Five Star Leather Jackets

[PilotJens]

I find a vintage style jacket is only too long if it goes past your cuff .If above like pictured no worries

 

[bn1966]

Looks fine as is and an inch shortening won’t be a problem for a competent leather tailor. Had one done recently, an inch funnily enough which then hit my length sweet spot.

 

[Unspecifiedtea]

Just a friendly PSA to anyone with the HH leather:

I have a 5* Cossack jacket in pull-up brown HH that shrunk after getting caught in the rain.
P2P: Shrunk by 1"
Sleeves: shorten by 0.5"
Back: shorten by 0.5"
Torso: shrunk by 0.5"

Luckily, I'm still able to wear it since I originally oversized it for layering. One issue is the collar is now wavy and has "bubbles" because the two sides of the collar are not the same size. Does anyone know if this is an easy fix? It's not that pronounced in the picture below.

 

[Canuck Panda]

If the bubbles showed up after the rain and dry then it's from the shrinking. This totally blows...

Which horsehide is this one? Mid brown, pull up brown or seal brown?

 

[Chrispy179]

Trucker jacket in distressed buffalo.

 

[Gr8Lakes]

View attachment 421423

P37 uniform pic from wiki:
View attachment 421425

This P37 jacket in leather sprung back from the dead. Literally. I thought either Shawn or I had dropped it after ghosting each other about it. It was a (good) surprise when I got the message and photos this morning. It took a while, and (according to Shawn in today's message) three pattern tries, but he did it!

Cool jacket. I finally received my CR over the weekend as well. Shawn apologized for what he called a much too long wait (about 4 1/2 weeks). I’ll post some pictures when my son and I are able, but I’ve been hammered with other “life” stuff the past couple weeks.

1st opinion though: The custom fit is amazing. I’ve never had such a form-fit jacket. I wanted a leather shirt type jacket for riding motorcycle in the summer, and that’s what I have. Perfect over a fitted t-shirt. The bi-swing shoulders work excellent. Great fit, really comfortable, and decent stitching. The 1.2 horsehide is kind of a let down. It would be great if consistent, but the left sleeve is thinner than the rest. The grain is cool, kinda like @ton312 has, with the rippled look. But had I known it would be so inconsistent, I’d have gone with goat or cowhide. Wouldn’t have paid extra for a thin sleeve.

Overall, I’m not unhappy. It’ll come out of one of the bags as the air gets a chill in the evening, and I’ll be happy to wear it for it’s intended purpose. I just feel a little extra effort in assuring the hide thickness would’ve gone a long way. I can see where the material costs are closely managed, and it feels like it comprises the overall quality.

I’d order again, but not 1.2 HH. Too much room for disappointment. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon, but today my wife’s transmission is leaking… So

 

[Rugby]

Trucker jacket in distressed buffalo.

Good looking jacket!
What's the thickness of that hide? Do you know if they offer buffalo hide in black color?

 

[ton312]

Cool jacket. I finally received my CR over the weekend as well. Shawn apologized for what he called a much too long wait (about 4 1/2 weeks). I’ll post some pictures when my son and I are able, but I’ve been hammered with other “life” stuff the past couple weeks.

1st opinion though: The custom fit is amazing. I’ve never had such a form-fit jacket. I wanted a leather shirt type jacket for riding motorcycle in the summer, and that’s what I have. Perfect over a fitted t-shirt. The bi-swing shoulders work excellent. Great fit, really comfortable, and decent stitching. The 1.2 horsehide is kind of a let down. It would be great if consistent, but the left sleeve is thinner than the rest. The grain is cool, kinda like @ton312 has, with the rippled look. But had I known it would be so inconsistent, I’d have gone with goat or cowhide. Wouldn’t have paid extra for a thin sleeve.

Overall, I’m not unhappy. It’ll come out of one of the bags as the air gets a chill in the evening, and I’ll be happy to wear it for it’s intended purpose. I just feel a little extra effort in assuring the hide thickness would’ve gone a long way. I can see where the material costs are closely managed, and it feels like it comprises the overall quality.

I’d order again, but not 1.2 HH. Too much room for disappointment. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon, but today my wife’s transmission is leaking… So View attachment 422586

Seems to be a fairly consistant complaint regarding the lighter HH and inconsistant thickness. My 5oz 2mm is due to be delivered today. Will report on that hides consistancy when it's in hand.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Cool jacket. I finally received my CR over the weekend as well. Shawn apologized for what he called a much too long wait (about 4 1/2 weeks). I’ll post some pictures when my son and I are able, but I’ve been hammered with other “life” stuff the past couple weeks.

1st opinion though: The custom fit is amazing. I’ve never had such a form-fit jacket. I wanted a leather shirt type jacket for riding motorcycle in the summer, and that’s what I have. Perfect over a fitted t-shirt. The bi-swing shoulders work excellent. Great fit, really comfortable, and decent stitching. The 1.2 horsehide is kind of a let down. It would be great if consistent, but the left sleeve is thinner than the rest. The grain is cool, kinda like @ton312 has, with the rippled look. But had I known it would be so inconsistent, I’d have gone with goat or cowhide. Wouldn’t have paid extra for a thin sleeve.

Overall, I’m not unhappy. It’ll come out of one of the bags as the air gets a chill in the evening, and I’ll be happy to wear it for it’s intended purpose. I just feel a little extra effort in assuring the hide thickness would’ve gone a long way. I can see where the material costs are closely managed, and it feels like it comprises the overall quality.

I’d order again, but not 1.2 HH. Too much room for disappointment. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon, but today my wife’s transmission is leaking… So View attachment 422586

Can we get a shot of the back please? I've never had a 5star that has action back. Would love to see how he does it on this one.

