Goatskin vs Lambskin

[OneEyeMan]

I've got an old (maybe 10 yrs) Mall Lambskin jacket that has served me well and still looks great. It's super supple, heavy and made by Andrew Mark. For the price (I think it was like $150 or so) it was a great bargain. Anyway, since joining this forum, I've had the chance to look at some nice jackets here and on other sites, many of them made of goatskin. And it struck me how similar the goatskin looks to the lambskin.
Now, I've never seen goatskin in person, so I could be totally wrong.
My question: does anybody have jackets made of both leathers that they could take a few side by side pix of?
I'd love to see what visual differences, there are (if any)
Inquiring minds want to know.
Thanks in advance.
Lenny

 

[Fenton]

I've had 2 Wested jackets, one goat the other lambskin. I would post pics but unfortunately I've sold them a couple of years ago. Personally, I didn't see much difference in their visual appearance. However, the goatskin one was slightly heavier and definitely more durable. The lambskin jacket was more like a dress jacket and very sensitive to abrasion and scratches. IMO goat is the better choice ... perhaps some other lounger wil have pictures for you.

 

[OneEyeMan]

I'm starting to think that my Andrew Marc jacket is Goatskin for 2 reasons:
1. it shows almost no wear after 10 yrs or so
2. it's very heavy, yet supple
Lenny

 

[Doctor Strange]

Goatskin has what's usually described as "pebble grain" that's pretty different from lambskin. It's essentially the fine bumpy texture remaining from densely-packed hair folicles. It is also generally springier and tougher than lambskin. Very supple, but extremely solid and tear-resistant.

It's worth mentioning again that how any given batch of leather is split, tanned, and treated/colored makes generalizations somewhat difficult. (I.e., some lambskin may be thicker than some goatskin.) I can only speak from my own experience.

I have two goatskin jackets from Flight Suits/G&B, an A-2 and M-422A, and their hides are somewhat different: the M-422A is a little thicker and has a much less glossy finish. But both are much thicker/tougher than my very thin/soft lambskin Wested jacket, which actually did tear badly when it got caught on a closing car door. (Wested repaired it - for free! - and so perfectly that it's completely undetectible now.)

You have seen the many pictures of both new and vintage horsehide and goatskin at Acme Depot, right?

http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/index.shtml

 

[jack miranda]

Lambskin is for wearing to a lawn party with your wife's

wealthy relations. Goat is for wearing with your jeans, knocking about town. Lamb is for overheated wine bars; goat is for long walks on crisp afternoons. Lamb is for look; goat is for wear. Lamb is for Easter dinner; goat is for burritos in the hills of Jalisco.

Just my humble opinion, mind you.

 

[H.Johnson]

It's an age thing...

I would like to know - when does hair-off 'lambskin' become hair-off 'sheepskin'? And when does 'kid' skin become 'goat' skin?

If a lamb is a young sheep, and generally the hide of young animals is less robust than that of older aninals, why are we comparing (young) lamb skin with (adult) goatskin in terms of durability?

 

[OneEyeMan]

You have seen the many pictures of both new and vintage horsehide and goatskin at Acme Depot, right?

http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/index.shtml

Yep, certainly have.
That's an awesome resource.
Lenny

 

[Peacoat]

I'm starting to think that my Andrew Marc jacket is Goatskin for 2 reasons:
1. it shows almost no wear after 10 yrs or so
2. it's very heavy, yet supple
Lenny

With it showing no wear after 10 years, I would say it is goat. That is one of the marks of a goat jacket. Lamb would have shown obvious aging by now.

If goat, it will have a pebble grain texture. The lamb should be relatively smooth.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Then it's goat.
I could've sworn the original tag said Lambskin.
Or maybe I just assumed it was Lambskin because it didn't look like cowhide and I knew nothing about goatskin back then.
Cool, thanks all.
Lenny

 

[H.Johnson]

Mmmm.....

 

[Baron Kurtz]

2. it's very heavy, yet supple

Very heavy goatskin?

We don't even need pictures any more to tell the difference between hides, Herb.

bk

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I bought and returned a "lambskin" manufactured by Andrew Marc from Nordstrom.

It was advertised as lambskin. Upon further inspection I questioned the "pedigree" of the leather. Nordstrom could not give me a straight answer. After further research I found out the collar was shearling the rest was "leather". Never got an answer other than "leather".

I returned it.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Finally got around to taking pix.
Goatskin, right?
Lenny

 

[H.Johnson]

Lambskin or sheepskin.

Lambskin ('hair off' and 'hair on') is traditionally used for small items such as gloves and carpet slippers. It is very unlikely that true lambskin (i.e. infant sheep) would be used to make an adult jacket as the skins are simply not big enough. In the 1940s and early 1950s British leather clothiers (e.g. Radley) used to go to ingenious lengths to produce jacket patterns with very small panels to try to make use of such skins, and there was a brief fashion for 'patchwork' jackets in the 1980s (often made in North Africa) but I haven't seen a genuine lambskin jacket in years.

Sheepskin (i.e. the adult sheep) is used on adult clothing (a function of size) but that is a different matter in terms of durability. This forum has produced many examples of WW2 sheepkin that have been worn regularly for over 60 years and are still going strong.

Just my opinion, of course.