Purchase Leather for Custom Jacket

[kts1230]

Hello everyone,

I am interested in purchasing a leather jacket, and have been very pleased with the customer service of places like Thurston Bros, as well as the large variety in customization of jacket styles that are offered by the companies that forum members here are familiar with.

However, I have not seen THEE leather that I want to get my jacket in. I have seen some forum members mention that Johnson Leathers is willing to accept raw leather materials from a customer and make a custom jacket from that leather. So I would like to purchase leather, and have it sent to Johnson Leathers for them to make my dream jacket.

I want a medium or light-medium brown jacket that over time will burnish to a darker shade of brown. And that has led me to believe that Horween Dublin leather would be a good choice, likely in their Cognac shade.

Is there any place I could buy this leather? I have looked on Tannery Row, and they said that the lightest weight available in Dublin leather is 3.5 oz, which is too heavy for me. I will be looking for 3oz at the most, preferably between 2.5 and 2.75 oz.

Or, is there a better leather that you would recommend for me? I feel like I have done quite a bit of looking and most of the places that are making leather jackets don't offer the brown that I am looking for, and that is when I zeroed in on Horween's Dublin leather. But I would love to hear your recommendations for other leathers or perhaps other jackets that I may not have seen yet.

Thank you

 

[pawineguy]

The unwaxed version of Dublin is called Essex and is available in lighter weights and should patina / burnish even quicker than Dublin.

 

[kts1230]

The unwaxed version of Dublin is called Essex and is available in lighter weights and should patina / burnish even quicker than Dublin.

Thank you. I saw the Essex leather and may have had a misunderstanding of the differences between Essex and Dublin. I'll definitely look into that more.

Do you know where I could purchase this lighter weight Essex leather?

 

[kts1230]

Any recommendations?

 

[pawineguy]

Any recommendations?

No idea, does Tannery Row not stock the Essex or can they special order it for you? The other option is to contact Horween and ask which distributor stocks Essex.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Can Johnsons Leather source it for you? You tell them what you want and they get it and make the jacket for you? Thats go to be easier right?

 

[kts1230]

No idea, does Tannery Row not stock the Essex or can they special order it for you? The other option is to contact Horween and ask which distributor stocks Essex.

Unfortunately Tannery Row only stocks Essex in weights greater than 3.5 oz, which is too heavy for me. I sent an email to Horween through their websites customer service about a week ago and haven't heard back yet. I'll try again soon and ask them your question. Thank you!

 

[kts1230]

Can Johnsons Leather source it for you? You tell them what you want and they get it and make the jacket for you? Thats go to be easier right?

Hadn't thought of that! I will contact them and if they could, that really would make life easier. Thank you!

 

[rocketeer]

Personally I'd leave it to the experts, the manufacturers. My reason for this would be, a hide has many different thicknesses as the animals body has different needs. Soft and supple in some areas, hard and tough in others. I don't have the knowledge to be able to pick out the best hides, how many do you need, do you know? Don't forget scaring etc.
Is this the way to go for the ultimate custom jacket? I am guessing you will have to pay a premium on this. personally I think some put too much emphasis on weights and grains etc. Why not try different weights in the same style, I have seen A2s in light hides such as Ralph Lauren available in higher end malls and heavier A2 jackets from Aero and Eastman, there is a difference and at least you may get the feeling one is too light or heavy for you.
If you supply a few hides and you are not keen about the finished look or fit, who's fault will that be as I doubt you could exchange it.
A bit like what the ProteinNerd just quoted.
Just my 50p worth.

 

[AdeeC]

Personally I'd leave it to the experts, the manufacturers. My reason for this would be, a hide has many different thicknesses as the animals body has different needs. Soft and supple in some areas, hard and tough in others. I don't have the knowledge to be able to pick out the best hides, how many do you need, do you know? Don't forget scaring etc.
Is this the way to go for the ultimate custom jacket? I am guessing you will have to pay a premium on this. personally I think some put too much emphasis on weights and grains etc. Why not try different weights in the same style, I have seen A2s in light hides such as Ralph Lauren available in higher end malls and heavier A2 jackets from Aero and Eastman, there is a difference and at least you may get the feeling one is too light or heavy for you.
If you supply a few hides and you are not keen about the finished look or fit, who's fault will that be as I doubt you could exchange it.
A bit like what the ProteinNerd just quoted.
Just my 50p worth.

Agree with this. I would not go for a custom cold order hide. Best to have personally handled and had something else made with it and knew how it worked with the style of jacket I wanted. Too risky with limited knowledge

 

[jacketjunkie]

By the way, not trying to get your hopes down, but Johnson Leathers are going through a difficult time right now and as a result of that, my stock order is currently on a 4 weeks delay, my fathers custom project has seen no progress in months. Alan is a great guy and I'm sure he will get it all sorted out, but as at the moment, you should be prepared for long waiting times with a custom jacket.

 

[jonbuilder]

Johnson Leathers can have hides shaved down

 

[jpk_NJ]

Johnson can have certain hides skived down depending on the leather. But it will cost you as they have to send it out to another guy.

I discussed this option when planning my full custom order with Alan, which ultimately failed due to continuous errors/excuses on their side. I would personally only suggest a Johnson stock model at this point, in a stock size. Not a good experience recently

 

[Pdxgeo]

Ive also thought that a jacket made in Essex would be the bees knees. My wallet which is Horween CXL went from a pretty sweet shade of brown similar to cognac and has aged to an amazing patina. Granted its in my pocket and the leather gets handled much more than a jacket but the way the stuff ages is really beautiful. The "campus" jacket I think Ive seen on here is a good example. Doesnt look great when new (a bit too fleshy) but damn it is gorgeous when it ages.