Issue with my new Aero Leather Long Half Belt?

[tetzlaff2]

Hello everyone,

as a long time lurker, I've profited a lot from all the knowledge available at this forum when I pulled the trigger on an Aero Leather Long Half Belt Jacket - so thanks to all those participating in aero threads especially

I purchased my jacket through a very nice retailer in Zurich and received the jacket a couple of weeks ago. I love it a lot and am excited to break it in.

However, I found something that mildly irritates me and I was wondering what you guys think. That is, there is a scar-like imperfection of the leather at the left sleeve - it really looks like a scar, but this scar is also of a different color than the rest of the leather. Do you think this is normal or something to worry about? It is also the sleeve with the leather less smooth than the rest of the jacket - a question discussed already at this forum.

I took a couple of snapshots:


https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/631x473q90/540/GScvbk.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/631x473q90/673/ILr9EE.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/631x473q90/540/lm0AgQ.jpg

Thanks for your replies and merry Christmas to everyone

Best,

MK

 

[wdw]

Hi and welcome. Unfortunately your links aren't working, on my laptop at least.

 

[kojax]

ouch does not look good

 

[wdw]

Ok, it works with chrome, not IE. Is the scar actually a scratch that's been touched up by a darker colour pen or polish?

It could have happened in the shop, as I'm not aware of any complaints of touched up items being sent out direct from Aero.

It wouldn't worry me too much, as your jacket will soon pick up plenty of scratches without any effort, but you might want to try to negotiate a discount in the shop.

 

[handymike]

Looks like some sort of marking pen. I'd try a little remover to see if it comes off (Bestine, Goof Off, maybe turpentine). Just use a little and then condition the spot and if need be shoe cream to touch up. It will disappear as you beat your jacket into submission.

 

[Sloan1874]

Difficult to say what it is. I would send these pics to Holly at holly@areoleatherclothing.com, see what she says.

 

[Fanch]

Looks like a non-problem to me and wouldn't concern me no regardless of who made the jacket. [huh] Let's see pics of the whole jacket, including pics of your wearing it. Give us the details about you newest acquisition but would not give one more thought to the minor imperfection illustrated in your pics shown thus far.

 

[Monitor]

It's an actual scarring, happened while the animal was still alive. Fairly common thing on brown leather jackets as for some reason, tanning always darkens the scared areas. My friends HWM has the exact same thing. He did, however, buy his jacket on Aero's Sale page where it ended up due to this imperfection so asking for a discount sounds like good idea. Either way, perfectly normal thing and nothing to worry about.

And yeah, let's see that jacket.

 

[Superfluous]

It's an actual scarring, happened while the animal was still alive. Fairly common thing on brown leather jackets as for some reason, tanning always darkens the scared areas.

I am not trying to rock the boat, but the foregoing observation begs a couple of questions:

1. Does this mean the leather used to create this jacket was neither full grain, nor uncorrected top grain?

2. Should this hide have been corrected to remove the scarring? Isn't that the purpose of hide correction?

Please do not read anything pejorative into my questions. I am merely curious what the presence of scarring means with respect to the nature and designation of the hide.

 

[Monitor]

Superfluous, I know only what I've been told but according to, say, Schott, finding a larger panel of hide without any such imperfections is next to impossible, especially when it comes to horse hide, since horses don't spend most of their lives sitting in a barn like cows apparently do. That's what makes it a full grain hide, the fact that nobody messed with it to hide these scars, insect bites, etc.

Whether or not it should've been corrected is another matter, one of personal preference. Most manufacturers will tell you it's a perfectly normal thing.

 

[Superfluous]

^ I wonder whether these determinations are purely subjective, or whether there are objective industry standards for when correction is appropriate/warranted/necessarily? If a perfect, unscarred hide is a rarity, and some amount of scarring is tolerable without correction, someone has to evaluate individual hides and make these determinations. I wonder how that analysis proceeds. What are the acceptable margins? Is the process entirely subjective or are there objective standards (eg., scarring per square foot)? What if tanneries/manufacturers apply meaningfully different litmus tests? In the absence of accepted and followed objective standards, one tannery/manufacturer might deem a hide acceptable without correction and market it as full grain, whereas a different tannery/manufacturer might deem the same hide as requiring shaving (eg, top grain) or correction.

