Raiders 'Hero' jacket, Wested Leather Co. bulge/crese?

[Markus Rasmussen]

Hello out there!

I know a lot of you has this jacket or variations of it. I tried to search the forum but couldn't find an answer to my problem. I got this jacket from a good friend for free as he never used it because he almost sleeps in his A2.
It was in mint condition, as in used only a few times over the past years. Now that I got it, it has developed a strange bulge under the flap lever. Like there is an excess of leather. I love the jacket and wear it all the time, but this annoys me. Can anyone give an answer to the issue and-or tell me how to fix it?

Best regards,
Markus

 

[Seb Lucas]

Not sure what you are asking nor are the photos great. I think what you mean is that the leather is creased near the rear bottom rear hem. It also looks like the side adjuster straps are too loose.

The jacket is ruined and you need to sell it.

Joking. Sometimes when people sit in a particular chair or in a particular way wearing a leather jacket they make pronounced creases in odd areas. This may be one of those situations. If your jacket is soft lambskin it is very easy to distort and crease up the shape. I would need to see better photos but it looks fairly normal.

You can wait until the rest of the jacket catches up or you can wet the creased area right through with cold water and place some heavy books or weights till it dries. This will dry it flat.

Leather jackets wrinkle up unevenly.

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

Sorry for the poor quality photos, only had my phone with me. Yes, you are correct. It's the only place it does that.

I could be that I bike a lot with the jacket. I'll try and take some better pictures outside where the lighting is somewhat brighter althought it's fall here in Scandinavia.

That trick sounds like something I will try, thank you a lot. Do you also have this model?

 

[Seb Lucas]

I own a Gibson and Barnes goat Indy which never creases. I would never buy a lamb jacket but I know that's what they used in the movies. Your friend's A2 is probably goat or horse hide, a much more robust leather.

It's the angle of the photo more than the light - we need to see the whole jacket clearly to understand the context, from 3 or 4 angles.

But I think it's basically where you are wearing it while sitting down and the rest of the jacket will catch up. Unless the lining is too tight and pulling it up but that would be easy to see.

 

[Will Zach]

Not sure that I would bike regularly in a longer (?) leather jacket. You are bent over the handlebars, the jacket is stretched over your behind. That's what it looks like. Biker jackets are shorter. Just a guess.

 

[navetsea]

perhaps the passenger seat of your bike saddle is stepped higher than the rider seat, and the rear hem of your jacket rests on that higher seat throughout your riding time?

another possible reason is maybe during your ride the back of your jacket is balooning from trapped air and combined with thin flexible hide, and there on the bottom is where the collected air accumulated between the liner and the leather making an air bladder unable to escape fast enough, if that's the case then installing a pair of eyelets for the air to escape might help

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

Sorry, my fault. I should have written bicycle. I sit in a upwards position, so I am not sure that this is the reason.

Seb Lucas, here are a few pictures I managed to take before going to work. Outside, so much better lighting. I hope you can see what I mean.

 

[Dav]

Do you carry a rucksack?
It looks sort of stretched down to me.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Those photos help. Sorry I can't really tell. It's either stretched by some kind of wear or use, or the leather has some tanning quality issues causing it to stretch and bag out. Maybe Wested can advise you?

 

[robrinay]

I suspect the lining is too tight - May have been made too tight? Check it hasn’t pulled up and creased in the shoulder region? I had a G1 lining repaired and the same drape thing happened - solved it by tearing the lining at the neck - okay it now has a gap you can see the leather through, but it now drapes correctly. I’ll patch it when I can be bothered.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I suspect the lining is too tight - May have been made too tight? Check it hasn’t pulled up and creased in the shoulder region? I had a G1 lining repaired and the same drape thing happened - solved it by tearing the lining at the neck - okay it now has a gap you can see the leather through, but it now drapes correctly. I’ll patch it when I can be bothered.

Yeah - I suggested that too earlier. Poor lining installation can distort a jacket badly. Sometimes this isn't apparent until you put the jacket on - when the body moves and fills the jacket the lining gets drawn tight and pulls and rides up against the leather where it is stitched. Basically this happens when the lining is not cut generously enough to allow for movement.

 

[Will Zach]

Leather will stretch inordinately when wet. Do you ride your bicycle in the rain sometimes? If so, the posture on the bike could tug on the leather and stretch it.

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

I never wear a backpack with this jacket. I did contact Wested about it, she said the lining isn't flexible, so that could be it. I do have a friend who's swamped in work, but does a little leather work too besides hats. Maybe the easy fix is to add to the lining or simply open up the buttom seem on the leather and cut the excess away and sew back in.
Thank you guys for all the help and the fast response time, it's a major help for me!

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

And no, don't use it in rain.

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

"
If I’m totally honest sir without seeing it . I would imagine that either a new lining to accommodate the addition length of skin or re levelling of hem removing skin at the hem maybe .

I have never seen this problem before so without playing with it on the tailors dummy I do not 100% know .

I wish I could be of more help .

Regards,

Sally

Wested Leather Co Ltd"

 

[Seb Lucas]

Sounds fair.

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

Yeah, gonna adjust it in the bottom hem after a few months more wearing it. Thank you for the help!

 

[Deacon211]

I’m not sure that I’d wait to have it addressed.

My experience with leather is that, once it creases in a certain way it can be very resistant to change.

I had a G-1 that was very stiff when new and noticed that it developed a few very definite “folds”.

Try as I might I was never able to get rid of them. Luckily the rest of the jacket did catch up and the original folds aren’t quite so glaring...but they never went away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Markus Rasmussen]

I'll address it now then, before really starting to wear the jacket.

What product do you guys use on your leather jacket? I am pretty lost as there are thousands of different ones and everybody has an opinion.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I'll address it now then, before really starting to wear the jacket.

What product do you guys use on your leather jacket? I am pretty lost as there are thousands of different ones and everybody has an opinion.

If it's lamb - which is rarely seen here - Lexol is probably best. But you only need to put this stuff on once every few years. Use a small amount of anything so the jacket doesn't get sticky. I use Pecards or Lexol, but so many products are fine - one of the most knowledgable leather craftsman here uses ordinary Vaseline. I avoid neatsfoot oil or lanolin as they tend to go off and can, in my experience, rot stitching.