Fedora special! Horween X Vanson

[Hh121]

https://vansonleathers.com/content/57-about-our-leather

"Vanson Competition Weight Cowhide is 1.5 mm thick, polished and waxed by hand to bring out its unique characteristics, after which the leather receives a topcoat . This proprietary process results in a smooth, stiff feel and a good shine with high abrasion resistance. This product is meticulously hand-crafted and requires numerous steps to produce. It is extremely strong and gives our products that characteristic look and longevity that Vanson is so well known for."​

It's easy (with the right tools) to measure and confirm whether a given jacket is made from 1.5mm thick leather or not.

That would be the thickest part of jacket, Vanson shave their leather.
Johnson leather tested the thickness of my 8 lbs Enfiled(Wrist gusset), it is 2mm. So there is no way thier leather is 1.5mm thick

 

[Kalmer]

Of course.

The thick leather they are choosing today proves they don’t want to work with heavy leather (for whatever the reason is), and I believe their machinist is trained for working on this specific thin leather, you don’t know what's gonna happen if you gave them a heavy horween leather.

Well think about Schott. Most leather Schott uses are kinda thin and relatively soft compared to heavy Horween leather.

But still, from some point Schott started to carry some special run of limited jackets made of heavy Horween leather every year and they are fabulous.

So I don’t think this should be a problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[red devil]

Members here flip jackets too quickly to buy a $1200 Vanson. The only resale market will be other TFL members....which is ok for the 42-44 crowd. Otherwise no one on fleabay will care about CXL vs comp weight for 1/2 the price.

That is a very good point and one to warn everybody, you will not recoup as much you usually do should you decide to flip. Not a problem for me as I have never sold any of my jackets so far.
I would hope that the whole process, if it goes through, as in the discussion here, the special order by like minded individuals and of course a good fitting jacket, would create enough attachment to combat this compulsion

Aero makes some great LOOKING m/c jackets. I don't think Aero m/c jackets are very FUNCTUAL for actual m/c use.

Vanson definitely makes FUNCTUAL m/c jackets, no questions there. But it is hard to have a bad ass motorcycle jacket made out of "couch" leather.

Would you trust Aero's dainty main zip in a serious slide? I hope we never have to find out.

Exactly

I would like to add: I'd be enthusiastic if Vanson decided to get into CXL as an option, particularly if they used 3.5-4.0oz. steer.

If we can show them that there is a market with this order... it might happen.

Speaking of Horween, I have a batch of thinner CXL that I bought for a project a few years ago. Didn't go through with it. It is about 1mm thick, so not that heavy, but really fantastic (showed it to a leather worker who confirmed).
Picking up leather is not a special skill, it just comes with some experience, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect in sourcing it.

 

[Carlos840]

That would be the thickest part of jacket, Vanson shave their leather.
Johnson leather tested the thickness of my 8 lbs Enfiled(Wrist gusset), it is 2mm. So there is no way thier leather is 1.5mm thick

On all my Vansons the gussets, both the sleeves and the waist ones are noticeably thicker than the rest of the jacket, even on my Thinner CHP.
The fact that gussets are 2mm doesn't mean the rest of the jacket is...

 

[Carlos840]

That is a very good point and one to warn everybody, you will not recoup as much you usually do should you decide to flip. Not a problem for me as I have never sold any of my jackets so far.
I would hope that the whole process, if it goes through, as in the discussion here, the special order by like minded individuals and of course a good fitting jacket, would create enough attachment to combat this compulsion



Exactly



If we can show them that there is a market with this order... it might happen.

Speaking of Horween, I have a batch of thinner CXL that I bought for a project a few years ago. Didn't go through with it. It is about 1mm thick, so not that heavy, but really fantastic (showed it to a leather worker who confirmed).
Picking up leather is not a special skill, it just comes with some experience, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect in sourcing it.

If this madness actually goes through, i am getting a Heavy Cordovan CXL steer Commando, modified with 1" less in the body and a funky lining. A Gambler would be nice, but i know the sizing of the Commando works for me, and i am not sure i would risk a an odd fitting Gambler against a well fitting Commando.
And who am i kidding, i am in this for the D pockets...

 

[red devil]

If this madness actually goes through, i am getting a Heavy Cordovan CXL steer Commando, modified with 1" less in the body and a funky lining. A Gambler would be nice, but i know the sizing of the Commando works for me, and i am not sure i would risk a an odd fitting Gambler against a well fitting Commando.
And who am i kidding, i am in this for the D pockets...

Life would be boring without a touch of madness

 

[Jejupe]

I wouldn't be willing to pay USD 1200 or more for a horween vanson. A horween Langlitz would be another matter...

 

[Hh121]

On all my Vansons the gussets, both the sleeves and the waist ones are noticeably thicker than the rest of the jacket, even on my Thinner CHP.
The fact that gussets are 2mm doesn't mean the rest of the jacket is...

I am saying compare with the thickness of wrist gusset, other part of the jacket is probably only 1mm thick, unlike they claimed 1.5mm

 

[Bfd70]

My arm could potentially be twisted if there were a special TFL tag and they were numbered.

And if anyone omes to Chicago to pick hides at horween I will supply libations.

 

[El Marro]

I wouldn't be willing to pay USD 1200 or more for a horween vanson. A horween Langlitz would be another matter...

I think the two makers are quite comparable actually and Vanson stock patterns fit me as well or better than Langlitz custom made.

 

[Jejupe]

I think the two makers are quite comparable actually and Vanson stock patterns fit me as well or better than Langlitz custom made.

