Question regarding leather types

[colonelawesome]

I'm trying to decide between the goatskin leather and the lambskin leather offered by Wested.com. for the Indy Jones jacket. I know lambskin is a lot more fragile than goatskin, but I keep getting tempted by it because of it being generally cooler in terms of temp. and also because it's offered in dark brown. However, I'm still don't know exactly how fragile lambskin is. I have a dog, that likes to greet me by jumping on me when I get home from school. it? Would the lambskin be able to take that? Would it survive if I were to get in a scuffle? Not that I plan on fighting anyone anytime soon, but happens. If I trip will the jacket explode? This is just the kind of stuff I'm wondering about lambskin. Also, another factor in this is that I actually WANT the jacket to take on a distressed and worn look. It gives the illusion that I'm adventurous.

[Kt. Templar]

Lamb is a soft leather the grade Wested uses is a fine nappa it is designed as a luxury leather really so looks good, drapes softly and is lightweight. It is not particularly strong or puncture resistant.

If you want a strong but light(ish) leather look at goat. Goat is hard to get to look worn in unless you buy something like the washed goat, however they don't appear to be able to source that any more. Goat can sometimes have a slightly unusual smell, I suppose we are used to smelling cow or lamb leather. I have a USW A2 that is 10 years old but still smells 'different' .

Then further up the weight scale are the cowhides but you're getting into heavier warmer leathers there. They have a thin cow that might fit the bill, but note that it is thinner so you loose a lot of the strength, essentially I guess it probably will hold up about as well as lamb!

[colonelawesome]

Would this a lambskin jacket be about the same (in terms of strength), if I were wearing a regular jacket or hoodie made out of cotton?

[Indiana Shiloh]

I have the Wested worn look cowhide, which is fantastic. Smells great too. It is very comfortable, lightweight, (compared to an older horsehide wested i had) and being its about 4 months old, has worn in nicely.

[canadianraider]

I can't comment on the goatskin as I do not own one. But I did buy a Wested Last Crusade in authentic Lambskin in early February. So I can give my feedback on that.

For the fist month I wore it almost every day. The jacket definitely had that shiny new plastic look the day I received it. After a few walks in the rain and daily car rides, that shiny look was quick to faint. It still looks very nice though and I would have no problem wearing it with dressy clothing. The polished look has definitely held up very well so far.

As far as toughness... The Wested is definitely thicker leather than your standard 100 dollar leather jacket from Sears (And I've had a few) It does have a bit of thin feel, not shirt or hoodie thin, but I wouldn't wear it on a sunny day. And I've never had to wear a hoodie or thick sweater underneath it either. And believe me it can get cold here in Canada. Lambskin maybe the most fragile, but leather is still leather. So don;t expect it to rip just because someone scratched you.

From your last sentence in your original post though, it sounds like you may want to go with the goatskin. It should distress better over time and will be tougher than the lambskin. You gotta think long term IMO. Between the two hides I just don't think they'll be too much of a difference in warmth and whatnot to choose the more fragile hide. I wanted a more dressier jacket so I purposely got the Lamb. But if I treated it like I treat my USWings cowhide "Hero" jacket, I doubt it would hold up. The lamb isn't going to rip from rolling around on the floor. But if given the choice for a fight, my lambskin would be the last I wear.

Have you thought about buying from US Wings? They currently have a sale on their antique cowhide and a few others, and as someone who owns one, I can tell you they're tough and they naturally distress very well. They're only 200-300 bucks at the moment

[colonelawesome]

::)Would lambskin look too dressy if I were to just wear it regularly, with my usual wardrobe of jeans and a T-shirt?

[canadianraider]

Definitely not. I suppose I should have defined my idea of dressy. What I mean is that it's easily wearable if you were going out to an expensive restaurant or something. It's not suit jacket dressy by any means. It just has a more sharper look to it compared to the more rugged hides IMO. But for the most part I wear it with everyday things. I wore it with standard jeans for most of the first month. Looks wise it's a great jacket and has gotten me the most compliments.

