Help with choosing a leather jacket

[BobJ]

Hi MuyJingo - I got a seal brown jerky horsehide Arkansas jacket from Alexander Leathers three months ago.

I found Amanda to be very patient, knowledgeable, and helpful to the point of being kind.

The jerky horsehide is soft, supple, luxurious to feel, has beautiful grain that is growing in character already, is strong, and has substantial, comforting heft.

I don't know if it's designed to do so, or not, but it seems to show wear easily. I have been wearing mine almost daily for three months now. It has been in rain, salty sea mist, wind, wind and more wind, hot sun, slept in, crumpled up and leaned against, folded and stuffed in cupboards, laid and tossed around with careless abandon, played with dogs in, and worn for many hours walking in the woods, marshes and beaches here on the Oregon coast. Some of the dark seal finish is beginning to wear off around the inside of the collar where it rubs against my whiskery neck, the ends of the cuffs, some of the high spots on the seams, and along the zipper. It's subtle, so far - the jacket still looks new to a casual glance, but if you look closely, you can see some of the darker finish wearing off and the lighter under layer showing through. The leather has great character and I expect it will age well. We shall see.

I have not done any hot water treatment, washing or tossing it in the dryer. All I have done is worn it, but it is already stretching, wrinkling, conforming itself to my body and getting more comfortable all the time.

My untrained layman's eyes have detected no flaws in construction and I have had no issues or problems.

For me, it is close to my Holy Grail and will probably be my sole leather jacket for the rest of my life. I know, I know - famous last words!

Bottom line: There are a small handful of top notch, world class leather jacket companies out there - Alexander Leathers is one of them and their jerky horsehide is a thing of beauty.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Bob

 

[Sloan1874]

Bottom line: There are a small handful of top notch, world class leather jacket companies out there - Alexander Leathers is one of them.

lol

 

[MuyJingo]

I bought one of AL's initial offerings at a discount = Dirt Rider in black jerky horsehide.
I have a used Aero 50's HB in FQHH that I bought off a fellow lounger.
These 2 leathers are totally different.
Although the Aero has been thru 2 previous owners before I got it, it still stands by itself.
The AL is soft & supple, more like my older leather jackets, some from Harley Davidson (definitely cowhide).

They are both quality, well-made jackets. 2 leathers are totally different ends of the horse spectrum JMHO

Hmm, thanks for that. I thought the difference was primarily aesthetic.

Would you say the AL leather is less durable than non jerky horse hide? If so, to what extent?

lol

You obviously disagree, could you elaborate on why?

I'm new to these companies and trying to peice it all together, and it seems like for some reason some guys from Aero left and started Alexander, with the main difference being the hides they can get and the designs. The quality and workmanship shouldn't be any less, surely?

Hi MuyJingo - I got a seal brown jerky horsehide Arkansas jacket from Alexander Leathers three months ago.

I found Amanda to be very patient, knowledgeable, and helpful to the point of being kind.

The jerky horsehide is soft, supple, luxurious to feel, has beautiful grain that is growing in character already, is strong, and has substantial, comforting heft.

I don't know if it's designed to do so, or not, but it seems to show wear easily. I have been wearing mine almost daily for three months now. It has been in rain, salty sea mist, wind, wind and more wind, hot sun, slept in, crumpled up and leaned against, folded and stuffed in cupboards, laid and tossed around with careless abandon, played with dogs in, and worn for many hours walking in the woods, marshes and beaches here on the Oregon coast. Some of the dark seal finish is beginning to wear off around the inside of the collar where it rubs against my whiskery neck, the ends of the cuffs, some of the high spots on the seams, and along the zipper. It's subtle, so far - the jacket still looks new to a casual glance, but if you look closely, you can see some of the darker finish wearing off and the lighter under layer showing through. The leather has great character and I expect it will age well. We shall see.

I have not done any hot water treatment, washing or tossing it in the dryer. All I have done is worn it, but it is already stretching, wrinkling, conforming itself to my body and getting more comfortable all the time.

My untrained layman's eyes have detected no flaws in construction and I have had no issues or problems.

For me, it is close to my Holy Grail and will probably be my sole leather jacket for the rest of my life. I know, I know - famous last words!

Bottom line: There are a small handful of top notch, world class leather jacket companies out there - Alexander Leathers is one of them and their jerky horsehide is a thing of beauty.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thank's very much for your input!

Amanda has been a great help so far. Alexander seems to have the best combo of price, customer service and wait time that I've found in my quest, making them my likely choice at the moment.

When you say the jacket is showing wear, would you say this is mainly a positive thing in that is it giving the jacket character, or a negative thing in that it is losing it's color very soon after you bought it?

I'm about to post another thread on this, but how warm/hot would you say the jacket is? Is it fine to wear it in say spring/fall? What about in a densely packed bar or nightclub?