Good for you! I am not so lucky and I find Vanson's customization too expensive.

 

[jpk_NJ]

That is exactly what she said to me when I queried her about recent Comp. weight leather last year.

If memory serves me, in one of my chats with Vanson, the original tannery they were using went out of business and they were trying new sources. That would definitely explain a much wider variation in hides.

As for sourcing your own leather, I would only maybe attempt that with a 50% discount. Material is the biggest cost of the product and it's completely on you if the hides are bad. You also have to purchase the CXL by the side which isn't cheap. And then ordering blindly over the net vs visually selecting hides in person. I've seen CXL vary the same if not more than the Comp weight. Some lovely waxy marbled, others dry matte looking. Too many variables for me since Im kind of a control freak ha. If I could pick the hides, jacket price reflected me sourcing material / taking the risk, then I might consider it. Still a lot of work just for a jacket though...

 

[Bfd70]

Not really “work” just part of the diversion. Isn’t that what TFL is after all?

 

[jpk_NJ]

Not really “work” just part of the diversion. Isn’t that what TFL is after all?

True. I guess my addiction isn't quite at that level yet! Not that theres anything wrong with it. For me, I draw the line at sourcing my own liner material since there's no variation in a fabric role from yd' to yd. What you see / feel on sample is what you get.

Now...if Vanson sourced / supplied the Horween and charged a premium Id be in.

 

[Carlos840]

True. I guess my addiction isn't quite at that level yet! Not that theres anything wrong with it. For me, I draw the line at sourcing my own liner material since there's no variation in a fabric role from yd' to yd. What you see / feel on sample is what you get.

Now...if Vanson sourced / supplied the Horween and charged a premium Id be in.

Thing is the variation issue would be the same if you ordered a jacket straight from most makers...
Even the Horween CXL Aero uses has quite a large variation from batch to batch and jacket to jacket.
Some brown is browner, some is redder, some are grainy, some are smooth, even if you get samples there is literally no guarantee you are going to receive a jacket made from a leather that looks exactly the same, unless the sample is from the exact hide that will be used for your jacket.
I have received samples of Natural CXL that looked nothign like what other peoples samples were...
And both my black CXL jackets look completely different.

Personally, sourcing the leather is a risk i would be ready to take, as i don't think it is different from leaving it to the maker.
We each see different things in different leather and there is no guarantee that the maker and I would both see the same thing in a specific hide.

Actually, the safest way is probably to send @ton312 over to hand select the hides at Horween! The man knows what makes great Steer CXL...
I am pretty sure he can also comment on the variation in leather ordering straight from Aero, he has had at least 4 different Heavy Steer CXL jackets and only one reached Legendary Hide status!

Ordering a leather jacket without seeing it first is always a gamble.

Edit : (Tony did you talk to Kim?)

 

[Boyo]

My arm could potentially be twisted if there were a special TFL tag and they were numbered.

And if anyone omes to Chicago to pick hides at horween I will supply libations.

would it work if we all chose the same jacket/pattern and leather and then added some specific or unique TFL customization so that in the end it becomes a run of 10-12 unique "Lounge" jackets...


might help the resale..

 

[red devil]

Not really “work” just part of the diversion. Isn’t that what TFL is after all?

It wouldn't be the first time I sourced something for a jacket. The last item that made it into a jacket is the wool liner for my Thedi Grizzly and that worked splendidly.
I might have also found the next project to use my thinner navy CXL... To be continued

Thing is the variation issue would be the same if you ordered a jacket straight from most makers...
Even the Horween CXL Aero uses has quite a large variation from batch to batch and jacket to jacket.
Some brown is browner, some is redder, some are grainy, some are smooth, even if you get samples there is literally no guarantee you are going to receive a jacket made from a leather that looks exactly the same, unless the sample is from the exact hide that will be used for your jacket.
I have received samples of Natural CXL that looked nothign like what other peoples samples were...
And both my black CXL jackets look completely different.

Personally sourcing the leather it is a risk i would be ready to take, as i don't think it is different from leaving it to the maker.
We each see different things in different leather and there is no guarantee that the maker and I would both see the same thing in a specific hide.

Actually, the safest way is probably to send @ton312 over to hand select the hides at Horween! The man knows what makes great Steer CXL...
I am pretty sure he can also comment on the variation in leather ordering straight from Aero, he has had at least 4 different Heavy Steer CXL jackets and only one reached Legendary Hide status!

Ordering a leather jacket without seeing it first is always a gamble.

Edit : (Tony did you talk to Kim?)

Pretty much this

 

[ton312]

Edit : (Tony did you talk to Kim?)

Haven’t had the chance yet but plan to! I have two weeks off over Christmas and I might try and swing by Horween to get an idea of what this would actually cost and what is available. I will share my findings.

 

[red devil]

Haven’t had the chance yet but plan to! I have two weeks off over Christmas and I might try and swing by Horween to get an idea of what this would actually cost and what is available. I will share my findings.

That visit would be worthy of a thread in itself

It would be the chance to sample their other leathers such as the Dublin, Essex and Latigo

Edit: fixed weird sentence

 

[El Marro]

Personally, sourcing the leather is a risk i would be ready to take, as i don't think it is different from leaving it to the maker.

If I receive a jacket from a maker and there is a problem or defect in the leather that is visible to me right away or shortly after receipt of the jacket I will reach out to them without hesitation and insist that they correct this problem, probably with a complete remake of the jacket.
I don’t think you have that recourse when you source the leather and provide it to the maker. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have direct experience with this and when I discovered a flaw in the leather of my custom jacket there was nothing I could do about it.