New member, starting up a crazy JL 6oz leather jacket order

[Aloysius]

A lot has to do with temper. This jacket was a full 9lbs and draped like lamb skin. Heavy and stiff don’t add up. Heavy and soft and you’re golden. I’m sure I wouldn’t wear this now but it’s one of the nicest jackets in this style I’ve owned.
View attachment 578342 View attachment 578343

From how perfect this is, I assume you sold it?

 

[DamonCyclee]

Nice combo, can’t wait to see the final result!


the heavy hide chase to me, is simply just the weight in pounds so to speak, or the thickest possible while still wearable. And the wearable part is gonna be ymmv.

if chasing just the weight (in pounds), then this would be the hardest to wear. If chasing the thickness, 3mm plus, then this can be easier to wear given that the action panels like under sleeve and side torso panels are done in half the thickness 1.4mm for mobility. I have done the later and it works well, good enough for me to wear it for two weeks in a row. But if it’s the first, aka 10lbs plus, I don’t think I can wear it for two weeks in a row. Thicker leather isn’t necessarily heavier or stiffer, it would also depend on the tannage too. I’ve never attempted yet, but I do think a deertan type of leather in 6oz can be both thick and wearable, while weighing close to or over 10lbs.
eidt: This is the jacket I was referring to, before the navy over dye its easier to see the darker thinner action panels which are Vermont tannage so much softer too. So even the outer shell is stiff thick horsehide, the underside is thin and soft, I took the idea from my armored mesh jackets when I was younger. It also works when translate to leather. The down side is the weight in pounds reduction, the upside is thick leather sort of and very wearable.
The MLEI trucker pattern has tapered sleeves and I custom tapered the torso too, so I felt it was necessary to install the thinner panels to offset the thick ones. But the DEL66 pattern doesn’t have the aggressive taper so all over 2mm works. Would 6oz work, it would be ymmv, but I think OP/Damon is going the right direction by using a biswing back.
View attachment 578330
View attachment 578331

but pronounced grain or shrunken grain doesn’t have to be thick. The whole hide would still have to be split down to garment leather thickness 3oz. I’ve got some 3oz shrunken grain jackets from different animals, sheep, goat, and soon horse, they’re all easy to wear, but the leather thickness is only 3.5oz on average, normal garment thickness.

JL has the Horween shrunken horse butt? leather in stock still I think, it can be skived down. Very pronounced grain. Below isn’t my jacket but I have one that’s similar,
View attachment 578329

Horween shrunken horse butt for jacket is something close to the one ring !

Horween do not like to tan horse butts, since their cordovan make so much $.
Only smaller horses raws hides gets processed as hosrebutts.

Anyone else remember Nick horween talking about skiving and how the hide is no longer as strong.

He said it's better to skiv before tanning, something along that line. the example he gave was you can order their CXL/Dublin in any thickness and not worry about durability.

After listened to his talk, I sold my latigo leather because I know it has been skived from 10oz to make it into a jacket.

 

[MrProper]

Horween shrunken horse butt for jacket is something close to the one ring !

Horween do not like to tan horse butts, since their cordovan make so much $.
Only smaller horses raws hides gets processed as hosrebutts.

Anyone else remember Nick horween talking about skiving and how the hide is no longer as strong.

He said it's better to skiv before tanning, something along that line. the example he gave was you can order their CXL/Dublin in any thickness and not worry about durability.

After listened to his talk, I sold my latigo leather because I know it has been skived from 10oz to make it into a jacket.

I haven't heard anything yet, but that doesn't mean anything. lol
The question would certainly be what the leather is to be used for. When I look at how resilient my fabric clothes or the cheap leather jackets I used to wear are and were, then I can hardly imagine that skived leather should not be able to withstand normal use. It may be different for racing motorcycle suits and the like, but for our purpose?

 

[red devil]

Im doing this to scratch an itch. If its unwearable id never blame it on the maker, and im keeping it forever regardless. If I can wear it reasonably, all the better!

