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Not a jacket but madness goes on. Got a pair of SLP Jodhpur's in an elusive size 46 on the way. And I've got only @red devil to thank!
I guess what makes the whole aniline thing more confusing is that most leather jackets we discuss on this forum are aniline dyed rather than pigment dyed, but when finished are waxed/oiled/hot stuffed etc, to give them some water resistance. CXL is aniline dyed but heavily treated. Truly aniline leathers, without any treatment, are very absorbent, and wouldn't be very suitable for a garment taken outdoors. Having read about 'aniline leather' for the last hour (as I previously knew little about it), it appears quite a misleading term- it's essentially good full grain leather that had a natural rather than pigment finish, but beyond that can take very many shapes and forms. My favourite boots, for example, are technically aniline, but the leather bears little resemblance to my absorbent aniline sofa....
Edit: Some ponderings: Is there such a thing as a black jacket that is truly dark black all the way through? I thought black always wore off grey or brown? Are blackened brown jackets simply aniline brown jackets that have been given a pigmented finish on top? At what point does a jacket stop being fully-aniline and is considered merely aniline? After Theodoros has waxed one, for example? hmm...
I agree 100%. Thedi and Eastman are two makers who do the aging thing just right.Personally, I really like their finishings and I don't think they're overwrought at all. It adds just that bit of character right out of the box. It enhances the color depth. Very subtle imo.
Let's take Shinki as an example- it's fully aniline dyed, but in its finished state it's not a 'fully aniline leather' due to the finishing/oiling/treatments. The only leather sample I've held from any jacket manufacturer that is "pigmented" as opposed to aninile is Aero's goatskin, which is bulletproof. "Pigmented" also seems a bloody stupid term, as with leather it means lacquered or coated in plastic, which is a million miles from the dictionary definition. All "real" leather should be plastic free, but then again, someone co-opted 'real leather' to mean 'it contains some actual leather.'
edit: Himel describes Shinki leather that has been oiled/waxed as having a 'pigment finish', as well as some Shinki that has been 'painted'. Honestly, I give up. Even the experts put out conflicting information. https://himelbros.com/pages/learn-about-our-leather
Honestly, I give up. Even the experts put out conflicting information. https://himelbros.com/pages/learn-about-our-leather
All of this is true. But I still think it IS useful to realize that different finishes come with different characteristics that may or may not be suited for your particular goal.And you should!
The only experts are the people working in the tannery. Leather jacket maker certainly isn't an expert in tanning. They'd be waaay better off just saying "This is our brown leather and this is our black leather. They're all pretty cool!" 'cause frankly, at this point, that's all I wanna know.
Believe me, the only thing that makes sense is to forget every single one of those terms you hear getting thrown around out there. What @Jin431 says, it's just marketing techno-babble. Process of tanning is very complicated & by the time any information on how a batch of leather that some specific maker sourced has been tanned, gets transformed into a blurb on some retail platform, it went through so many levels of misunderstanding that it's best to simply ignore it.
I mean, retail websites can't even tell the difference between leather that's been split into layers & leather that a machinist flips upside-down before starting working on a jacket. Most of the internet believes Shinki is a type of leather!
What's happening is that you're hearing all of these terms from people who've never set foot into a tannery. For instance, read the descriptions on Himel's "about our leathers" page - You'll notice that all "descriptions" consist of slightly rearranged exact same terms. They can't even get the suede bit right!
But that's okay! Because leather jacket makers themselves aren't even sure what they're buying and will for the most part just source leather that's got all the characteristics their product is known for; ie. what they're used to working with and ultimately, what the consumer expects from them.
It often happens that a tannery runs out of a certain type of leather, which then forces a maker to look for the closest match. I mean, that won't happen to Fine Creek or Real McCoy but it happens. But what I'm getting at, not even the machinists will notice something's changed, let alone people who talk about tanning on social platforms.
People who have been in the industry for decades will happily tell you they don't care how the leather has been tanned as long as it checks all the boxes they require and I do believe that's actually a very healthy approach to all of this.
Then you have Iron Heart’s approach - this is the leather, the guru has selected it, buy it or not! Obviously the faithful are accustomed to this approach, but I do think it has wider appeal by simplifying things.
I agree with Marc, Jim and Monitor regarding the descriptions of leather- unless it's been coated or partially coated in plastic (which for me is a no)
E.g. full aniline leather without any topcoat will soak up water like a sponge. Therefore it might not be your first choice when looking for a jacket for riding.
But what exactly is aniline? I honestly never quite managed to figure that one out.
So what's pigmented leather?
Please post photos when you have it! This dude's gram has been irritating my feed and I've wanted to jump several times. Please keep the board updated on this!After seeing this account repeatedly on Instagram, I pulled the trigger. The cost was 580 shipped. There is a brown one in calfskin on Aliexpress for half that. But this is suppose to be naked hand dyed horsehide. I don't know. I'm a sucker for green leather. And I have a very similar scorpion helmet like the one in the photo. I took it as my sign from above. Hope I don't get scammed.
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Definitely. Same here. I am hoping for a Chinese 5Star with Western tanneries level leather. Fingers crossed. So far it doesn't seem like a scam. Still waiting for tracking number from this seller.Please post photos when you have it! This dude's gram has been irritating my feed and I've wanted to jump several times. Please keep the board updated on this!