Is this kind of damage common on new leather jackets? Do leather jackets get scratched easily?

[mippo]

I just bought my first real leather jacket from Schott. I was really happy and then one day later I noticed a small scuff behind the jacket. This is really bothering me even though it's behind the belt and can only be seen if you lift the belt up. It's quite annoying that my otherwise perfect jacket suddenly has a scratch. Is this kind of damage common with new leather jackets? What would you do if you bought a new leather jacket and it got this kind of damage on it?

 

[Ingramite]

First of all, congratulations on your new jacket. It's a sizeable investment that will also become a long time friend.

Not many things in my life attain that status. My motorcycles have come and gone over the years while a couple of my jackets are older than my kids.

It's an interesting study I suppose. One camp would prefer the pristine newness. The other camp would pay a premium for an aged distressed look.

For these very reasons I really don't much care for the break in or wear in period of a new leather. I don't like the stiffness and perfect shine.....but when that first scratch finally happens I feel like puking.

So, while I understand completely, I'm short on fixes. I try to put it out of my mind. I've never tried to repair. Thankfully leather is pretty tough and I've never had a clock stopper.

Right now you're hyper aware because it's new, expensive, and so perfect. I've never, in all the years that I've worn leather motorcycle jackets had someone point to a scratch on my jacket. Tons of compliments because overall they make such a dramatic statement.

If I was on the barstool next to you I'd buy you a beer to get the taste out of your mouth. It is a bitter pill.

 

[Mrkurtz]

It’s just a mark on the hide. Leather will have these irregularities, they give the garment character.

 

[Carlos840]

It's impossible to say, this c ould be a mark that you have done, or it could be a mark that was in the hide when the jacket was built.
Either way i would not worry about it, there is nothing you can do to fix it and odds are you will make your own in time wearing the jacket.
Leather scratches pretty easily, it's life.

 

[Monitor]

This type of scarring happens during tanning & can occasionally be found on a brand new leather jacket. This is what, Schott's Naked Cowhide? It's not a big deal but I can understand you aren't too happy about it, either.
The only solution is to have the jacket replaced, provided that's still an option, or to just forget about it as there are no guarantees that the replacement jacket will be flawless. No leather jacket will ever be perfect.

 

[mumpy]

I think you will have to adjust your mentality around this or you will stop wearing leather jackets of this type. A leather jacket is not a suit. I understand that it bothers you but if you keep wearing it, you will get more scratches over time. You have to like the look of a worn jacket if you are going with this type of hide.

 

[Liveinstyle33]

I wouldn't worry about that. You will soon stop dwelling on it, especially when you develop other nicks and scratches from use. My first high end leather jacket had a giant scar on it. I thought someone did damage to the jacket before they sold it (and bamboozled me), but it is actually a healed cut from the animal. At first it bothered me, but then that faded away completely. It's just part of the character of the jacket, makes it more unique.

See it? Doesn't bother me in the least! But to each their own.

 

[Carlos840]

I wouldn't worry about that. You will soon stop dwelling on it, especially when you develop other nicks and scratches from use. My first high end leather jacket had a giant scar on it. I thought someone did damage to the jacket before they sold it (and bamboozled me), but it is actually a healed cut from the animal. At first it bothered me, but then that faded away completely. It's just part of the character of the jacket, makes it more unique.

See it? Doesn't bother me in the least! But to each their own.

View attachment 468857

I see two giant scars!

 

[Liveinstyle33]

I see two giant scars!

There are indeed more than one, and they become more visible with the light reflecting off of the leather. That steer had it rough.

 

[ton312]

There are indeed more than one, and they become more visible with the light reflecting off of the leather. That steer had it rough.

I love scars like that. I also think stretch marks can look cool.

 

[Viking752]

I know that when I buy things and then I spend too much time admiring and protecting from any damage and then it happens. Invariably my new truck gets a scratch, I bang my new Panerai on a door knob, my pristine Red Wings get a scuff on the toe and the list goes on. It’s almost as if the universe is telling me to relax and enjoy the nice things I can afford and focus less on keeping it perfect. It’s gonna happen, just think of all the cool stories you can tell because if you continue to wear your jacket it will have more scars.

 

[navetsea]

I think they aware of that imperfection and purposefully hide it under the belt because the rest of the panel is good, jackets use big panels if they need to waste 95% good panel because there is scratches even when their design allowed to strategically hide them, then their price would reflect that very much.

 

[morrison2951]

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Congrats on the sweet jacket!

 

[mippo]

This type of scarring happens during tanning & can occasionally be found on a brand new leather jacket. This is what, Schott's Naked Cowhide? It's not a big deal but I can understand you aren't too happy about it, either.
The only solution is to have the jacket replaced, provided that's still an option, or to just forget about it as there are no guarantees that the replacement jacket will be flawless. No leather jacket will ever be perfect.

The jacket is steerhide. Thank you for the advice. Your words have given me peace of mind. Thank you to everyone else also for chiming in. I really appreciate it.

 

[Aloysius]

I think this scratch happened after you bought it, but I don't think it's a big deal at all. It will inevitably happen.

My context for this is that jackets that get scuffs like this during production get sent to Schott's clearance stock for the annual factory sale. That's how I scored a Schott naked cowhide trucker at a deep discount. I don't mind the scratch at all because I would have inevitably put it on myself with usage.