Sometimes you just want to do something that goes against logic.

I know the feeling... Does not mean that it will not work out for you necessarily though.

JL has really good patterns, their jackets are comfortable and have great mobility, case in point

You can see how it looks when I raise my arms. The leather here is not that heavy but this still shpwcases a good pattern.

Bottom line, I much prefer wearing a jacket with good pattern with cardboard like leather than a jacket with bad pattern and made of soft leather. Both from an functional and aesthetic point of view.

I am very curious to see how you get on

 

[tuanhng614]

I know the feeling... Does not mean that it will not work out for you necessarily though.

JL has really good patterns, their jackets are comfortable and have great mobility, case in point

You can see how it looks when I raise my arms. The leather here is not that heavy but this still shpwcases a good pattern.

Bottom line, I much prefer wearing a jacket with good pattern with cardboard like leather than a jacket with bad pattern and made of soft leather. Both from an functional and aesthetic point of view.

I am very curious to see how you get on

How does the shark skin wear like? I saw the jacket on their IG but didn’t know that YOU have it.

It looks darn good on you and that arm raise is as good as any good patterned leather jacket.

 

[Monitor]

How does the shark skin wear like? I saw the jacket on their IG but didn’t know that YOU have it.

It looks darn good on you and that arm raise is as good as any good patterned leather jacket.

Sharkskin is out of this world! From the photos, I never would've expected it to be this brilliant if I didn't see the very jacket @red devil is wearing here, in person. It feels almost like it's made of tin, how tough that hide is. Possibly the toughest leather I've handled. It was raining that day so interestingly enough, it did get soaked - Something I would've never expected to happen on a fish hide - though not all the way through & it dried to no effect.

It's rough to the touch, too with less sheen than cow/horse but it is a different beast altogether so comparing to leather belonging to land animals, doesn't really apply in this case.

 

[red devil]

How does the shark skin wear like? I saw the jacket on their IG but didn’t know that YOU have it.

It looks darn good on you and that arm raise is as good as any good patterned leather jacket.

I was lucky JL responded positively when I cme out with this idea lol

They are tamazing at making unique ideas a reality.,Tthey have not said outright no to any of my ideas. but they did make sure to guide me into getting something that works in actual use more than once though. Speaking of which I have 2 more jackets on order from them, and more ideas brewing.

I really like that jacket, hence why I got the pair of shark skin boots to go with it - those I am wearing on this pic. I suspect it will look good on many people, the pattern is that good.

@Monitor described it better than I could, I woul;d just add that it is stiff, but not as much as I expected - only that I don't think it will ever soften up, it is the nature of that leather as far as I understand. And the touch is very unique, the pattern makes me think of bark skin as @Carlos840 commented on the thread back then.

 

[tuanhng614]

I was lucky JL responded positively when I cme out with this idea lol

They are tamazing at making unique ideas a reality.,Tthey have not said outright no to any of my ideas. but they did make sure to guide me into getting something that works in actual use more than once though. Speaking of which I have 2 more jackets on order from them, and more ideas brewing.

I really like that jacket, hence why I got the pair of shark skin boots to go with it - those I am wearing on this pic. I suspect it will look good on many people, the pattern is that good.

@Monitor described it better than I could, I woul;d just add that it is stiff, but not as much as I expected - only that I don't think it will ever soften up, it is the nature of that leather as far as I understand. And the touch is very unique, the pattern makes me think of bark skin as @Carlos840 commented on the thread back then.

Did you make a specific thread for this jacket? I couldn’t find it to find more details on it.

I have a shark skin wallet, so I love its grain. And knowing that it’s quite stiff, but to hear you and @Monitor describe as tin is very interesting. Do you struggle to bend the arm? What about driving in it?

Btw, Did you source the leather? Or JL did? How many pieces being used to make that jacket?

What exotic leather are you brewing up now? Ostrich? Camel? Elephant? Pirarucu?

 

[red devil]

Did you make a specific thread for this jacket? I couldn’t find it to find more details on it.

