Club Obi Wan

I was reading about horse hide over at Aero Leather in Scotland (I'll reproduce some of the text below), and it made me realise that an extra GBP10 for the horse version of THE jacket from Wested is just tremendous.

What do you leather connoisseurs think? I know that horse is the kind of thing that some vendors can go really over the top about ("This is horse! So of course you want to mortgage your house and sell your wife for one of these jackets!"), but for Wested to only charge an extra GBP10... it's almost the other end of the scale. It's crazy!

Wested really looks after us, I think!

Horsehide has many unique properties, it is immensely strong and durable even in the extreme conditions and, unlike other hides, horsehide is naturally waterproof.

The Front Quarter Chrome Tanned Horsehide used in the construction of Aero leather jackets was favoured by manufacturers during pre-war years after the introduction, in the 1950's, of a law prohibiting horses being slaughtered for leather, hides became a scarce commodity and therefore expensive, resulting in tanneries phasing out horsehide production in favour of the more readily available hides such as steer.

US Government restrictions dictate that the slaughter of equine for hides was not permitted and as such the sourcing of hides must be from animals that have died from natural causes. This makes horsehide very scarce and as a consequence rare, which makes for an expensive raw material.

After expensive research, Aero managed to source the only tannery based in the States still capable of producing this unique hide to the original specifications, although today quality hides suitable for this type of tanning are still very scarce and so availability is very limited due to the fact that all our chrome tanned leather is sourced from “natural death” horses with no slaughter involved.

Well, here in germany horse meat is considered a speziality by SOME. Horse suasage is a favorite. That is defintley a thing I would never try...

Regards,
Redbeard

I've had horse in Southern Italy. I was in a small town called, Matera. (They filmed "The Passion of the Christ" there.) I sat down to dinner and my friends were serving this sausage, which was good, but tasted a bit gamey. I asked what it was, and Gian Luca told me it was carne del cavallo. Oh well, you eat what you are served. At least it wasn't chilled monkey brain!

Tasted a bit gamey, LOL!

Hey, since we are on the subject, I lived in Zambia many moons ago and was once served Hippopotamus stew when out in the bush- can you believe that!? Tasted really good too, just like beef casserole!

That sure one-ups my Southern Italy story! Zambia, nice. I once ate the bait fish out of the stomach of a yellow fin tuna on a dare; does that count for anything????

Man, that's just gross.

Five bucks is five bucks.

Monkey brains have a metallic taste.

Bushman

I ate roadkill once, that had been peeled off a car fender. I didn't know it at the time, though.

Brad

You guys should visit Sweden... when autumn comes, a lot of us feast on crayfish. Nothing special about that, though... meanwhile, another sick, twisted group of the population feasts upon fermented and partially decayed herring... it's sold in dangerously inflated (due to fermentation) tin cans in August and is considered a national delicacy... &
The smell must be experienced first-hand - it defies description.

Man, you guys are making me hungry -- and I just ate lunch!!!

bink

(Does swallowing a glassfull of pancake syrup count for anything?)

Ummm, I think you guys drifted off topic a bit...

What do you leather connoisseurs think? I know that horse is the kind of thing that some vendors can go really over the top about ("This is horse! So of course you want to mortgage your house and sell your wife for one of these jackets!"), but for Wested to only charge an extra GBP10... it's almost the other end of the scale. It's crazy

I love horsehide, but I have no idea what weight hides Peter will be using and how it will drape. If it is too stiff, it will be a nice tough jacket, but not a nice Indy jacket. I trust Peter implicitly and know he will do right. A far as what he charges, Peter has always been more than generous with his pricing. He could easily charge more money for his jackets with his history. No surprise to me. Cheers to Peter and one for the horsehide as well. I can hardly wait for the first one to roll out from Wested.

Didn't somebody just order a horsehide from Peter? I'm eagerly waiting for the review of this jacket. I love my goatskin, but if the horsehide drapes similarly to my current Wested, I'm sold!

bink

binkmeisterRick wrote:Didn't somebody just order a horsehide from Peter? I'm eagerly waiting for the review of this jacket. I love my goatskin, but if the horsehide drapes similarly to my current Wested, I'm sold!

Yes mate, I ordered a horsehide recently. It's why I was doing some extra reading on the leather

PICS! PICS! Oh... sorry, you don't have your jacket yet... bink

Don't tease me

Meanwhile, congrats on your 1000 posts

O.K. this horse hide sounds great but how is it on the stength level?
1. Lamb (soft) 2. Cow hide (normal) 3. Goat (strong)
I was going to buy a goat but if horse is stronger I would go that way. Im murder on jackets. So I want something that will last.

Fist,
I think this is the jacket for you, my friend:
http://www.uswings.com/aviatn.asp#KevIJ

Hey Fist, I hear that Horse is as strong as goat, if not more. I've been debating which to get next myself. I'm on the fence, Lamb, another goat, or the new horsehide. I need to see some pics of the horse, as soon as someone receives one.

I think the general feeling here is that horse is pretty tough and around the same strength as goat. There has yet to be a COW person report on the horse yet (I might be the first in a few weeks time), so it's hard to say for sure.

I've also seen reports which say that, based on WWII era clothing, goat jackets have stood up a little better than horse. But I'd still rank them in a similar range, that's for sure.

Ultimately, what tipped me over the edge was the thought that most jackets of Indy's era would have been horse, so it seemed a cool nod to history to get one. Also, for a 10 pound premium, horse seemed too good to turn down anyway. Other vendors charge an arm and a leg for anything made from it.

Irwin,
You have to post pictures of that jacket as soon as you get it. I am eager to see how it drapes, its texture, and the color. I think it will be an awesome jacket.

I will do. And please, call me Rob

Oops, sorry about that, Rob.
Best of luck with the jacket.

Trust me! If I had 900 dollars hanging around doing nothing I'd own that Kevlar coat. So I guess I'm forced to wait for the great Horse/Goat debate. Where's PETER!!!!!! If 2 jackets have already gone out where are the pictures???????? He took pictures of the shirt and pants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be ordering the set when it comes time (shirt/pants/jacket). Unless someone with a goat (48 long) plans to upgrade and wants to sell theres at a fare price
-K-

I ate at McDonalds last week, almost killed me.

Indiana Irwin wrote:Don't tease me

Meanwhile, congrats on your 1000 posts

Huh? Wha--? Hey, I didn't even notice!

At any rate, who wants to celebrate by buying me a Wested horsehide Raiders?

bink

Anyone eaten at MacCheapers in Switzerland? If so, is that horse meat they serve? (My German teacher had told our class that some European countries will subsititute horse meat for beef in restaurants.)

ITG wrote:

My German teacher had told our class that some European countries will subsititute horse meat for beef in restaurants

Ever since the initial mad cow-scare, the demand for horse meat has increased in some European countries.

Hmm... a Wested horsehide Raiders... interesting...

How tempted are you?