my goatskin A-2 the first time I wore it. Tore a little hole in it. Looks good. Fedora