I have a shark skin wallet, so I love its grain. And knowing that it’s quite stiff, but to hear you and @Monitor describe as tin is very interesting. Do you struggle to bend the arm? What about driving in it?

Btw, Did you source the leather? Or JL did? How many pieces being used to make that jacket?

What exotic leather are you brewing up now? Ostrich? Camel? Elephant? Pirarucu?

The thread is here

I find the jacket comfortable, I use it as any jacket, driving, going out, eating, etc.

JL found the skins for that one, I don't remember how many hides, but they were not big hence the choice of a trucker which is great due to the numerous panels.

I considered all of these lol

- Ostrich is a very interesting leather, very pliable, I will get a jacket made of it at some point
- Camel is not that exotic, and is quite similar to cow and horse. So a solid choice overall.
- Elephant has a really interesting grain, I have seen some really nice elephant boots in the US.
- Piracunu is interesting, need to find a good source

The next jacket is in Bison, there was a really nice shade I wanted to use, and the one after is a combination of leathers that can potentially be very unique. I'd rather not say more as I am not sure how it will come up yet

 

[Canuck Panda]

Horween shrunken horse butt for jacket is something close to the one ring !

Horween do not like to tan horse butts, since their cordovan make so much $.
Only smaller horses raws hides gets processed as hosrebutts.

Anyone else remember Nick horween talking about skiving and how the hide is no longer as strong.

He said it's better to skiv before tanning, something along that line. the example he gave was you can order their CXL/Dublin in any thickness and not worry about durability.

After listened to his talk, I sold my latigo leather because I know it has been skived from 10oz to make it into a jacket.

shrunken horsebutt would be awesome! it has those unique shrunken grains that looks like mini crocs.

I do currently have some skived CXL butt strips on my jacket. I can't comment on the strength of the leather as I've only had them for a year or two. But so far its holding up very good.

But skiving whole hide will have some negative yields. Mis split and other things can happen and I can see why the tanneries don't like to do them on finished hides. FWIW, I've bought hides from agents and while they do whole hide skiving for me, they make me pay for the order first and let me know if any mis split it's on me.

here is my cxl trucker including horse butt panels (sleeve and front). originally I wanted to include shell panels too but it was just too expensive. this was when shell was at its all time high prices, almost 12 times or more than the FQHH, and that was just too much for me.

.
Top is skived CXL horsebutt (remnant from the jacket), skived down to 1.1mm
middle is CXL butt strip before skiving, 2.2mm
bottom is CXL FQHH (remnant from jacket), no skive, 1.4mm
Front first, then backs of leather. The butt strips are very close to shell in fiber structure, more membrane and less fiber than the FQHH

I remember Damon told me their black horween shrunken horse was heavy weight. I changed my order on that so many times, first I wanted it skived but I think in the end I left it full weight as it's a Grizzly jacket and has sheepskin panels. And I remember telling Damon this shrunken horse grizzly was gonna be my holy grail (potentially exit) jacket. Finger crossed...

I think OP's 6oz project is gonna work out just fine. I saw him have a heavy LW Test jacket before so I think he will be fine with the 6oz Horween.

And then there is exotic leathers. Very pricey, shell price range, but damn cool as hell.

edit: I remember when I was planning about a shell/butt jacket there were doubts. But pushing limits to me is what custom jackets are about. And JL has a lot of capabilities in house they can make my dreams come true. Expectation is important. I wasn't expecting my horse butt jacket to behave the same as my goatskin jackets. In the end they worked out for me. Which is not good for my wallet because it's like a very pure drug it keeps me going back for more...

 

[steelbahamut]

shrunken horsebutt would be awesome! it has those unique shrunken grains that looks like mini crocs.

I do currently have some skived CXL butt strips on my jacket. I can't comment on the strength of the leather as I've only had them for a year or two. But so far its holding up very good.

