B-6

[Pa12]

Have a question for any b-6 guys out there. I have an Eastman roughwear b-6 I bought about 5 years ago. I recently noticed a cut in one sleeve below the elbow. Have no idea how it happened but it looks like someone cut a perfect L with a razor knife. I was shocked to see how thin the skin was. Doesn’t even look real. Looks more like a man made material. I find it hard to believe the original was this thin and delicate. In war time ops it would have been torn to shreds in no time.

 

[B-Man2]

Have a question for any b-6 guys out there. I have an Eastman roughwear b-6 I bought about 5 years ago. I recently noticed a cut in one sleeve below the elbow. Have no idea how it happened but it looks like someone cut a perfect L with a razor knife. I was shocked to see how thin the skin was. Doesn’t even look real. Looks more like a man made material. I find it hard to believe the original was this thin and delicate. In war time ops it would have been torn to shreds in no time.

Wow
That’s strange …… no idea what’s caused it ?
What was the question you wanted to ask weather it’s man made material ? I’ve never heard of an Eastman sheepskin using man made material in the actual body parts of the jacket . You will definitely have to have that repaired as it will probably only get worse with time and wear.

 

[Pa12]

I was actually wondering if the original was the same thickness

 

[John Lever]

In WW2 I think that skins were derived from sheep. Repro makers use lambskin.
I bought two boxes of skins directly from a tannery, some of them were poodle size, whereas some sheep are as big as a donkey.

 

[Pa12]

Interesting . I assume the original would have to be a thicker, tougher hide. Mine has a tear and I don’t even do anything in it. Don’t think mine would last more then a couple missions crawling around in the back of a b-17. Snag city.

 

[MikeyB-17]

It won’t have been man-made, but the coating they use can look quite plasticky. I had a similar situation once with a sale page Aero D-1, made from a batch of very soft, floppy sheepskin with a rubbery coating, that I also doubted would stand up to much use. I reckoned I could have stuck a pencil through it with minimal effort. I sent it back and got my B-2 instead, which is made of much tougher stuff.

 

[Micawber]

Casting my memory back to the original B-6 jackets I owned I would say flaking of the surface finish was extremely common as was the usual degrading of the shearling itself. I've noticed tiny splits, akin to cuts, in the softer shearling repros, in fact I saw just such a thing in the cuff of the ELC ANJ-4 I wore t'other day.

 

[Pa12]

Tough to get a good picture

 

[OperationCoffee]

In the first pic it looks like there's some glue residue? Don't use glue under any circumstances, and don't try sewing it up yourself. A good seamstress can stitch it up using fine stitches. I've been there. You're not at the point where you'd need a patch.

 

[Pa12]

Thanks. I’ll have to locate someone who can do it. Did you find yours was very thin material?

 

[OperationCoffee]

Thanks. I’ll have to locate someone who can do it. Did you find yours was very thin material?

I've had it happen to both thick and thin. I've never had a jacket just split on it's own, it's always been the result of puncture. I don't think you have a "defective" jacket so to speak.

 

[Pa12]

No, me either. I was just shocked how thin it was.

 

[John Lever]

The damage looks typical to a snag tear. A simple split would be in one direction yours has a right angle tear.

 

[FreddyF9]

Don’t worry too much about it, a small cut like this can be repaired easily and you won’t even notice the repaired spot if done well.
Looks like you got caught in a nail or wathever.

 

[Pa12]

I’ll get it stitched up. Adds character. Just wish I had a good story to go with it

 

[Micawber]

Not a split as I first thought but as John suggests a snag. Easy to do, relatively easy to fix.

 

[Pa12]

Do you think a regular seamstress could do it or should I look for a leather seamstress? It’s very thin material.