YoungMedic
Well-Known Member
Q: The capeskin leather on one of your A-1s that I've seen is really nice, very vintagey, with a nice grain and patina. Is it from a different source than your normal capeskin, or distressed in some way?
A: That capeskin was just the typical capeskin I have, but I washed it.
Q: Oh really?
A: Yeah, gave it a wash, then ran it through the dryer for 2 or three minutes to dry it up. You know, tanneries always want to get the most leather that they can, so they tend to stretch it out a lot when they're drying it, so they can get every square inch of money they possibly can. But what's better for making a jacket is if you pre-shrink it, just like cotton. So I did that with these cape skins beforehand. It gives the leather a little bit more of a dense feel, and also has a super cool, ancient look to it. Even more so once its worn a little, as the higher spots get a nice shine to them.
Q: How do you wash skins? The bathtub?
A: (laughing) No, just right in the washing machine!
Q: I wouldn't think they would fit, or if they did that they'd wreck your machine.
A: No, not at all. Once the skins get wet it's just like having a heavy wool shirt, or more like 9 heavy wool shirts, in there. So not too hard on the machine. The only thing that creeps me out is, what if there are a bunch of grotesque chemicals in the leather, and they're in the machine for 60 minutes? Is this going to affect my son's brain when he wears clothes that went through after? I wouldn't do this with horsehide, which is a lot stiffer, but it works really nicely on capeskin. If you wear capeskin raw, after a few months it begins to look pretty much the same way, this just accelerates the process.
Q: Do you treat the capeskin with anything after you wash it?
A: Typically no, but I can put a clear coat, a sort of acrylic glaze, on it, which would make it look really even in tone. If you use a heat gun on it to dry the clear coat it becomes nearly waterproof. Otherwise the capeskin is super water absorbent, any light rain and you'll see it start to speckle up right away.
Q: Do you ever use any kind of conditioner on your coats?
A: Not generally. New leather absolutely doesn't need any conditioning, for a very, very long time. Only with really worn and dry vintage jackets will I ever use a conditioner. With those I use Vaseline, which is pH neutral. It adds fluid to the leather, but doesn't make the leather gooey. What's that heavy leather dressing… Pecards? That always feels so greasy afterwards, I don't like it. Jackets conditioned with Vaseline feel dry to the touch afterwards, but it does evaporate after about 6 months. One thing to consider is the cotton thread in older jackets. If you put the wrong stuff on there, like mink oil, it won't do anything right away, but eventually, those threads will be rotten. I think it's the negative pH, it eats cotton thread. Not the leather so much, which after the tanning process is a non-biological substance.
Q: What?
A: Yeah, cotton thread is still biologic, but leather, after tanning, has had many of the organic compounds removed and replaced with inorganic ones.
Q: What, like embalming?
A: Yes, it's bizarre, but essentially that. The point is that you make it inedible to any living thing, like bacteria or insects. For Shinki, they leave their leather tanning in the fluid for two weeks, which converts it from biologic to non-biologic, but then air it out for three months. I think it's that evaporation process that really gets most the chemicals out.
Q: You were wearing a jacket made from Shinki horsehide at Inspiration, no?
A: Yes, Shinki is my main tannery, and all they do is horsehide. they've been around since 1951. They do both veg and chrome tanning, but I prefer the veg tan stuff, as the chemicals seem to be less toxic.
Q: Where do you see the repro jacket business going over the next decade or so?
A: The business is rather consistent, and I doubt we'll see many more huge innovations, though what I really expect to happen is see more small companies that enter the realm of jackets offered, and with more of a myriad of prices. I've seen more new companies in the last ten years, and I suspect that as more people see that it's possible, more small operations will start. I also think the demand for high quality will get stronger and stronger. Reproduction military jackets, overall, are far better now than they were ten years ago. I also hope nothing beats down the economy, as all jacket makers are dependent on customers who have solid income, and a solid interest in WWII leather jackets.
Q: Have the recent artisinal/heritage trends affected the repro market much, in your view?
A: I think the artisan/heritage wave will hold strong as long as a core percentage of people have excess money. These items are not for the common man with no interest in vintage, yet for those with disposable income who have tasted the quality, it's a bit like a drug. These higher quality items are difficult to let go of, and against the French maxim, more is more, and less is less.