I am seeing more variance in horsehide as well. My first two jackets were within my tolerance range but the last 2mm were on the edge of that range. It'd be interesting to find out the quality of my incoming P37 jacket.

Leather consistency seems to be an issue now.

 

[Gr8Lakes]

Good looking jacket!
What's the thickness of that hide? Do you know if they offer buffalo hide in black color?

It’s 1.2 HH. Where it’s 1.2, it’s excellent. The large panels are consistent, and just what I expected. I’ve heard of thinner areas, but I was surprised by an entire sleeve. Feeling the two sleeves side by side, especially double thick, it’s pretty significant. I’ve never had a leather jacket so inconsistent. Grain and color, sure. But never thickness unless it was in targeted areas, like side panels designed for tightening under adjusting belts.

Buffalo in black… ??? I have no idea. But it would be cool. I actually think this would be a very good deal in soft goat. It would make for a very comfortable jacket at a great price.

Only pic I have of the back right now. I’ll try to get some fit pics up soon. Like I said, bi-swing works great. Better pics on website, but when I’m wearing it it’ll show the best. Hopefully tomorrow. Grocery shopping tonight.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Hmm... That's no good, in the double thick/thin range. I would say my last 2mm jacket ranged from 3.5 to 4.5oz just by feel. The weight (on scale) is surprisingly lower compared to my other thicker leather but that could be different tanning. Overall I was still satisfied given the price and construction. But these new cases have me worried about the one I have incoming!

 

[Rugby]

Hmm... That's no good, in the double thick/thin range. I would say my last 2mm jacket ranged from 3.5 to 4.5oz just by feel. The weight (on scale) is surprisingly lower compared to my other thicker leather but that could be different tanning. Overall I was still satisfied given the price and construction. But these new cases have me worried about the one I have incoming!

Is the inconsistency present throughout the hide offerings? I only know of the 1.2mm HH that I got on my trucker and I would concur with @Gr8Lakes about the sleeve thickness imbalance

 

[ton312]

Is the inconsistency present throughout the hide offerings? I only know of the 1.2mm HH that I got on my trucker and I would concur with @Gr8Lakes about the sleeve thickness imbalance

None of my cowhide or goatskin jackets were irregular in thickness. I absolutely noticed it on my pull-up jacket.

 

[Canuck Panda]

What Ton said. My first mid brown 30's HB has a range from maybe 2.75oz to 3.5oz. Within my acceptance range, no one spot is significantly thinner than the other but there is difference.
Then my first 2mm trucker was quite good.
Then my second 2mm Sheen showed more variance, but still within acceptable range.
Now I worry about the one I have coming...

I don't have cowhide, but goats were all uniform. Just boring finishes. But uniform thickness.

 

[Rugby]

What Ton said. My first mid brown 30's HB has a range from maybe 2.75oz to 3.5oz. Within my acceptance range, no one spot is significantly thinner than the other but there is difference.
Then my first 2mm trucker was quite good.
Then my second 2mm Sheen showed more variance, but still within acceptable range.
Now I worry about the one I have coming...

I don't have cowhide, but goats were all uniform. Just boring finishes. But uniform thickness.

So it is pretty safe to say that steerhide/cowhide, goathide are acceptably consistent. HH is questionable, and how about the buffalo? I'm eyeing a cossack in that hide

 

[Canuck Panda]

So it is pretty safe to say that steerhide/cowhide, goathide are acceptably consistent. HH is questionable, and how about the buffalo? I'm eyeing a cossack in that hide

Yes and No.
Yes goatskin has consistent thickness throughout.
No, one of 6 goatskin jacket I got from Shawn was thinner (overall) than the other five. So make sure you specify "premium" goatskin in your order. I ain't mad. It was still good, I just expected more.

Never had cowhide from Shawn. Others have reported good experience with cowhide from Shawn. I just never participated. Except the CHL which were ... mixed feelings.

I still think the 2mm stuff is the best leather out of the 5Star factory. Even when there is variance the thinner parts still thick enough. But no more of this leather.

Shawn is building the most jacket for the least money. His cutter is going to use the entire hide. No scraps.

 

[Unspecifiedtea]

If the bubbles showed up after the rain and dry then it's from the shrinking. This totally blows...

Which horsehide is this one? Mid brown, pull up brown or seal brown?

Yep, the bubbles showed up after the rain. I’ll try to get it fixed. This is the pull up brown HH

 

[Canuck Panda]

Yep, the bubbles showed up after the rain. I’ll try to get it fixed. This is the pull up brown HH

What's the game plan? Are you going to wet it again and try to mold it back in shape? I've used that method before it doesn't always work once it's dried. Sometimes the problem are is resolved in the wet stage but bounces back to problem state after dried. Anyways, good luck and post results.

 

[MrProper]

Yep, the bubbles showed up after the rain.

I seem to have been lucky with my jacket. It has also become really wet, but I have not noticed any change.

I still think the 2mm stuff is the best leather out of the 5Star factory. Even when there is variance the thinner parts still thick enough. But no more of this leather.

Shawn said he will make the same leather, but from cow instead of horse. That will be available in black and brown. I am curious.

 

[Unspecifiedtea]

What's the game plan? Are you going to wet it again and try to mold it back in shape? I've used that method before it doesn't always work once it's dried. Sometimes the problem are is resolved in the wet stage but bounces back to problem state after dried. Anyways, good luck and post results.

I’m thinking of doing the hot water treatment on the collar only and hopefully shrink the top layer to be the same as size as the bottom. If that doesn’t work then I’ll probably bring it to a tailor. They will most likely have to make the collar smaller overall but I can live with that.