I guess the easiest thing to do is just take pictures of mine and compare it to my USW cowhide to show you. Check back in a few days and I'll try and get some pics up. Someone posted pics of their new Wested Goatskin. That's probably the best indication of what the Goat will look like. My Wested authentic lamb looks similar, but the texture appears to be smoother (Hence the more dressier style) Even after a few months of wear.

[colonelawesome]

Alright. Thanks, man.

[colonelawesome]

Oooh.... I forgot to ask this question before, and it's pretty important. I live in Indiana, and it rains and snows a lot here, so will lambskin be ok for these conditions? I've looked this question up online, and a lot of people have advised against it, but these answers seem to come from people who want there jacket to look super nice and pretty. Like I've said, I want my jacket to take on a distressed look. So will getting it wet be fine?

I've been lurking around so many Indy jacket threads where they compare leather, and it seems I should get goatskin. However, I'm apprehensive to get it, because Wested no longer offers washed goat or dark brown goat, so all they have is authentic brown goat. And, according to the guy who started the "I think I'm getting ripped off by Wested" thread, authentic brown goat doesn't look so good. From the picture he posted, I kinda have to agree with him.

Wested DOES offer lambskin in dark brown though, so that's why I'm gravitating towards it.

Does anybody have pictures of the authentic brown goat? I've only ever seen pictures of either dark brown goat or washed goat.

[canadianraider]

I'm a bit computer dumb, so hopefully these images show up okay.

This is my Wested Standard (Size 46) Last Crusade in authentic lamb.

As you can see it still has the "plastic leather" look. Though a lot of that has worn off. I've worn this in the rain many times and have never had a problem with it. In fact, I think Wested puts some sort of conditioner on it because I literally sprayed it with the shower head and the water just trickled off.

This is my US Wings "Hero" in Antique Cow.

Now obviously this isn't the exact comparison you were looking for. But if you're looking for a jacket that will last against wear and tear, Wested may not be the best bet. It's not that they're poorly made by any means. They're certainly high end. But they're nonetheless jacket designs based on movie wardrobes, as that is what the company makes. Where as USWings, and especially Gibson and Barnes, are made like real flight jackets.

I've compared the cuffs up close

As you can see the authentic lamb is not very thick. If you look in another thread, GMANN I believe his name is, is showing off a very nice striated lamb from USWings. The big difference is that USWings is using a much thicker and stronger lamb hide.

I know I keep trying to talk you away from Wested. It's not that they make poor jackets by any means. It's just I'm sure, financially, you only want to buy one. And to be honest, if you want it to last a long time and plan on beating it up a little, I just can't recommend them. Especially in Lamb no less. When you see one up close compared to a USWings or G&B, that extra quality is clear.

Here's a picture of the left back shoulder.

Wested


USWings


Hope this helps. But I can't claim to be any sort of expert. It may worth posting on the fedoralounge.com with what you want in a jacket.

[Pennsylvania Jones]

G-MANN it is. He also happens to be an administrator here. There are also customer service issues with Wested, more often than not.

Steven

[colonelawesome]

Intredasting..... Thanks for those pics Mr. Raider. I'm still kind of leaning towards Wested, as they have the custom fitting option, but your pics are making me seriously reconsider my other options. It'll be a while though before I have to make my final decision (gotta get a job first). I'll start poking around some other forums and see what I can see.

Thanks ya guys.

[canadianraider]

That's the thing. For a custom jacket it's difficult to beat their price. But I just can't recommend their Lamb. About a year ago I bought off Ebay a used Custom Last Crusade in Cowhide "Novapelle". And to be honest I thought it was very well made. Their cowhide was quite thick and tough. But the jacket was a size too small for me so I ended up reselling it. From what I've read I believe their custom jackets are better made than their off-the-shelf jackets. A rather new thread made by "pagey" shows off a custom jacket he bought in goat. It looks very very nice. Like him, I'd consider calling Peter from Wested and ask him about wanting a tougher but lighter hide.

Another thing to consider. I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but when I bought my Wested a few months ago I of course had to pay customs here in Canada. A standard when importing large items. So that was another 70 bucks added to my receipt. Because I bought my US Wings jacket on sale, it ended up being about 140 cheaper than the Wested import. And sadly, in virtually every category, my USWings "on sale" jacket is better.