But skiving whole hide will have some negative yields. Mis split and other things can happen and I can see why the tanneries don't like to do them on finished hides. FWIW, I've bought hides from agents and while they do whole hide skiving for me, they make me pay for the order first and let me know if any mis split it's on me.

here is my cxl trucker including horse butt panels (sleeve and front). originally I wanted to include shell panels too but it was just too expensive. this was when shell was at its all time high prices, almost 12 times or more than the FQHH, and that was just too much for me.

View attachment 578486 .
Top is skived CXL horsebutt (remnant from the jacket), skived down to 1.1mm
middle is CXL butt strip before skiving, 2.2mm
bottom is CXL FQHH (remnant from jacket), no skive, 1.4mm
Front first, then backs of leather. The butt strips are very close to shell in fiber structure, more membrane and less fiber than the FQHH
View attachment 578489
View attachment 578490

I remember Damon told me their black horween shrunken horse was heavy weight. I changed my order on that so many times, first I wanted it skived but I think in the end I left it full weight as it's a Grizzly jacket and has sheepskin panels. And I remember telling Damon this shrunken horse grizzly was gonna be my holy grail (potentially exit) jacket. Finger crossed...

I think OP's 6oz project is gonna work out just fine. I saw him have a heavy LW Test jacket before so I think he will be fine with the 6oz Horween.

And then there is exotic leathers. Very pricey, shell price range, but damn cool as hell.

edit: I remember when I was planning about a shell/butt jacket there were doubts. But pushing limits to me is what custom jackets are about. And JL has a lot of capabilities in house they can make my dreams come true. Expectation is important. I wasn't expecting my horse butt jacket to behave the same as my goatskin jackets. In the end they worked out for me. Which is not good for my wallet because it's like a very pure drug it keeps me going back for more...

Im thinking its going to be just fine as well. After I take delivery I dont plan to just disappear, ill keep this thread updated as I wear it around and break it in.

 

[Aloysius]

Im thinking its going to be just fine as well. After I take delivery I dont plan to just disappear, ill keep this thread updated as I wear it around and break it in.

To be clear, I'm not saying heavy jackets can't go well. I've just seen a lot of them go badly.

In some cases, it's a product that never should have existed (the CHL and SXL leathers), in other cases it's been someone ordering the heaviest possible leather from Aero and Johnson then coming here to badmouth the maker after for choices he made.

 

[tuanhng614]

The thread is here

I find the jacket comfortable, I use it as any jacket, driving, going out, eating, etc.

JL found the skins for that one, I don't remember how many hides, but they were not big hence the choice of a trucker which is great due to the numerous panels.

I considered all of these lol

- Ostrich is a very interesting leather, very pliable, I will get a jacket made of it at some point
- Camel is not that exotic, and is quite similar to cow and horse. So a solid choice overall.
- Elephant has a really interesting grain, I have seen some really nice elephant boots in the US.
- Piracunu is interesting, need to find a good source

The next jacket is in Bison, there was a really nice shade I wanted to use, and the one after is a combination of leathers that can potentially be very unique. I'd rather not say more as I am not sure how it will come up yet

The trucker is a great choice for such small hide as shark or kangaroo leather.

I have been thinking about an ostrich leather jacket that combines the full hide and leg panels.

Can’t wait to see your next project though. I really love the styles and color choices of your leather jackets. You would let the jacket speaks for itself.

 

[tuanhng614]

shrunken horsebutt would be awesome! it has those unique shrunken grains that looks like mini crocs.

I do currently have some skived CXL butt strips on my jacket. I can't comment on the strength of the leather as I've only had them for a year or two. But so far its holding up very good.

But skiving whole hide will have some negative yields. Mis split and other things can happen and I can see why the tanneries don't like to do them on finished hides. FWIW, I've bought hides from agents and while they do whole hide skiving for me, they make me pay for the order first and let me know if any mis split it's on me.

here is my cxl trucker including horse butt panels (sleeve and front). originally I wanted to include shell panels too but it was just too expensive. this was when shell was at its all time high prices, almost 12 times or more than the FQHH, and that was just too much for me.

