Field Leathers

[Boulderunner]

I'm not sure you understand how a sheep works...

No pretty sure I do…just wondering if typically the fur is added after the fact, like a mister freedom Baloo, or if it’s bought with the fur attached .also I’m not looking for motorcycle armor. Or a bulky poorly fitting lost worlds jacket in super thick chrome tanned cow hide to stuff with plates. I’m looking for road rash protection only.

 

[Boulderunner]

I love how everybody has such strong opinions and presents themselves as an expert…..this is the first sentence from “cruising” motorcycle magazine…..I completely disagree that Lewis is a fashion brand anymore……

 

[ton312]

Is

Is there a difference between regular old sheepskin leather, and whatever they call it when the sherling is attached? Is it the same leather they just glue or sew sherling to it. I’ve had a few people tell me they ride in sheepskin Lewis leather monzas. The leather def feels different then sherling

Well yes there is definitely a difference in terms of how the skins are processed but the frail nature of sheepskin (in any form) makes it super prohibitive in terms of abrasion resistance.
Shearling leaves the wool, trimmed on the hide. The sheepskin used in LL jackets has had the wool fully removed. In the article you posted above the author concedes a “reasonable” abrasion resistance. I don’t know what is considered reasonable. For me, there is no substitute for chrome tanned cow or horse. I have heard kangaroo is superior to both but have never owned a roo jacket.
Of the few sheepskin jackets I’ve owned, not a single one felt it would offer equal protection compared to any cow or horse I have owned.
But what one chooses to wear in this regard is purely a matter of choice. I see guys in shorts and flip flops blasting down the Dan Ryan with a thicc chick in a bikini struggling to hold on all the time. Certainly anything is better than that.

 

[FullSnd716]

Did anyone order the new offering from Field Leather?

 

[willyto]

Well yes there is definitely a difference in terms of how the skins are processed but the frail nature of sheepskin (in any form) makes it super prohibitive in terms of abrasion resistance.
Shearling leaves the wool, trimmed on the hide. The sheepskin used in LL jackets has had the wool fully removed. In the article you posted above the author concedes a “reasonable” abrasion resistance. I don’t know what is considered reasonable. For me, there is no substitute for chrome tanned cow or horse. I have heard kangaroo is superior to both but have never owned a roo jacket.
Of the few sheepskin jackets I’ve owned, not a single one felt it would offer equal protection compared to any cow or horse I have owned.
But what one chooses to wear in this regard is purely a matter of choice. I see guys in shorts and flip flops blasting down the Dan Ryan with a thicc chick in a bikini struggling to hold on all the time. Certainly anything is better than that.

The Top end motorcycle suits are made of Kangaroo leather. That says something about it.

 

[Canuck Panda]

@FullSnd716 I got one this morning.
For £850 I thought it was a great deal. Especially compared to the used McCoy ones I was looking at from Japan. ¥300,000 new, ¥200,000 used with bald sleeve ends and bald hems and no sizing.
The website didn’t want to work with my IPad or I’m just too old. Had to use my phone to log in and complete the transaction.
it’s probably one of the worst time to introduce a shearling jacket, spring is here, tax filing is next month. but in business failures are just as valuable as success.

 

[TG3]

I absolutely love this leather. Lots of character and variation in color in regards to direct and indirect sunlight.

It was a cold ass winter so it didn't get as much wear as I'd like but it is starting to take shape.

 

[Aloysius]

There is a difference between

this is actually a really interesting topic (to me at least), from what I can gather, there seems to be some distinction between sheepskins. Lewis leathers makes an entire line of motorcycle jackets in sheepskin. It’s their signature hide. Langlitz, addict and various other makers have sheepskin variants of their jackets and what was explained to me is these are different than sheepskin with sherling which is somehow much less abrasion resistant. Maybe sherling sheepskin is skived down or something. Someone told me that goat and sheepskin have been used for a long time here in the southwest US as warm weather motorcycle jackets. Shoot I hope that is correct because I’ve been riding around in my AD10 sheepskin jacket in the summer. Anybody care to weigh in? Maybe the Lewis leather sheepskin jackets really aren’t made for actual motorcycle use, I’m no expert.

A few points:

Addict is a fashion brand that exists so people in Japan can have cheaper (there) copies of Lewis Leathers. Yes, some idiots import it to the west at a higher cost to LL so that they can soil their pants at the thought of “made in Japan”, but I guarantee Addict buyers in Japan would find that strange.

Yes, English kids in the mid-20th century wore a great deal of sheepskin, but bear in mind that their motorcycle “protection” was more about cold than falls and scrapes. Most everyone rode a bike because cars were unaffordable; think traffic jam more than racetrack. You’ll note that when Lewis started making suits for sport riders, they switched to an abrasion resistant cowhide with a strong topcoat.

Shearling is just “sheepskin with the hair still on it”.

Goat and sheep are not even remotely comparable hides. It’s not like horse vs cow, which are about identical.

Goat is an extremely tough and hardy hide. Sheep (and lamb) are softer, more comfortable hides with little in the way of abrasion resistance.

Goat is perhaps most similar to kangaroo hide, which is even thinner and more abrasion resistant.

I love how everybody has such strong opinions and presents themselves as an expert…..this is the first sentence from “cruising” motorcycle magazine…..I completely disagree that Lewis is a fashion brand anymore……
View attachment 499574 View attachment 499574

This reads like a machine-generated article, which I’m guessing it is.

