Schott 618HH owners in 38 and/or 40? I have some questions!

[Guppy]

Interresting that you are the only one ready to take a guess...
Unfortunately, you are incorrect. I'll give it another day and update the answer.

I don't have enough to go on from a photo to be able to guess. In person might be a different story. Then again, it might not be.

Can someone tell there's a difference in A and B and C in person? If it were wrongly labeled, how likely would it be to fool you? Would it make any practical difference in how the leather performed over the life of the garment?

People often want things because they are told that it is special and desirable. The reality is that a good tanner can make a high quality leather from either animal, and the differences between the two are only as important as the owner makes them out to be in their mind.

Horse is more expensive due to supply, and if you buy horse you should get what you paid for.

With Aero Leather jackets, I can absolutely tell which is which, between steer or horse. The difference is mostly in the grain. The Horween Steerhide used by Aero has a more pronounced, coarser grain than does the FQHH, breaks in faster, and is less stiff. Both are excellent leathers. If you put the wrong label on one, I would probably believe it unless I had a good reason to suspect otherwise.

I can also tell a difference in person between Schott HH and bovine. And often in photos.

I am not an expert, but I have a bit of experience and a lot of jackets that I've seen firsthand.

Do I have a point to make? Not really. Just that a photo isn't really adequate to differentiate. In person may or may not be. But it's not impossible.

 

[Harris HTM]

I don't have enough to go on from a photo to be able to guess. In person might be a different story. Then again, it might not be.

Can someone tell there's a difference in A and B and C in person? If it were wrongly labeled, how likely would it be to fool you? Would it make any practical difference in how the leather performed over the life of the garment?

People often want things because they are told that it is special and desirable. The reality is that a good tanner can make a high quality leather from either animal, and the differences between the two are only as important as the owner makes them out to be in their mind.

Horse is more expensive due to supply, and if you buy horse you should get what you paid for.

With Aero Leather jackets, I can absolutely tell which is which, between steer or horse. The difference is mostly in the grain. The Horween Steerhide used by Aero has a more pronounced, coarser grain than does the FQHH, breaks in faster, and is less stiff. Both are excellent leathers. If you put the wrong label on one, I would probably believe it unless I had a good reason to suspect otherwise.

I can also tell a difference in person between Schott HH and bovine. And often in photos.

I am not an expert, but I have a bit of experience and a lot of jackets that I've seen firsthand.

Do I have a point to make? Not really. Just that a photo isn't really adequate to differentiate. In person may or may not be. But it's not impossible.

I think that when new, you cannot tell an Aero cxl steer from cxl horse, at least this is what the machinists claimed in the Aero trial. I remember years ago people here claiming how much superior than steer their new fqhh Aero was. Until the truth came out.
When broken in, however, I think that indeed the grain is different.

 

[Harris HTM]

First poster here, been lurking for a while in this great resource of a site.

So I am squeezing the trigger and Im going to buy my very first Schott Jacket, however I am stationed in Germany so I wont be trying any jackets any time soon (although my hometown is in the NJ/NYC area). I will be using it when riding my Harley but it will be a fashion jacket as a priority as I have a dedicated riding jacket anyways. However some questions and considerations to those that had this jacket since it cost quite a pretty penny.


1. I measure at 39 inches around my chest, I am planning to wear the jacket mostly unzipped except when Im on a bike. What will be the main difference in size between 38 and 40? Is the difference drastic or tiny? I will be layering with a Hoodie at the most and I heard leather stretches some (not sure about Horsehide though). So I dont know if I should get my exact size of 40 and sacrifice a slimmer silhouette for only a little bit of room. With that said, I am into bodybuilding and will be getting bigger through bottled/injectible assistance soon and worry the Horsehide wont stretch enough to accomodate my hopefully bigger physique (trying to move up a T-shirt size from SM/M to M/L).

2. Will the Horsehide shine fade? How long will that take? I am also thinking about getting it custom made through Schott and replacing the hardware to black. Will the black hardware make it look cheap/vinyl-ish and clash too much? Will it cost that much more and will it be worth it?


Any insight is appreciated and thank you all for your $0.02

I own two 618, size 38 (horse) and size 40 (steer). The size 38 is really snug, Ramones style snug, and I can hardly zip it up. Size 40 is far more comfortable, I can easily where a thick hoodie. So I think that even a size larger makes a difference. You can find the measurements on the Legendary USA website, they are really precise.

 

[Guppy]

I think that when new, you cannot tell an Aero cxl steer from cxl horse, at least this is what the machinists claimed in the Aero trial. I remember years ago people here claiming how much superior than steer their new fqhh Aero was. Until the truth came out.
When broken in, however, I think that indeed the grain is different.

Agreed, the grain emerges as the leather breaks in, and it becomes more apparent. This doesn't take very long, though, within the first few weeks or months if worn regularly.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Much written about leather is simple opinion masquerading as scholarship or certainty. How great a leather is depends on the actual batch of hide and how it was treated and finished (tanned and dyed) and finally upon the person making the assessment that the leather is great.

People have been mistaking steer for horse for decades. Remember that many WWII A2's were bovine and this wasn't even properly understood until recently. People had been cheerfully appreciating the great qualities of horse hide A2's that where in fact a different animal.

Schott steer and naked hides look great on bike jackets. Their initial look is a little flat compared to the 'full of character' artisan hides people often privilege today. Some time is required for Schott hides to develop some character. I had a Schott 641XX in black steer which remains one of my favorite hides ever.