I talked Tony and he put me in contact with someone who has a non-shiney vintage goat Raiders jacket. I got some feedback about the leather that I think will be helpful for anyone considering it. I've handled Tony's jacket myself, and I really think it's an awesome, unique leather, but in the end, it wasn't right for me for my LAST Indy jacket (if I was going to get TWO more, I'd have gotten one out of the vintage goat!) As you can see, the jacket isn't so "cracked" as it first appeared in Runquist's photos. This leather is stiff, but so malleable. It isn't a new thick horsehide stiff, like hit it with a bat and it'll barely budge, it's more like a fine mesh. Wrinkles hold beautifully, and it gains a lived in look fast and hard. To me, that's a real fun part of the leather. For someone who finds the pre-distressed concept to offend their gentler sensibilities, but admits a distressed jacket is cool, this leather just might be what you're looking for. I think it's perfect for that small, wrinkly beat up jacket at the end of ToD. I think it's thinness and colour, and wrinkly nature just matches that jacket so well. That said, this leather in no way is being offered as a "screen accurate" leather, but as a great addition to Tony's arsenal.
(These are clickable thumbnails) Here's the jacket new
Here's the jacket after being broken in hard.
Here's the owners description, which Tony also wanted passed on:
Yes, the NO Shine Vintage Goat does have a different texture than the Shiny Vintage Goat. It is important to know a few things about these two Vintage Goat jackets.
1. They are made from the exact same leather so they are the same in that regard. The difference is the coatings that have been applied from the tanner. This is super important. They both have coatings although different and both coatings cause both leathers to perform like wire mesh or thin sheets of tin. They have this in common. I personally love this, but others may not. Some may refer to this leather as stiff, but after having thoroughly examined and worn jackets in both vintage goat leathers and owning one, I would describe these two Vintage Goat leathers as stiff in the sense they don't drape or hang like lambskin but they both do highly conform and mold to your body. Again, they both have this feature in common.
2. The coating on the NO Shine Vintgage goat, which is the one I have, can eventually wear off and the leather will become a softer goat. This takes work. Like in distressing the leather and repeatedly getting it wet. It is ultra durable though as I know from taking a wire brush to it. Getting it wet, beating it with a smooth rock/stone, and scrubbing it with a wire brush will wear off the coating and the leather will become much softer, drapey, and less stiff. But then, it will start to lose it's "wire mesh", malleable, bendable, completely mold to your entire body feature and start to more hang from your body like most other softer leathers. I would say this coating is permanent unless someone purposefully tries to remove it through a variety of distressing techniques.
The key to understanding this leather is it is designed to look, behave, and perform this way and to NOT BE MESSED WITH. Wear it right out of the box as is forever or go with a different leather entirely.
I don't personally recommend trying to destroy or wear off this coating as it is part of what makes this jacket what it is, behave like it does, and give it a vintage look. So two things make the NO Shine Vintage goat "vintage". The "bendable, conforming, stiff" coating and the two tone color from the die. This two tone coloring is purposefully done in the way it is so that the coloring comes through differently in different shades and patterns throughout the jacket. There can be vertical and or horizontal lines of different shades and or different parts of the jacket can have more of one tone than the other making different sections of the leather look much lighter or much darker than other sections. All of this is designed to give it a "vintage" look.
3. The two tone die coloring is also the deal with the Shiny Vintage Goat. So it too has the different shades and tones as I described in #2 above. It also behaves as malleable, molds to your body, and is bendable etc. The reason both jackets wrinkle throughout and stay bent or as you describe "warped" and also wrinkled in permanent ways is due to the coatings.
I almost feel like I'm cheating on the leather by not getting it, given how much I love it. I guess, all this mulling brought me back to that point 9 years ago, when I thought I was buying my last Indy jacket. I wanted a brand-new Raiders' jacket, tough as nails, that I could wear and break in and distress honestly, that was screen-accurate enough. That'd be an Expedition!!! But the cut really didn't suit me, and I wanted it to patina or distress more warmly. I think I'll get that now with a new Nowak goat from Tony!
That looks like something Bink would do!