 

[TartuWolf]

@TartuWolf ^^^
Almost like the Pacific but with button cuffs

Gorgeous!
Found some back pictures and story as well:
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/field-leathers.100211/post-2953790
The back is also like the Pacific.
Made me think about adding zippers on the handwarmer pockets for the Pacific.

 

[TG3]

Gorgeous!
Found some back pictures and story as well:
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/field-leathers.100211/post-2953790
The back is also like the Pacific.
Made me think about adding zippers on the handwarmer pockets for the Pacific.

Thank you. The jacket turned out great. Who originally made the pacific?

Here was my original sketch. But after discussing with Greg, we removed the side pulls and the coin pocket to go with a more sleek design.

 

[oskar]

I can’t imagine a worse hide for protective purposes, than sheepskin. I wouldn’t trust goat either. For a light weight hide I think Kangaroo is the best choice. Despite its ugly appearance, Vansons current comp weight is leaps and bounds above anything Lewis Leathers offers for the purpose of protective gear. LL to me is absolutely not protective gear. Not in any way shape or form (and I don’t think they are trying to be).

Goat is great. I played around with some samples and tried to scratch them. Very easy to do with cow and horse. On the other hand it was very very hard to do with goat.

 

[Aloysius]

Goat is great. I played around with some samples and tried to scratch them. Very easy to do with cow and horse. On the other hand it was very very hard to do with goat.

Goat is not sheep.

 

[TartuWolf]

@TG3
The "Pacific" is just a one of Simmons Bilt models. The one that I'm planning to order to be more specific.
https://simmonsbilt.com/products/pacific
Canuck Panda mentioned me because it is quite similar to your lovely FL jacket.
If I can get a similar look and fit - I'll be a very happy man.
How's the quilted lining by the way?
I'm going with "Cotton Black Watch Tartan" lining with my order.
Also are you happy with going zipped hand warmers?

 

[Marc mndt]

The "Pacific" is just a one of Simmons Bilt models. The one that I'm planning to order to be more specific.
https://simmonsbilt.com/products/pacific

Those double side adjusters make my eyes bleed. They have no business on a 'stripped down biker jacket'. There never was a biker jacket like this, other than 80s /90s junk or the Lewis Leathers lightning, but this is not the Lewis Leathers lightning . And you don't want a premium quality jacket to have features that signal 80s /90s junk.

 

[Aloysius]

They wouldn’t be so bad if they were right next to each other but the spacing generates a hideous look.

But then again I read through the Simmons thread the other day and virtually all of their designs look visually ‘off’ in some way. I get that they’re trying to cover up the stolen patterns but at that point they should have sticked to the original, attractive designs…

 

[oskar]

Goat is not sheep.

I quoted the wrong sentence xD

 

[HIGHQUALITYLOWKEY]

Something like that. Murawski is an electrition and outdoor enthusiast, so he writes on ‘rugged’ brands from the perspective of someone who uses the stuff, as opposed to a fashion perspective. He does collabs with companies to develop special limited runs of things that aren’t part of the regular collection (yet–they usually become so, if the special run is successful). His company name is his name, so I think you must have been under the impression that it was an order for one person. It wasn’t. It’s a company.

Last year he did it with Nick’s boots for a special run of Tanker boots that look like the original 1940s examples, but contain all of the work boot refinements. These are now available as part of the standard line, albeit without the deadstock soles.

View attachment 491834

I expect there will be new Field jackets to the spec the two of them developed.

To be fair, I'm both a "guy" and a "company" ...at least last time I checked. It's true though, I've had the privilege of working with some amazing craftsmen and craftswomen to bring my ideas to life. It feels a little odd to see my name on something another person built, but I'm really proud of each and every collaboration.

 

[HIGHQUALITYLOWKEY]

@FullSnd716 I got one this morning.
For £850 I thought it was a great deal. Especially compared to the used McCoy ones I was looking at from Japan. ¥300,000 new, ¥200,000 used with bald sleeve ends and bald hems and no sizing.
The website didn’t want to work with my IPad or I’m just too old. Had to use my phone to log in and complete the transaction.
it’s probably one of the worst time to introduce a shearling jacket, spring is here, tax filing is next month. but in business failures are just as valuable as success.

Absolutely true! I checked this morning and we've sold just about 50 of the shearling B3 in about 24 hours. The original idea was to release the jacket in November of 2022, but Greg is fanatical about the details and needed more time to work it out. In the end I'm really happy we waited until it was ready (even if the weather will be getting warmer soon!). Hopefully people will have their orders for next winter and enjoy them until they get passed down!

 

[barnabus]

I love how everybody has such strong opinions and presents themselves as an expert…..this is the first sentence from “cruising” motorcycle magazine…..I completely disagree that Lewis is a fashion brand anymore……
View attachment 499574 View attachment 499574

Have you already asked LL if they recommend their sheep leather jackets for riding?

With all the opinions around, it would be interesting to hear theirs.

 

[TartuWolf]

@Marc mndt @Aloysius
Yes, very nice to have "make my eyes bleed" and "hideous" thrown at the something I'm planning to order. Thank you for your constructive feedback. On the positive side it makes the forum more reflective of the real world where people throw their opinions at you whether you like it or not if you go for something out of the ordinary and decide to show up in public space. Reminds me of the days in my past when I had long dreadlocks and would get random insults somewhat regularly on the streets. But I'm sure both you and those guys on the streets simply meant to help me steer clear of poor choices.