Leather jackets

H

HolyRoller

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Since I'm graduating with my BA of Arts in Art History this weekend, I've decided to treat myself to something nice. So I'm in the market for a fixed blade (probably a Ranger RD-7), and a leather jacket.

Now, not just any leather jacket. I have a chocolate brown, goatskin, M65 jacket. I love it, but it's too nice, and the leather too thin, for serious wear and tear.
Now, I'm sure the folks here on the W&SS can understand what I'm looking for. I want a jacket that gets better with age. A rugged jacket that's thick enough not to rip and tear, but shows it's scratches and abrasions with pride. A jacket that gets a rubbing with mink oil once a year, and just doesn't quit.

Now's the part where I say I'm on a budget... :(
I'm trying to keep it under $300, but it's looking like an impossibility (unless I find something perfect on Ebay, which ain't happening any time in this century.

Most companies simply list options between lamb, goat, or cowhide, and I assume cowhide is the most durable, but I have no idea how thick the leather is on these things. I don't want something that's too thin, like garment grade. Can anyone help me out with what I'm looking for?
 
I have gotten several good buys on leather jackets off ebay. I'd say keep an eye out there for "the" deal.
 
It doesn't meet your budget requirements, but WOW!!!

pFILSON1-3293607dt.jpg


Filson. "Might as well have the best."

http://www.filson.com/product/index...&cp=2069836.2069837.2075111&parentPage=family
 
Surprisingly my best leather has been a Pepsi brand. I'd suggest looking at a motorcycle shop for real leather that lasts because it'll have to. Good luck!
 
Schott make some great leather jackets in many styles. I'm still buzzing over the bargains I got recently due to a store on London's Oxford Street closing down. Got the top of the range black A2, £400 reduced to £250 and a brown one in a slightly different style, £275 reduced to £160. Got to make the most of the credit crunch!
 
+1 on anything from Duluth Trading. I wear lots of their gear when I work. Better than Carhartt and not much more expensive.
 
I have two Schott leather jackets, both are over 25 years old. Schott was the first to use a zipper if I recall correctly.
 
I have a Schott Motorcycle jacket, cafe racing style, It was my dads. I think that anything along the schott line is incredibly reliable, and pretty badass. They have some pretty thick leather, and they take wear and tear well, staying in good shape, but still looking broken in. For the fixed blade, I'd go with the Buck 119 Special, its a Hell of a knife, comes out of the box razor sharp, and you can get it at Wal-Mart! I don't see a better choice.
 
My only current leather jacket is a motorcycle jacket from Xpert caled the JD jacket. It is 1.5mm cowhide with removeable hard armor and kevlar stitching, but has a traditional, plain style. It is tailored for riding with slightly curved and rotated sleeves, so it looks a bit odd to just wear it around. It is an excellent jacket though.

If I had the coin, I'd get one of those horsehide barnstormer coats from Aero. Those are awesome!
 
Go for a motorcycle jacket, had mine for the last 22 years and its still going strong!
 
There was a thread recently with some good recommendations for budget busting jackets. Still, some very good info. I can't seem to find it, sorry.

Goat and Horsehide are the most durable, but horsehide seems to be right up your alley. It wears incredibly hard, and develops a patina with age, and shows scratches and abrasions very gracefully. Goat is a more subtle hide, and thinner. It feels less like armor than horse, and is comfortable pretty much straight out of the UPS box. Horse can be very stiff in the beginning, to the point that when you sit down, the collar pokes you in the jawbone. That goes away pretty quickly if you slap on a cap and walk the dog in the rain a couple times.

Personally, I would recommend for you to get the best now rather than something a little less good. Now's a special occasion, and getting a jacket you'll have the rest of your life that only gets better with age, directly linked to your graduation will be a very good thing. Of course YMMV, do what you need to do.

Aero makes some amazing jackets, I haven't heard one bad thing about them. They are among the recognized masters in horsehide right now. http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/webapp/aeroleather/servlet/AeroViewPage?page=home they have a US rep that sells on Ebay, just search for Aero Jackets. Expect to spend somewhere around 6-800 but they also have trainee made jackets on their site for around half that. I would suspect that a trainee jacket would still have every bit of the quality with a little less perfection, but right in your price range. One thing to consider is that not all jackets fit all personalities; I personally think Aero makes some great jackets for the art history type. Personally I'm ordering one of their Veste de Rallyes.

Schott is great, but I've recently discovered that they're not quite what they used to be. Still great, just not as great. Their horsehide for example is not nearly up to snuff with Aero. FWIW though, the Schott horsehide costs 30% less. Again, I'm of the "cry once, not later" mentality.

Fox Creek Leather makes some nice jackets. While I've never owned one, I've heard good things. You might consider one of their less bikey jackets like: http://www.foxcreekleather.com/351.html . They are much more in your price range, and you have a wide range of color choices as long as all you like is black.

Then of course there's Langlitz, the recognized masters in bike jackets. New they are very expensive, but Langlitz has used jackets in their Portland Oregon store, and Langlitz's show up on Ebay with some regularity. I would suggest snooping around a little to see if you like what is available, and maybe give them a call and ask if they have something in your size. They are very friendly people in that shop, and would probably be willing to help you. I have one of their less bikey jackets in goatskin, and it's fantastic.

Not that this should really inform your decisions much, but a jacket from Langlitz, Lost Worlds or even Schott is going to hold a lot more value down the line than pretty much anything else mentioned in this thread. You could buy a new Langlitz for 900, wear it for 5 years and sell it with almost no fuss for 5-600, unless you fly to Japan, in which case you could sell it for twice what you paid. I think it's pretty foolhardy to buy clothing with an eye towards future value (especially a graduation gift to self), but it's something to mildly consider.

Edit: I forgot to mention: Aero= Scottish; Langlitz, Fox Creek, Lost Worlds = US; Schott= some US some foreign.
 
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