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Aero Samples part 2

Bonneville

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Canada
FYI - 'Oil Pull' characteristics:

Happened to receive a second set of samples from Aero today (great service) as the first set were not marked as to weight which resulted in a little confusion on my part.

I am interested in the character of different tannages or finish particularly the difference between Aero's oil pull fqhh and their reg. heavy weight fqhh, both premium leathers without a doubt.

The pictures I have seen of their oil pull jackets are quite beautiful IMHO, they look to be more of a single tone brown and much less shiny than reg. fqhh jacket pictures. This turns out not to be the case where actual 'sheen' in the samples are concerned.

While their oil pull is marked as 'middle weight' it certainly feels just as heavy as the regular heavy fqhh. The oil pull is noticeably limper and surprisingly has more sheen than the reg. fqhh despite what jacket pictures seem to show. The oil pull colour is slightly darker with a bit less brown in it.

The first oil pull sample I received looks and feels exactly the same as the second oil pull sample with one notable difference. Despite heavy manipulation of the first sample I was surprised by how little creasing and graining developed compared to the reg. fqhh after the same amount of bending, twisting and folding. The reg. fqhh looked quite battered and broken in where as the oil pull looked almost the same as it did prior to 'break in'.

Surprisingly the second oil pull sample I received exhibited just as much or more creasing/graining after manipulation as the reg. fqhh despite initially looking exactly the same as the first oil pull sample.

Another notable difference between the two is the colour that occurs in that part of the leather that gets creased.
Surprisingly the 'crease colour' of the oil pull stayed exactly the same while the crease colour of the reg. fqhh was noticeably lighter brown in tone. I thought the oil pull would be the one to show the lighter colour in its stretched areas but this wasn't the case.

I imagine the lighter brown in the creases and bends of the reg brown fqhh is what shows up as that marbled effect we see in so many pictures of brown fqhh jackets. The brown fqhh samples I have received to date do not show any of this marbled effect and appear to have a single colour tone prior to creasing/bending; nor is the leather shiny as compared to jacket pictures.



Merry Christmas all. :)
Ted
 
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Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
When i asked for samples originally, iwas really torn on what jacket I wanted. Now, I want a FQHH Highwayman and I need to get all the HH samples I can talk them out of ;)
I can't find my original emails, do you remember the name of the nice woman who normally handles this? Then I can likely find them and beg for another set.
I am beyond anxious now to get a jacket. The pix posted here this week are killing me.
Like you, I'm intrigued by the HH qualities and differences. Thanks for the detailed info!

Merry Christmas to you too sir! :)
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Yes! Amanda. Thank you. I found the emails and requested the new samples of HH only.
I originally was looking to replace an old, cheaper B3, but now it's HH Highwayman for me!

Thanks again,
Scott

ButteMT61,

Link to Aero contact page:

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/contact.php

The nice lady you are referring to is Amanda. "Amanda @ Aeroleather" <amanda@aeroleatherclothing.com>

Cheers and Merry Christmas,

Mac
 

Graemsay

Practically Family
Messages
991
Location
Melbourne
I took a look at the samples at Archer Adams's emporium a couple of weeks ago, and noticed that the oil pull seemed to be a similar thickness to the FQHH, but it felt a bit lighter. As Bonneville mentioned, it's a softer leather too.

I was wondering why this might be the case. Perhaps someone should email Horween to ask about it...
 

WalkingBoy

Familiar Face
Messages
78
Location
Sydney, Australia
Hi, I just received some samples of the brown FQHH, vintage brown and oil pull from Amanda too. It's for a Grizzly i'm planning for next year.

The stiffer Brown FQ is veg tanned, while the lighter Vintage brown seems to me a chrome tannage, making it more pliable, and a little more crease resistant. After a few flexes and creases of the FQ I was a bit shocked that the creases stayed and the colour faded. Only after half dozen times. I think it may be aniline dyed, hence the patchy coloration you see on the flesh side.

I admit I was a bit disappointed by the Brown FQ's tendency to lose colour so quickly. I also noticed that if you run your finger hard up against the flesh side, the colour also fades. I suspect that its not a 'true' veg tannage, as I spoke to a leather supplier about it and he's advised me that its a special type of tanning used for footwear and bag making. It doesn't have a natural or applied sheen or gloss to it but has a waxier finish, despite the photos. I'm fussy maybe but I'm not sold by Aero's Brown FQHH just yet.
 
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