Lewis Leathers Italian Horsehide question

[Bender]

Just bought a Universal Racer Mk2 constructed of what is described as “horse hide tanned in Italy”. The production card is dated May 27th, 2017.

The leather is quite thin... a bit lighter-weight than Vicenza, with a more uniform finish and much smoother, smaller grain.

My question is, does anyone know the tanning process for this leather? Is this veg, chrome, or hybrid tanned?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Carlos840]

The regular LL leather is Chrome tanned, they also offer a Veg tanned cowhide which has a teacore.

 

[Bender]

The regular LL leather is Chrome tanned, they also offer a Veg tanned cowhide which has a teacore.

LL does a variety of leathers; one of their regular hides is indeed veg-tanned (sheep).

Reason I’m wondering is that this particular horse hide is a bit thinner than the other stuff in the store, which to me felt a bit thicker than Vicenza, while the one I bought is thinner. Also, the other LL HH jackets in the store had a bit more of a “plasticky” finish...

I wonder how accurate the descriptions on Corlection are? This appears to be the same leather (although mine is black) and they describe it as veg-tanned...

https://corlection.com/products/lewis-leathers-chocolate-brown-horsehide-western-jacket-988-slim-fit

 

[Carlos840]

LL does a variety of leathers; one of their regular hides is indeed veg-tanned (sheep).

Reason I’m wondering is that this particular horse hide is a bit thinner than the other stuff in the store, which to me felt a bit thicker than Vicenza, while the one I bought is thinner. Also, the other LL HH jackets in the store had a bit more of a “plasticky” finish...

I wonder how accurate the descriptions on Corlection are? This appears to be the same leather (although mine is black) and they describe it as veg-tanned...

https://corlection.com/products/lewis-leathers-chocolate-brown-horsehide-western-jacket-988-slim-fit

I thought the regular HH and CH were chrome, the sheep was veg, and the "fancy cow" (£400 upcharge) was veg.

I read the description you posted and the sentence "The leather has been vegetable tanned and full grained," leads me to believe they have no idea what they are talking about, one does not "full grain" leather...

 

[Mich486]

The black HH used for my jacket (made in early 2018) was definitely chrome tanned. Plasticky finish? Yes. Thicker than Vicenza? Mmm maybe but if anything to me it felt thinner as Vicenza is more rigid. No idea which tannery it is from.

 

[Bender]

I read the description you posted and the sentence "The leather has been vegetable tanned and full grained," leads me to believe they have no idea what they are talking about, one does not "full grain" leather...

Yes, Corlection’s description is very weird, no doubt. The reason I didn’t completely disregard it is because I’m unsure if it’s just some website copy writer throwing around words that sound “high-end leathery” to them, or if it’s a genuine, albeit botched attempt to relay actual information that was given to them... for instance, if Lewis Leathers communicated to Corlection that the jacket leather was horse hide, that it was a full-grain leather, and that it was a vegetable-tanned leather, then whomever writes the copy for the Corlection website might have simply written out this information to the best of their ability, but incorrectly.

With regards to my particular jacket, and the description of “horse hide tanned in Italy”, I tend to trust that... I bought from Stronghold, and those guys know their stuff.

 

[Carlos840]

Yes, Corlection’s description is very weird, no doubt. The reason I didn’t completely disregard it is because I’m unsure if it’s just some website copy writer throwing around words that sound “high-end leathery” to them, or if it’s a genuine, albeit botched attempt to relay actual information that was given to them... for instance, if Lewis Leathers communicated to Corlection that the jacket leather was horse hide, that it was a full-grain leather, and that it was a vegetable-tanned leather, then whomever writes the copy for the Corlection website might have simply written out this information to the best of their ability, but incorrectly.

With regards to my particular jacket, and the description of “horse hide tanned in Italy”, I tend to trust that... I bought from Stronghold, and those guys know their stuff.

I would just get in touch with LL, they are very good at answering questions.

I bet it is chrome tanned and Corlection is talking nonsens... That blurb is too Engrish to be taken seriously.

 

[TheBigEraser]

Just bought a Universal Racer Mk2 constructed of what is described as “horse hide tanned in Italy”. The production card is dated May 27th, 2017.

The leather is quite thin... a bit lighter-weight than Vicenza, with a more uniform finish and much smoother, smaller grain.

My question is, does anyone know the tanning process for this leather? Is this veg, chrome, or hybrid tanned?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Bender, I happen to also eyeing a universal racer mk2 in horsehide, but it is fairly difficult to find actual pictures, not to mention the aging sample. Would you like to share some pictures of your piece?

 

[Carlos840]

Hi Bender, I happen to also eyeing a universal racer mk2 in horsehide, but it is fairly difficult to find actual pictures, not to mention the aging sample. Would you like to share some pictures of your piece?

Mine was custom made for someone 3" taller than me, if i had to order a new one i would ask for a shorter body.
It is made from HH:

 

[TheBigEraser]

Mine was custom made for someone 3" taller than me, if i had to order a new one i would ask for a shorter body.
It is made from HH:

Hi Carlos, many thanks for the pictures! I also read your comments and description in another thread. Well I guess this horsehide is not "teacore"?

 

[Carlos840]

Hi Carlos, many thanks for the pictures! I also read your comments and description in another thread. Well I guess this horsehide is not "teacore"?

No, it isn't, the hide is grey/blue.

 

[Bender]

WModern tea-core, from my understanding, is intended to fade quickly and dramatically, which is somewhat different from a dye process that is not intended to immediately fade, but also happens to be a black that is “built from browns” vs a black “built from blues”...

My jacket is a black that is built from browns, near as I can tell. Probably not that strange that Carlos840 and I appear to have identical jackets built from differently dyed hides... Could be LL uses a couple of different vendors for their horse hides, or perhaps the vendor sometimes builds their black dyes in different ways.

 

[Bender]

Mine was custom made for someone 3" taller than me, if i had to order a new one i would ask for a shorter body...

I agree it’s too long on you. But it appears to fit like a glove everywhere else. Looks great on you!

That said, the UR should be a pretty easy jacket to shorten, all things considered. The cut does not feature a dramatic taper nor flare at the bottom, there are no pockets to relocate, there is no lower back panel (which can sometimes look too thin top-to-bottom following shortening)... even the buttons would more or less be in the right place if you had three inches lopped off.

The only thing that is somewhat unorthodox on the jacket is the storm flap... But that shouldn’t be a big deal for an experienced leather tailor.

 

[Edward]

Mine was custom made for someone 3" taller than me, if i had to order a new one i would ask for a shorter body.
It is made from HH:

Longer than intended in the design, but actually I think it looks surprisingly good at this length.

 

[Carlos840]

Longer than intended in the design, but actually I think it looks surprisingly good at this length.

Steve wore it a bit long too and had the same weird pouchiness going on in the front...
Good enough for Steve, good enough for me.