Ideally my jacket will be as much a fashion piece as it will a function piece of protection from the elements, although I'm still researching this.

 

[Sloan1874]

It's just objectively not true.

 

[Capesofwrath]

It's just objectively not true.

You might be confusing opinion with objectivity there don't you think? BTW have you actually seen and handled any AL jackets?

 

[MuyJingo]

It's just objectively not true.

Repeating something isn't elaborating.

 

[Capesofwrath]

MuyJingo

If you mean are the differences between Horween FQHH and jerky just aesthetic then no. The FQHH is very tough and initially stiff. It's heavier and not so comfortable to wear as a softer lighter hide but makes up for it in its toughness and looks.

I like many people who have been around for a while have had jackets years ago which were made in lighter leather than is the trend now. Even my old Lewis Leathers bike jacket which I used on my bikes in the sixties and seventies was made of a lighter hide than is common nowadays. Not to mention we had never heard of armour then. There is a bit of an arms race as to who can make the thickest toughest hides now.

But a jacket doesn't have to be made of very thick stiff hide to be good. One of my current favourites is an AL in black goat and is a jacket I just throw on most often right now.

 

[MuyJingo]

MuyJingo

If you mean are the differences between Horween FQHH and jerky just aesthetic then no. The FQHH is very tough and initially stiff. It's heavier and not so comfortable to wear as a softer lighter hide but makes up for it in its toughness and looks.

I like many people who have been around for a while have had jackets years ago which were made in lighter leather than is the trend now. Even my old Lewis Leathers bike jacket which I used on my bikes in the sixties and seventies was made of a lighter hide than is common nowadays. Not to mention we had never heard of armour then. There is a bit of an arms race as to who can make the thickest toughest hides now.

But a jacket doesn't have to be made of very thick stiff hide to be good. One of my current favourites is an AL in black goat and is a jacket I just throw on most often right now.

Hey, thanks.

Why is there a drive toward heavier leathers? What is the advantage, if the lighter leathers are durable "enough"?

Do you have any pics of your AL goatskin?

Thanks

 

[Capesofwrath]

Hey, thanks.

Why is there a drive toward heavier leathers? What is the advantage, if the lighter leathers are durable "enough"?

Do you have any pics of your AL goatskin?

Thanks

This is it straight out of the box with me still wearing my gardening strides.

 

[frussell]

Many will disagree, I'm sure, but I think the whole "jerky" thing is just marketing spin. I have a Teamster that is supposed to be 100% FQHH, but one arm and shoulder look and feel like they are made of "jerky horsehide." The color is the same, but one sleeve is much more wrinkly, lighter weight, and softer-feeling than the other. The grain on "jerky" seems to be more pronounced, and less uniform than what is labeled as FQHH. Like others have said, every individual hide is different, and every part of the animal has different grain and toughness. I don't really mind the differences on my jacket, but I highly doubt that "jerky" horsehide and FQHH are two different things, or that they are tanned differently. I think the hides labeled as "jerky" are just the ones with more inconsistencies. Just my opinion, I'm sure I'll get blasted by the Aero Protection Squad for such blasphemy, but I've done lots of leatherwork, and I'm not new to leather jackets by any means. Frank

 

[Sloan1874]

Repeating something isn't elaborating.

Ok, put it this way: AL set themselves up as basically 'Aero, but cheaper'. Not better, not different, or more accurate, just off-the-mark Xerox's of their jackets, and essentially that's all people who own their jackets seem to claim.
As far as a selling point, it's not what you'd call 'top of the market', I very much doubt Good Wear, Lost Worlds or ELC have considered this as a marketing strategy.
I'm not saying that won't make you a solid, workmanlike product, what I'm saying is that it's not 'top of the market'.

 

[MuyJingo]

View attachment 5386

This is it straight out of the box with me still wearing my gardening strides.

Thanks, a very nice looking jacket!

I definitely like the color and the texture of the leather. I also liked how the jerky horsehide looked but depending how much lighter the goat is it could easily sway me.

Many will disagree, I'm sure, but I think the whole "jerky" thing is just marketing spin. I have a Teamster that is supposed to be 100% FQHH, but one arm and shoulder look and feel like they are made of "jerky horsehide." The color is the same, but one sleeve is much more wrinkly, lighter weight, and softer-feeling than the other. The grain on "jerky" seems to be more pronounced, and less uniform than what is labeled as FQHH. Like others have said, every individual hide is different, and every part of the animal has different grain and toughness. I don't really mind the differences on my jacket, but I highly doubt that "jerky" horsehide and FQHH are two different things, or that they are tanned differently. I think the hides labeled as "jerky" are just the ones with more inconsistencies. Just my opinion, I'm sure I'll get blasted by the Aero Protection Squad for such blasphemy, but I've done lots of leatherwork, and I'm not new to leather jackets by any means. Frank

Thanks Frank. That's an interesting thing to hear. I don't know enough to comment, was just interested in the aesthetics.

