Restored Cal Leathers Horsehide Café Racer Project- Patina anyone?

[technovox]

When I first came into possession of this jacket, it was beat to death. I mean really thrashed- tears in the sleeves, the collar was rotted out, and the leather was dry and brittle as a bone. But it was a relative bargain, and had a certain intrinsic beauty (think wabi sabi), and best of all it was a rare Cal Leathers horsehide from the sixties/fifties. So I really wanted to salvage it if I could. Total restoration project.

I took it to Gwen at Cal Leathers and asked her to work any kind of intervention or magic she had. I think her solution was to bathe the jacket in some kind of miracle cream and store it in a bag in the sun, so the jacket could warm up and absorb the oils. Amazingly when I got it back the leather was super supple and soft again. A new liner, some judicious patching, and now it’s one of my favorite classic café racers, with a second life after being brought back from the dead. I even like the sewed up repairs- kind of cool for a fifty year old hard ridden café. If it could only talk, I imagine it would tell some wild stories.

 

[handymike]

That's just incredible!
I love the jacket, and what an amazing restoration.

 

[pawineguy]

I'd go with the story that the repairs at the end of the sleeves were from fending off a knife attack. Fantastic jacket and great job by Gwen to take on the work to make it wearable again.

 

[guygardner]

Wow, beautiful jacket, and those are the nicest repairs I've seen on a leather jacket.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Looks great, any before pics?

 

[barnabus]

Those repairs look excellent: so nicely done you could half-convince yourself they were an original feature.

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Looks so awesome! Can we see back pics too? Thank you!

 

[Seb Lucas]

Nice work. How much did the whole thing cost and what was the cream used to soften the leather?

 

[navetsea]

that is amazing revival journey of a great looking jacket.
that left sleeve is crazy maybe it was worn by a left handed person

 

[Monitor]

Demanding fit pictures! This works best when worn.

 

[Mark]

Must make the jacket so much more special to you than buying new. Very nice indeed.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Really really neat! Quite a story and I bet it has a few to tell too...

 

[bn1966]

Lovely smutter

 

[technovox]

I'd go with the story that the repairs at the end of the sleeves were from fending off a knife attack. Fantastic jacket and great job by Gwen to take on the work to make it wearable again.

Knife attack...That's good! I'll have to use that one.

 

[technovox]

Looks great, any before pics?

Sadly, I didn't take any before pics. But it was definitely thrashed- the collar was practically gone. And it was as dry as an Autumn leaf. It really raised the bar as to what can be brought back from the dead.

 

[technovox]

Nice work. How much did the whole thing cost and what was the cream used to soften the leather?

I'm still waiting for the final bill for all the fix-up. Not sure of the cream she used- I'll ask her.

 

[Bern1]

Nice jacket Techno!
I notice the label says Ventura.
Are they still there?
I lived there for many years but can't recall hearing about them.
Then again, there's a lot I don't know!

 

[technovox]

Nice jacket Techno!
I notice the label says Ventura.
Are they still there?
I lived there for many years but can't recall hearing about them.
Then again, there's a lot I don't know!

Yes. Cal Leathers is still based in Ventura. On Thompson Blvd.

 

[sweetfights]

wow- amazing story and jacket!!!!
Well done on an old thread.
Do you still enjoy this jacket??

 

[technovox]

Yep. Still have it...and it's still my favorite Cal Leather jacket. Beat, thrashed and good for another 50 years- Gwen really did a good job bringing it back to life. And there's nothing like a jacket with lots of character.
If I have a chance, I'll try to take a fit pic in the next few days.