-fin-
A: That capeskin was just the typical capeskin I have, but I washed it.
Q: Oh really?
A: Yeah, gave it a wash, then ran it through the dryer for 2 or three minutes to dry it up. You know, tanneries always want to get the most leather that they can, so they tend to stretch it out a lot when they're drying it, so they can get every square inch of money they possibly can. But what's better for making a jacket is if you pre-shrink it, just like cotton. So I did that with these cape skins beforehand. It gives the leather a little bit more of a dense feel, and also has a super cool, ancient look to it. Even more so once its worn a little, as the higher spots get a nice shine to them.
Q: How do you wash skins? The bathtub?
A: (laughing) No, just right in the washing machine!
Q: I wouldn't think they would fit, or if they did that they'd wreck your machine.
A: No, not at all. Once the skins get wet it's just like having a heavy wool shirt, or more like 9 heavy wool shirts, in there. So not too hard on the machine. The only thing that creeps me out is, what if there are a bunch of grotesque chemicals in the leather, and they're in the machine for 60 minutes? Is this going to affect my son's brain when he wears clothes that went through after? I wouldn't do this with horsehide, which is a lot stiffer, but it works really nicely on capeskin. If you wear capeskin raw, after a few months it begins to look pretty much the same way, this just accelerates the process.
Q: Do you treat the capeskin with anything after you wash it?
A: Typically no, but I can put a clear coat, a sort of acrylic glaze, on it, which would make it look really even in tone. If you use a heat gun on it to dry the clear coat it becomes nearly waterproof. Otherwise the capeskin is super water absorbent, any light rain and you'll see it start to speckle up right away.
Q: Do you ever use any kind of conditioner on your coats?
A: Not generally. New leather absolutely doesn't need any conditioning, for a very, very long time. Only with really worn and dry vintage jackets will I ever use a conditioner. With those I use Vaseline, which is pH neutral. It adds fluid to the leather, but doesn't make the leather gooey. What's that heavy leather dressing… Pecards? That always feels so greasy afterwards, I don't like it. Jackets conditioned with Vaseline feel dry to the touch afterwards, but it does evaporate after about 6 months. One thing to consider is the cotton thread in older jackets. If you put the wrong stuff on there, like mink oil, it won't do anything right away, but eventually, those threads will be rotten. I think it's the negative pH, it eats cotton thread. Not the leather so much, which after the tanning process is a non-biological substance.
Q: What?
A: Yeah, cotton thread is still biologic, but leather, after tanning, has had many of the organic compounds removed and replaced with inorganic ones.
Q: What, like embalming?
A: Yes, it's bizarre, but essentially that. The point is that you make it inedible to any living thing, like bacteria or insects. For Shinki, they leave their leather tanning in the fluid for two weeks, which converts it from biologic to non-biologic, but then air it out for three months. I think it's that evaporation process that really gets most the chemicals out.
Q: You were wearing a jacket made from Shinki horsehide at Inspiration, no?
A: Yes, Shinki is my main tannery, and all they do is horsehide. they've been around since 1951. They do both veg and chrome tanning, but I prefer the veg tan stuff, as the chemicals seem to be less toxic.
Q: Where do you see the repro jacket business going over the next decade or so?
A: The business is rather consistent, and I doubt we'll see many more huge innovations, though what I really expect to happen is see more small companies that enter the realm of jackets offered, and with more of a myriad of prices. I've seen more new companies in the last ten years, and I suspect that as more people see that it's possible, more small operations will start. I also think the demand for high quality will get stronger and stronger. Reproduction military jackets, overall, are far better now than they were ten years ago. I also hope nothing beats down the economy, as all jacket makers are dependent on customers who have solid income, and a solid interest in WWII leather jackets.
Q: Have the recent artisinal/heritage trends affected the repro market much, in your view?
A: I think the artisan/heritage wave will hold strong as long as a core percentage of people have excess money. These items are not for the common man with no interest in vintage, yet for those with disposable income who have tasted the quality, it's a bit like a drug. These higher quality items are difficult to let go of, and against the French maxim, more is more, and less is less.
-fin-
