Club Obi Wan

today I received my first jacket! a ~15 year old Wested in cowhide (standard sizing) technically a TOD, but I'll be using it with my Raiders kit. according to the seller, standard Raiders and TOD jackets were basically the same back then. I'm super stoked with this thing. it'll hurt to weather it.





I've got proper Raiders buckles on the way..

Where did you get the buckles from, and what makes it more of a TOD? The pockets seem more Raiders-sized to my eyes.

That's a great color! Can you tell if that's the original color, or did the previous owner treat it with something?

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Nice find! How thick is the leather?

The leather certainly looks good. Looks like it was never worn.

But I remember those days when they were all effectively the same jacket that Wested was offering. I still have no idea what about it they considered TOD, unless the fit was more snug or they made it an inch longer. But for that reason it will make a much more effective Raiders jacket. Just be careful swapping out those buckles.

IJJTM wrote:Where did you get the buckles from, and what makes it more of a TOD? The pockets seem more Raiders-sized to my eyes.

I ordered buckles (and a double wrap whip holder) from makeitjones.

as for it being a TOD jacket, I know the pockets are Raiders sized- apparently the only factor in determining which jacket you had was the certificate it came with! lol

indy89 wrote:That's a great color! Can you tell if that's the original color, or did the previous owner treat it with something?

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I think it's the original colour. he said it had never been worn since he got a lambskin at the same time and the cowhide was too warm for him.. luckily I'm in Canada!

xmasters wrote:Nice find! How thick is the leather?

I don't know technical terms so I'll just say "kinda thick". it has a nice weight to it.

started distressing- leather dye is a life saver. wouldn't be able to live with those grey undertones!

Before


After

That leather dye did make the undertones look a ton better. Which dye did you use and how did you apply it?

Illinois_Jones wrote:The leather certainly looks good. Looks like it was never worn.

But I remember those days when they were all effectively the same jacket that Wested was offering. I still have no idea what about it they considered TOD, unless the fit was more snug or they made it an inch longer. But for that reason it will make a much more effective Raiders jacket. Just be careful swapping out those buckles.

Back then, Wested's TOD jackets were identical to their Raiders, but with an extra inch of body length. That was it. This was before they had access to the Noel Howard screen-used TOD jacket.

Forrest For the Trees wrote:

Illinois_Jones wrote:The leather certainly looks good. Looks like it was never worn.

But I remember those days when they were all effectively the same jacket that Wested was offering. I still have no idea what about it they considered TOD, unless the fit was more snug or they made it an inch longer. But for that reason it will make a much more effective Raiders jacket. Just be careful swapping out those buckles.

Back then, Wested's TOD jackets were identical to their Raiders, but with an extra inch of body length. That was it. This was before they had access to the Noel Howard screen-used TOD jacket.

Thanks. I figured it had to be something, otherwise they wouldn't have marketed it separately. Of course back then I remember about the only difference we all agreed on was that the TOD was longer than Raiders.

Part of me wonders if Wested's hesitancy to make a jacket that more closely approximated the TOD, because they really had to be talked into it like 10 years ago, was the combination of it not being their pattern and that the pockets were so absurdly small and impractical they thought people would return them.

Considering Wested/Peter had been essentially shut out from making jackets for TofD, I think they were hesitant to push it one way or the other as the didn’t know how the LFL lawyers would react.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Considering Wested/Peter had been essentially shut out from making jackets for TofD, I think they were hesitant to push it one way or the other as the didn’t know how the LFL lawyers would react.

Regards! Michaelson

Makes sense. Reminds me of how the ladies down in Katoomba were forced to put that disclaimer on the Fed way back when.

Illinois_Jones wrote:

Michaelson wrote:Considering Wested/Peter had been essentially shut out from making jackets for TofD, I think they were hesitant to push it one way or the other as the didn’t know how the LFL lawyers would react.

Regards! Michaelson

Makes sense. Reminds me of how the ladies down in Katoomba were forced to put that disclaimer on the Fed way back when.

.

Actually, a little historical side note, they were never ‘forced’ to do that. The Federation was created as a ‘be all, do all’ hat that appealed to not only us, but the folks who were into the swing dance craze that was going on at the time.
The disclaimer was placed as soon as the hat was announced as HatsDirect didn’t want any direct connection to LFL franchises what so ever and draw the ire of their lawyers to their doorstep. They also called it the Federation to honor the anniversary of the Federation with the UK, further distancing them from the Indy franchise.

Anyway, back to the fine jacket under discussion.

Regards! Michaelson

here's a little collage of how the weathering is going! I have been referencing the truck jacket.

Did you ever say what leather dye you used?

IJJTM wrote:Did you ever say what leather dye you used?

fiebing's in dark brown!

That looks great!

The dye is definitely Dark Brown not Medium brown?

xmasters wrote:That looks great!

The dye is definitely Dark Brown not Medium brown?

yes, the bottle says dark brown.

Great. I'll order some for my jackets.

I'm still waiting on my new strap buckles, but I think I'm done with the distressing! I used the truck chase jacket as my general reference, but I didn't go as heavy.

It's cool to see a distressing project using an old Wested. It looks great with the dye-job. I remember years ago, I was frustrated by those gray undertones. I had no idea that I could have just dyed it. Now I'm thinking about getting an old one to do this with. Thanks for showing.

Prodigal Son wrote:It's cool to see a distressing project using an old Wested. It looks great with the dye-job. I remember years ago, I was frustrated by those gray undertones. I had no idea that I could have just dyed it. Now I'm thinking about getting an old one to do this with. Thanks for showing.

thank you! I'm glad I could unintentionally convince you to spend more money!

One question, when you apply the dye, are you dabbing onto the just the area with the grey undertone?
I have a Wested hero of oh about 8 yrs old +/-

But it has the grey which I’ve always hated, so this dye may just what it needs so get’s a little more wear time.

Croft

Indiana Croft wrote:One question, when you apply the dye, are you dabbing onto the just the area with the grey undertone?
I have a Wested hero of oh about 8 yrs old +/-

But it has the grey which I’ve always hated, so this dye may just what it needs so get’s a little more wear time.

Croft

yes, just on the grey areas.

Awesome.
My stain will be here Thursday.
Will try to take pictures of my Wested, close up before and after.
We;lol see how they. Turn out.
Always hated the grey undertones.
Croft

Hey there. It's not a 15 year old Wested, but a Legacy one, but i've used Neromakes dye distressing tip, and it worked perfectly.

ltfoley wrote:Hey there. It's not a 15 year old Wested, but a Legacy one, but i've used Neromakes dye distressing tip, and it worked perfectly.

it looks great! so happy I could help.