Would you say "jerky" HH is any less durable?

 

[frussell]

In my experience, not less durable, but definitely quicker to break in. It's still horsehide, just feels lighter and more flexible. I'd be tempted to get a whole jacket made with it in the future, as I live in a pretty warm area, and lighter is better for me. Good luck on your jacket hunt. Frank.

 

[gtdean48]

Hmm, thanks for that. I thought the difference was primarily aesthetic.

Would you say the AL leather is less durable than non jerky horse hide? If so, to what extent?

...

Aesthetically, they are both beautiful, artful leather jackets, just like a Ducati & a Harley-Davidson are beautiful motorcycles but totally different looking & different riding styles.
They feel different in weight & tactile dimensions.
As far as durability goes, they both are substantial enough to protect me from the elements.
I think the AL Dirt Rider will protect me from a spill on my bike as would the Aero 50's HB but it is not designed to be comfortable in riding a motorcycle.
I also would not be wearing the Dirt Rider in a snow storm but the Aero with alpaca lining would get the call to duty for that.
Apples & Oranges but very beautiful apples & oranges.
You want soft & supple out of the box then the FQHH is not going to fit the bill.
The jerky horse is a touch stiff out of the box but a couple of wearings, it is there.
FQHH is going to take you a lot longer to get just to less stiff. HTH

 

[MuyJingo]

Aesthetically, they are both beautiful, artful leather jackets, just like a Ducati & a Harley-Davidson are beautiful motorcycles but totally different looking & different riding styles.
They feel different in weight & tactile dimensions.
As far as durability goes, they both are substantial enough to protect me from the elements.
I think the AL Dirt Rider will protect me from a spill on my bike as would the Aero 50's HB but it is not designed to be comfortable in riding a motorcycle.
I also would not be wearing the Dirt Rider in a snow storm but the Aero with alpaca lining would get the call to duty for that.
Apples & Oranges but very beautiful apples & oranges.
You want soft & supple out of the box then the FQHH is not going to fit the bill.
The jerky horse is a touch stiff out of the box but a couple of wearings, it is there.
FQHH is going to take you a lot longer to get just to less stiff. HTH

I have no worries with how long it will take for me to break it in...that isn't a concern for me.

I just want something that can withstand a Hurricane Sandy should I find myself trapped in one, and be light enough that I can wear as a fashion jacket inside packed bars or such.

I don't really have a feel yet if FQHH is too heavy for the latter, but it seems like Jerky HH is light enough that it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[gtdean48]

...
I just want something that can withstand a Hurricane Sandy should I find myself trapped in one, and be light enough that I can wear as a fashion jacket inside packed bars or such.
...

Based on my FQHH 50's Half Belt, it does not meet that last part of your criteria.
My jerky horse AL Dirt Rider does.

 

[MuyJingo]

Based on my FQHH 50's Half Belt, it does not meet that last part of your criteria.
My jerky horse AL Dirt Rider does.

Does your FQHH 50's half belt fail to meet the criteria because being too heavy, it is too hot to wear? Or a different reason?

I'm not worried about the stiffness so much as I understand that goes away somewhat after it is broken in...

 

[gtdean48]

Does your FQHH 50's half belt fail to meet the criteria because being too heavy, it is too hot to wear? Or a different reason?

I'm not worried about the stiffness so much as I understand that goes away somewhat after it is broken in...

Too heavy & too hot...even if it did not have the alpaca lining, it would be too heavy.

 

[handymike]

I'll chime in...I had an Aero FQHH jacket for a brief time. Way too much for me. The climate in Southern California is mild, and that jacket was a beast- even though it was 10 years old. Don't get me wrong, It was awesome! and felt mighty when on....just not appropriate for hanging out. Maybe the mid-weight would be fine. My vintage HH jacket is lighter and perfect....
I've heard the praises of goat- both Aero and AL. In fact, some say that the best hide AL have is their black goat...
It does have a very pebbley (bumpy) texture which is not my preference....
If it appeals to you, The goat might just be the way to go, it drapes nicely, is softer, and will last a long time.
Good luck, if you are still in doubt after you get samples- buy one of each ;-)

 

[Sloan1874]

You might be confusing opinion with objectivity there don't you think? BTW have you actually seen and handled any AL jackets?

Objectively, companies who are top notch don't need to repeatedly slash their jacket prices or sell bags of leather off-cuts for a fiver a pop on eBay. I have handled one of their jackets, one of the Highwayman rip-offs, it didn't inspire me.