 

[ykurtz]

I find the scar on the hide less troubling than the apparent attempt by some party to 'cover it up' poorly with a marker of some kind. If this were a sale item, a 'second', a used item, etc., it might make sense but my understanding is that he bought a new jacket from Aero through a retailer? Unfortunately, two weeks is a long time to go before pointing it out and making the retailer/manufacturer aware of the issue. That said, I hope the OP is able to resolve the situation to his satisfaction. The advice from the forum will be multifarious; hopefully he can settle in on an approach that works for him.

 

[pawineguy]

I am not trying to rock the boat, but the foregoing observation begs a couple of questions:

1. Does this mean the leather used to create this jacket was neither full grain, nor uncorrected top grain?

2. Should this hide have been corrected to remove the scarring? Isn't that the purpose of hide correction?

Please do not read anything pejorative into my questions. I am merely curious what the presence of scarring means with respect to the nature and designation of the hide.

I think they are both good questions.

1. Full grain doesn't mean free of imperfection. My Vincenza HH has a large scar on the left sleeve.

2. Totally subjective as to what they choose to leave full grain or move down to top and shave/sand.

My concern is also the color difference, looks much more distinct than normal. Scarring, in my experience with leather goods, usually does show a bit darker, but I'm not loving the look of that... The rest of the pic, however, is showing some really beautiful graining already.

 

[Sloan1874]

I can tell you for nothing, Aero would never try to cover up a scar with a pen or anything else. Likeliest thing is that it's a very distinctive scar. My LHB has a couple, but they're smaller and not as visible as that and I tend to like the character they add to the jacket. I'm sure Holly will help you.

 

[frussell]

Scar or not, in the close up it appears that the finish is cracking in that spot, and ready to peel up, leaving the lighter colored unfinished layer exposed. Not a huge issue, and I could swear we've seen something similar on another jacket here before. Looks familiar. Frank

 

[Cooperson]

Need to see some fit pics. If the scar is on the underside of the sleeve, I wouldn't worry about it. However, if it was on the top of the sleeve and it was constantly catching my eye, it would be a different matter.

 

[Monitor]

Yeah, I have no doubts that no attempt to cover this up has been made by Aero as... Well, like I said, it is a fairly common thing and something to be expected on a fully natural material such as leather. Same with unevenly smooth hides.

Superfluous, good question. Can't say if there's a standard, but some kind of evaluation definitely takes place.
Schott, for example, used to have this Dur-o-Jac line of jackets that was made from cowhide deemed too imperfect to be used in their standard production. Such lower grade leather underwent a correction process all the way down to having an artificial grain embossed into the surface. I've had one of those jackets and you could easily see bite marks even under the fake grain. I always thought that even with the scars and bite marks and all, I would've preferred they haven't really done anything to the leather, as the result from the correction really wasn't anything to be proud of... Well anyway, someone definitely had to make an evaluation what's going to be used as a grade A hide and what's gonna go through the correction process. Schott has always been entirely open about the whole thing. Something I appreciate to no end.

Frussel, I think the cracking/wrinkles are simply more visible on the darker spot than they are on the rest of the jacket but you are right, I do recall someone else had a similar issue, with the top coat peeling away... Consensus that has been reached was that of a botched tanning, if I remember correctly.

 

[Peacoat]

Looks like a non-problem to me and wouldn't concern me no regardless of who made the jacket. [huh] Let's see pics of the whole jacket, including pics of your wearing it. Give us the details about you newest acquisition but would not give one more thought to the minor imperfection illustrated in your pics shown thus far.

Agreed. Nothing to worry about, IMO.

 

[tropicalbob]

Looks like a non-problem to me and wouldn't concern me no regardless of who made the jacket. [huh] Let's see pics of the whole jacket, including pics of your wearing it. Give us the details about you newest acquisition but would not give one more thought to the minor imperfection illustrated in your pics shown thus far.

Ditto, and think of all the poor children going to bed this Christmas who won't wake up to a LHB. Have a merry one: I'm just getting started.

 

[Azog]

I don't think it should be of any concern. As long as the leather wasn't damaged there after the tanning process. It's in an innocuous place, looks like right near the underside seam of the arm. It's part of the character of your jacket. If someone tried to cover it up I would hope they could match the colour better which leads me to believe that didn't happen.