Is a stiff leather hard to fix?

[hc0088]

I bought it on ebay a few weeks ago
And i found that jacket is stiff, so i put on leather cream after dry-cleaning.
But there’s still no softness, and it looks little awkward. Especially, the arms.
Anyway, is there a way to recover its flexibility?

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

Perhaps its store in the carbon for long time. Wearing it at home for a couple days, at least 5 hours a day, see what happen.

 

[Micawber]

If it’s solid with sound seams and stitching then just wear it - a lot.

 

[Dumpster D]

It will soften back up with some wearing. Those jackets are always a bit stiff anyway, just how they are.

Look after it, nice cuffs, really nice vintage Jacket!!

 

[Silver Surfer]

2or 3 passes with Vaseline rubbed in well, and in sun will loosen up the hides. It works.

 

[hc0088]

2or 3 passes with Vaseline rubbed in well, and in sun will loosen up the hides. It works.

How many days should I wait between rubbing Vaseline once and doing it again?

 

[Silver Surfer]

If done on a warm day, the stuff should absorb into the leather within 5-6 hours. Repeat as needed.suppleness will return to the hides in a few days. Putting the jacket on and bending the arms at the elbows, and then moving the arms fore and aft, up and down will loosen up those areas. Removing it, and massaging it like you would your dog helps, too. If ya haven’t already figured it out, keep the Vaseline off of the knit elements, cloth jacket, and pocket liners, and the fur collar. Patience and common sense are the magic ingredients. It’s summer and we’re bored, so Get on it and let us know how it turns out.

 

[hc0088]

If done on a warm day, the stuff should absorb into the leather within 5-6 hours. Repeat as needed.suppleness will return to the hides in a few days. Putting the jacket on and bending the arms at the elbows, and then moving the arms fore and aft, up and down will loosen up those areas. Removing it, and massaging it like you would your dog helps, too. If ya haven’t already figured it out, keep the Vaseline off of the knit elements, cloth jacket, and pocket liners, and the fur collar. Patience and common sense are the magic ingredients. It’s summer and we’re bored, so Get on it and let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for your tip!

 

[dbtk44]

The way to soften stiff leather is..conditioning, and MOVEMENT. The quickest, easiest way to replicate LOTS of movement in a very short amount of time is to throw it in a dryer, on "air fluff" or whatever the NO HEAT tumble setting is on your dryer.

No heat.

Throw it in for 60min to start, see if you like the feel, if not go another 30-60min. You can throw in a few towels or a blanket , and zipper pulls/buttons/snaps won't bang around near as much in there, and provides a bit more smooth movement while it's tumbling.

No heat.

I've done this to quite a few leather jackets and leather pants, and the difference is pretty amazing!

No heat.

 

[Erwin]

This hide looks a bit like those used on MONARCH [CONTRACT NO. N383s-80667]. If it is a bit similar in grammature and stiffness, you should expect that the breaking process will take way longer than for thinner hides used on other MIL-J-7823 (AER). I'd not recommend throwing it to the tumble dryer, you never know how dry the collar skin under the fur can be. I'd follow Silver-Surfer's tip. Nice jacket btw