View attachment 578486 .
Top is skived CXL horsebutt (remnant from the jacket), skived down to 1.1mm
middle is CXL butt strip before skiving, 2.2mm
bottom is CXL FQHH (remnant from jacket), no skive, 1.4mm
Front first, then backs of leather. The butt strips are very close to shell in fiber structure, more membrane and less fiber than the FQHH
View attachment 578489
View attachment 578490

I remember Damon told me their black horween shrunken horse was heavy weight. I changed my order on that so many times, first I wanted it skived but I think in the end I left it full weight as it's a Grizzly jacket and has sheepskin panels. And I remember telling Damon this shrunken horse grizzly was gonna be my holy grail (potentially exit) jacket. Finger crossed...

I think OP's 6oz project is gonna work out just fine. I saw him have a heavy LW Test jacket before so I think he will be fine with the 6oz Horween.

And then there is exotic leathers. Very pricey, shell price range, but damn cool as hell.

edit: I remember when I was planning about a shell/butt jacket there were doubts. But pushing limits to me is what custom jackets are about. And JL has a lot of capabilities in house they can make my dreams come true. Expectation is important. I wasn't expecting my horse butt jacket to behave the same as my goatskin jackets. In the end they worked out for me. Which is not good for my wallet because it's like a very pure drug it keeps me going back for more...

You already had that shrunken horse grizzly jacket or is it in the work now?

Damon showed me a picture of an shrunken horse jacket, but it was only the sleeve

 

[red devil]

The trucker is a great choice for such small hide as shark or kangaroo leather.

I have been thinking about an ostrich leather jacket that combines the full hide and leg panels.

Can’t wait to see your next project though. I really love the styles and color choices of your leather jackets. You would let the jacket speaks for itself.

Thanks! I lik,e playong with colours

If you go for Ostrich, keep in mind a few points:

- You need big ostrich hides for a jacket, the biggest you can find.
- Ostrich is more expensive than the usual leathers
- About half of the hide has full quills, about a qurter has sparse quills and the rest has no quills. You need to decide if you want all the visible parts of the hacket to be in full quill, if you do, you need more hides.
- The feet are very stiff, at least the ones I have (a pair of formal shooes and a belt), so you need to select carefully where you would use them in a jacket. And they will ikely not be the exact same colour as the hide.

 

[tuanhng614]

Thanks! I lik,e playong with colours

If you go for Ostrich, keep in mind a few points:

- You need big ostrich hides for a jacket, the biggest you can find.
- Ostrich is more expensive than the usual leathers
- About half of the hide has full quills, about a qurter has sparse quills and the rest has no quills. You need to decide if you want all the visible parts of the hacket to be in full quill, if you do, you need more hides.
- The feet are very stiff, at least the ones I have (a pair of formal shooes and a belt), so you need to select carefully where you would use them in a jacket. And they will ikely not be the exact same colour as the hide.

Thanks for the tips. I’m still toying with the idea and juggling between the jacket design and the quills on the ostrich hides. It will be a while before I’m taking on the actual project

 

[red devil]

Thanks for the tips. I’m still toying with the idea and juggling between the jacket design and the quills on the ostrich hides. It will be a while before I’m taking on the actual project

These kinds of unique pieces take a lot of time to figure out. But it is completely worth it

 

[ton312]

To be clear, I'm not saying heavy jackets can't go well. I've just seen a lot of them go badly.

In some cases, it's a product that never should have existed (the CHL and SXL leathers), in other cases it's been someone ordering the heaviest possible leather from Aero and Johnson then coming here to badmouth the maker after for choices he made.

In defense of CHL… Would’ve made a great roof, sub floor, solid leather tire, tank cozy, pirate ship plank, etc.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

^^^i’m still waiting for some pioneer to go with stingray.
Tinman with goose bumps.
Upside is you could saw through s**t with your arm!!
B

 

[Aloysius]

In defense of CHL… Would’ve made a great roof, sub floor, solid leather tire, tank cozy, pirate ship plank, etc.

I want someone to do a CHL jacket lined with SXL.