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Ordered Schott buffalo jacket and received cowhide!

V

Vince in Philly

Familiar Face
Messages
73
I just received a Schott jacket I ordered from the web site. The jacket was listed on the web site as waxy buffalo, but the tag in the jacket I received states cowhide. When I reached out to Schott customer service, they indicated the jacket was previously made from cowhide, but they had switched over to production in buffalo. They offered me the option to return the cowhide jacket in exchange for buffalo.

Can anyone weight in on the differences in feel, weight, etc. between cowhide and buffalo? I'm not unhappy with the jacket I received, it's just not the material I expected.

In terms of personal preference, I like leather jackets that are comfortable and don't require a lot of wear to break in. But I also want the jack to be durable and last. I have owned several horsehide jackets and always end up getting rid of them because they are too heavy and too hard. I do like my steerhide, cowhide, and goatskin jackets. I just have no experience with buffalo.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share their thoughts on buffalo!
 
Monitor

Monitor

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16,459
Vince in Philly said:
I just received a Schott jacket I ordered from the web site. The jacket was listed on the web site as waxy buffalo, but the tag in the jacket I received states cowhide. When I reached out to Schott customer service, they indicated the jacket was previously made from cowhide, but they had switched over to production in buffalo. They offered me the option to return the cowhide jacket in exchange for buffalo.

Can anyone weight in on the differences in feel, weight, etc. between cowhide and buffalo? I'm not unhappy with the jacket I received, it's just not the material I expected.

In terms of personal preference, I like leather jackets that are comfortable and don't require a lot of wear to break in. But I also want the jack to be durable and last. I have owned several horsehide jackets and always end up getting rid of them because they are too heavy and too hard. I do like my steerhide, cowhide, and goatskin jackets. I just have no experience with buffalo.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share their thoughts on buffalo!
Click to expand...

Horsehide isn't any heavier than cowhide albeit it's often stiffer though it all depends on how the hide has been tanned and buffalo can be even heavier than either horse or cow.
Same thing with buffalo, it all comes down to tanning but essentially, it is very similar to cowhide in just about every way. Same thickness, weight, etc.
All the buffalo leather I have seen usually had a bit more grain to it and a the color was richer with more gradation but I don't suppose there's a rule to it. I personally wouldn't know how to tell them apart. It's all the same family of animal, anyway.
 
Seb Lucas

Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,562
Location
Australia
They are similar hides and are often used interchangeably. Wherether a leather breaks in well or wears nicely is not so much about the animal used but the process of tanning and treatment. So who knows?
 
belfastboy

belfastboy

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10,379
Location
vancouver, canada
Vince in Philly said:
I just received a Schott jacket I ordered from the web site. The jacket was listed on the web site as waxy buffalo, but the tag in the jacket I received states cowhide. When I reached out to Schott customer service, they indicated the jacket was previously made from cowhide, but they had switched over to production in buffalo. They offered me the option to return the cowhide jacket in exchange for buffalo.

Can anyone weight in on the differences in feel, weight, etc. between cowhide and buffalo? I'm not unhappy with the jacket I received, it's just not the material I expected.

In terms of personal preference, I like leather jackets that are comfortable and don't require a lot of wear to break in. But I also want the jack to be durable and last. I have owned several horsehide jackets and always end up getting rid of them because they are too heavy and too hard. I do like my steerhide, cowhide, and goatskin jackets. I just have no experience with buffalo.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share their thoughts on buffalo!
Click to expand...
Are they talking American Bison as buffalo or what is sometimes referred to as Eastern Water Buffalo? I have a water buffalo jacket and I love it. It is heavy but not too heavy. It has a great grain to it and it looks like it will wear like iron. It is an Aero jacket.

I have a Schott Naked Cow and the while I like the finish it seems a bit fragile and with little wear is marking up a lot....scrape marks. On the plus side the Naked Cow will develop patina quickly
 
Monitor

Monitor

Messages
16,459
Vince in Philly said:
That's the thing - I don't know if I should return for buffalo or keep the cowhide since I've never owned a buffalo jacket
Click to expand...

I don't know what the buffalo Schott uses is like but it's usually considered a somewhat higher grade hide. @John D Maccarter is right, though, if you paid for buffalo, they had no business sending you a cowhide jacket.
 
I

IXL

One Too Many
Messages
1,284
Location
Oklahoma
OP, you will not know for sure if you really prefer buffalo hide until you have actually experienced one. As you had intended to do this very thing, I would council you to follow through with your original intent and return the cowhide for the buffalo. If you don't, you will always wonder......

Good luck!
 
Seb Lucas

Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,562
Location
Australia
This kind of thing does happen in leather jacket sales occasionally. But generally they tell you. Years back when the Schott CAF-1 jacket went from horse to cow they let me know via email when I expressed interest.

But frankly, if you have no real position on buffalo versus cow, then what does it matter? You have no direct empirical evidence of knowing if one hide was superior to the other. Maybe the cow is better. If it were me I'd probably keep the thing if it fit and I liked it.

You are certainly within your rights to get hung up on the switch between Buffalo versus cow, it's a technicality - but in the absence of any real reason why one is better to the other.... just saying
 
Carlos840

Carlos840

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,920
Location
London
My only experience with Buffalo is a gig bag, it has great grain and looks good.
Thickness wise, it really depends what Schott specifies the thickness to be... All hides we talk about are much thicker straight from the animal and are split to desired thickness before use.
Schott isn't known for using thick leather, so i would assume they split their Buffalo to a similar thickness to their HH and Cowhide.

This is the bag i have it's a good example of Buffalo grain i think:

https://www.accessbagsandcases.com/...Bag-Buffalo-Nappa-10-001-0089-300x690-1-1.jpg

I have used it for years and it never sustained any damage or deep scratches, at least in this situation it feels like a very sturdy leather.
 
jacketjunkie

jacketjunkie

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,223
Location
Germany
The Horween Bison I owned was indestructible. The JL Bison is much softer and pliable but also very tough. I'd think bison is at least on par with cowhide. Water buffaloo on the other hand, I have no experience with.
 
V

Vince in Philly

Familiar Face
Messages
73
I decided to just send the cowhide jacket back and not exchange it for buffalo. According to Schott, the 543 sunset is supposed to be a slim fit jacket, but the one I received was at least an average fit. The one for sale in classifieds is quite a bit smaller than the one I received, so their measurements are all over the place. I ended up buying another sunset back jacket on eBay that measures out very close to one of my best fitting jackets. As a bonus it also has cuffs rather than just a straight sleeve. Thanks for all the input.
 
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