What is it about horsehide?

[morrison2951]

I also like my goat Cooper A-2 but there's still nothing that can touch my Cordovan HH Vanson Enfield for looks and comfort.

Unfortunately, they don't make 'em in HH anymore.

 

[tropicalbob]

Over the years I've had jackets in cow, steer, goat, and a couple I wasn't sure of, but the Aero brown FQHH is the only one I've laid out on my study table night after night and just marvelled at the tones and textures. And I still do it after 2 1/2 years! Should I be seeking help?

 

[schitzo]

Bob you were beyond help a long time ago. Just carry on as you are

 

[Cooperson]

Over the years I've had jackets in cow, steer, goat, and a couple I wasn't sure of, but the Aero brown FQHH is the only one I've laid out on my study table night after night and just marvelled at the tones and textures. And I still do it after 2 1/2 years! Should I be seeking help?

I know exactly what you mean, it's just a thing of beauty!

 

[handymike]

Maybe it's like kids. The more work you put into it, the more you love it!

 

[Fanch]

Over the years I've had jackets in cow, steer, goat, and a couple I wasn't sure of, but the Aero brown FQHH is the only one I've laid out on my study table night after night and just marvelled at the tones and textures. And I still do it after 2 1/2 years! Should I be seeking help?

I think many of us have experienced the same thing with the brown FQHH as you. My brown FQHH Teamster is a work of art. At one time I owned a vintage black FQHH HWM, and that hide was stiff as a horse saddle, but I never tire of my Teamster. It and my Maxwell made from Aero's new goatskin are my two favorites.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

I'm in the minority on Horween's FQHH. It's spray-dyed, overly thick and heavy, and it doesn't grain like vintage horsehide. Personally, I hate the stuff and wish Horween would stop wasting horsehides on this overpriced, overhyped garbage. Why not do some nice veg-tanned, aniline-dyed horsehide?

 

[Monitor]

Over the years I've had jackets in cow, steer, goat, and a couple I wasn't sure of, but the Aero brown FQHH is the only one I've laid out on my study table night after night and just marvelled at the tones and textures. And I still do it after 2 1/2 years! Should I be seeking help?

Ditto.

My Schott and Aero HH, the only two jackets I cannot walk past without either touching them or at least throwing a quick glance at 'em.

 

[pak]

I run hot and cold on leather jackets, due mainly to the weight of leather. I've had HH, steer and goat. I do very much appreciate the quality of materials and craftmanship of the quality leather jackets. Some are magnificent to view and hold. The heavier jackets for me to wear are suffocating. My go to leather jacket is a JL in goat without any insulation designed for warm weather. If I rode motorcycles I certainly would have a heavier jacket.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I'm in the minority on Horween's FQHH. It's spray-dyed, overly thick and heavy, and it doesn't grain like vintage horsehide. Personally, I hate the stuff and wish Horween would stop wasting horsehides on this overpriced, overhyped garbage. Why not do some nice veg-tanned, aniline-dyed horsehide?

Them's fighting words, J.S. but I know what you are getting at. I do think it looks nice but I dislike it as a jacket material. I think there's a vendor here who describes it as shoe leather.

 

[Cooperson]

I'm in the minority on Horween's FQHH. It's spray-dyed, overly thick and heavy, and it doesn't grain like vintage horsehide. Personally, I hate the stuff and wish Horween would stop wasting horsehides on this overpriced, overhyped garbage. Why not do some nice veg-tanned, aniline-dyed horsehide?

'overhyped garbage' Now there's a phrase I would never have associated with this product. Yes it's very heavy stuff and it won't be suitable for many, but the sheer quality of it is light years away from anything else I've seen and handled and I've handled a lot of hides over the years. That being said, I've been impressed with the look of some of the Italian veg tanned stuff currently being shown here but I'd like to see a well worn jacket, to see how it holds up, before I ordered one.

 

[nick123]

There are pros and cons to every tanning process. Up to the wearer to make a decision that best fits their preference.

 

[Monitor]

It's a leather made with a clear purpose and while one may or may not like it, calling it a garbage is entirely unwarranted.

 

[mendelboaz]

There's this funny thing about Horween CXL steerhide when new... It's very stiff, like a bulletproofvest when I hang it on a hanger. But when I put on my HWM, I can move around in it very comfortably. It doesn't feel or look like a cardboard box when worn, the leather is very pliable when you actually start molding it. The leather retains its shape when you mold it, which is another thing. My Vanson Model B and Schott 641HH were almost immobile when I first got them. Increcibly stiff leather that wouldn't mold or give in any way. I could mold it a bit but it would jump right back into its original shape. Now, that, you really had to break in. Stiff as cardboard. My steerhide HWM is superthick and feels like armor, but somehow it has that broken-in feel to it when I put it on. Very strange.

 

[Navin323i]

My only experience with horsehide jackets have been the FQHH made by Aero. Believe it or not, it is the stiffness and thickness of the FQHH that attracts me to it. I love the feeling of this hide enveloping my upper torso and molding to it. My NYPD after owning it 4 years definitely feels less stiff than it used to, so having my new Route 66 makes me prefer wanting this stiffer/thicker material to wear. One of the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, which I was diagnosed with a year ago at the age of 39, is muscle stiffness so that could possibly be why I like the stiff jackets more because it supports my body and muscles better?
The other thing I love about Aero's horsehide is the intoxicating smell of the jacket when you first receive the jacket. Maybe one of you can answer this question but is the smell a result of the actual hide itself (meaning all horsehide that any manufacturer uses has this same scent?), or is the smell a result of the tanning process?
My only experience with steerhide is the one that my vintage Irvin Foster 1950s jacket is made from which I originally posted on here when I first joined this site in 2010 when I was "reunited" with that jacket decades later after selling it to a friend in college. Does the Horween steerhide have a similar scent to the Horween horsehide that Aero uses?

 

[mendelboaz]

My Horween Steerhide jacket smells divine, and the Horween FQHH sample I've got doesn't smell any less divine. I'd say they are identical meaning the smell is a result of the tanning process, though I'm not sure.

 

[Navin323i]

My Horween Steerhide jacket smells divine, and the Horween FQHH sample I've got doesn't smell any less divine. I'd say they are identical meaning the smell is a result of the tanning process, though I'm not sure.

Thanks for the info! Just to be sure I'm understanding you fully, are you saying the Horween steerhide has an identical smell to the FQHH or are they different smells?

 

[morrison2951]

Back when Vanson offered HH there was a significant upcharge of like $300 for it over cow. That may have something to do with it.

 

[Big J]

For me, the thing about horsehide is the smell, the color, and the way it develops character over time.

 

[nick123]

Thanks for the info! Just to be sure I'm understanding you fully, are you saying the Horween steerhide has an identical smell to the FQHH or are they different smells?

When I received my first jacket in chromexcel steerhide, the first thing I noticed was that it smelled "perfect".
The horsehide tanned in the same method I had briefly encountered previously also smelled pleasant, but there was a whiff about it that at times made me feel lightly queasy. It was strange.
But I also took a liking to the heavily chrome tanned chemical smell of the Gibson Barnes goatskin (the dark brown G-1 smelled the best), so I have particular tastes.
My Aerial Star, chrome tanned without pigment I believe, smelled very "natural". I can't recall the scent of the others that have passed through my hands.
I think I'd go mental working with leather as a profession. The scent is nice for kicks, but I'd imagine it taking a toll on your senses being exposed to it day in and day out.