The Perfect Skin: Harvest Time
Fall has come and my labours have born fruit. As the leaves change I took a nice long drive up to the tannery and finally worked out the perfect skin. My horsehide and goatskin are finished, and they are perfect. The leather is an absolutely perfect recreation of 1930s horsehide and goatskin. The leather is soaked and shrunk for 3 months in a bark solution and cured and finished with an absolutely grainy perfect patina..and its strong. Wow we pulled on some of the belly skin and could not tear it..smooth and character ridden, flexible and soft with just a little stretch. This is absolutely the most perfect leather ever made, even my 1950 cafe racer blends in perfectly with the hide.
So does this mean the padded shoulder jacket I like could be a goer? Ive been searching the web and Im struggling to find something I like.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I found your blog during my seemingly endless search for a well made (preferably US made) leather jacket for my girlfriend. I was debating ordering a Schott custom made to womens specs but wanted to ask you if you can recommend a maker of womens leather jackets that are high quality? I am new to your blog and I am still reading all your posts. This is all fascinating and it is great to see someone passionate about this craft. I own several Schott jackets, although no vintage jackets yet. Thanks for any info you can provide. What are your plans for making and selling your own jackets? Thanks again!
ReplyDeletehmmm...a goer...perhaps..I will look up what a goer is, lol
ReplyDeleteSchott is a great brand and very reasonable...I cant really suggest any particular brand you would need to figure out your budget first because each company has a price point based on materials, design and quality? Im working on samples as we speak so we will see how these things pan out and of course I will post pics on the blog as I go
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your leather. Be sure to share your creations.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I make something that doesn't embarrass me I will post lots of details
ReplyDeleteScot love that rope work...that is awesome
ReplyDeleteSo what are the different tanning processes and what type of leather (both the animal and top grain vs corrected grain, etc) do you look for in a jacket?
ReplyDeleteI made my leather with a tanner. We spent months experimenting to recreate the original process of tanning in the 1930s. Tanning today is done in the third world using Chromium as the tanning agent for the most part...while historical tanners used tannins from bark and other organics. While tannins like bark solutions are "chemicals" in that sense...they are not as "toxic" as say hexavalent Chromium that used to be used in the 30s-40s. Plus it takes 3 months to bark tan...the leather has completely different characteristics and price. It is stronger..flexible...resistant..absolutely beautiful. Always top grain..correction is not necessary as my tanner uses animals slaughtered humanely for food consumption and they have no skin abrasions because they have not been mistreated. I will post more about leather in the future it is fascinating and full of "mistruths" by both animal rights activists..and third world tanners.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I'm jealous!
ReplyDelete