Leather 101

Leather School 101

Hi, Jack here! Yes, Yukon Jack! I don’t know if I picked up the nick name because I love the snow for skiing or boarding or because I’m short and stout like the little character on the Christmas special!

I think it is very important that YOU, the consumer, customer, buyer, biker, rider, the person spending the money, understand the basics of leather and know what you are buying, from me, Joe blow, or Achmed on the internet.

Most leather items available for sale today are imports. Pakistan and China are producing the vast majority of the motorcycle garments out there. Pakistan has been the leader in Biker leather for the past 20 years because they were able to produce a nice and heavy buffalo skin that is more readily available in that part of the world. More recently, Pakistan has developed a new product for biker apparel that is very cheap and sold at many flea markets, biker swap meets, and all over the internet. This is called “split” and can be cow or buffalo. This is a layer of the animal skin that without a lot of chemical bonding will tear like tissue. Remember 1^st grade when we covered a balloon with news paper and glue….and then popped the balloon….and had a dog or a turtle? Anyway, this leather is sort of like particle board but leather, or paper mache…areas with a lot of bending or movement will eventually crack or tear.

In contrast to “split leather” is Lamb, New Zealand or Italian. Lamb skin has a great look and a luxurious feel, but these skins are much too thin and soft to be used for biker garments.

I will list some of the most common skins being used in the motorcycle industry right now, and the benefits or drawbacks of each. This list will go from the least of my recommendations to the top of the line.

• PVC: some web guys are selling this as leather. This offers no road rash protection. This does not breathe like a natural skin and is not healthy to wear. Beware of names like techno hyde or similar.

• SPLIT: the leather equivalent of particle board or paper mache. Can be stiff and will not last. For some men's vest styles where there is not an area that needs to bend or crease a lot, this skin may be ok for a second vest for some extra pins or patches.

• GOAT: thin, wrinkly, and can be smelly…..cheap but a bit thin for good road rash protection.

• PIG NAPA…..although thin and soft, with the proper construction a pig napa jacket can offer some road rash protection. Due to the light weight and the pliability of the skin, this is an OK choice for some ladies jackets.

• Thin Buffalo: this is very popular because of the low price…$99.00 “ish” for a biker jacket. The skin can be strong but sometimes a little stiff and wrinkly. This skin needs to be treated often.

• Heavy Buffalo: this is my favorite leather due to its durability. It usually has a good feel and thickness. Not too heavy that you don’t want to wear it or too stiff like the old horse hide jackets the cops used to wear, not too soft that you need to worry about snagging it on the corner of the bar stool, but just heavy enough for good road rash protection.

• Finished Cow: very similar to the heavy buffalo but a bit more expensive. The cow usually does not require as much leather conditioner as the buffalo does to stay soft. In this skin there are good choices available from China, Pakistan, Korea, as well as the USA. The USA cow tends to be a bit stiffer and has an oily finish.

• Naked Cow: this is considered the top of the line. It is soft, thick, and offers good road rash protection. The drawbacks are: naked means no finish. You can see the imperfections of the cow. It also snags and scrapes more easily. This skin also tends to fade in the sun so it requires more frequent leather care treatments.

Don’t be afraid of imports, if properly constructed (we have our hands in the design and construction process of all of our products)

Stay away from PVC and most split products! American cow is not always the best choice (by the way, the largest web guy selling “made in the USA” jackets uses Pakistan Leather! LOL)

Most of all- ride safe and have fun!

Motorcycle riding is dangerous and each incident of motorcycle accidents are completely different, therefore manufacturer and retailer can offer no guarantee or warranty of product effectiveness and cannot be held liable for products.