Greg Field vs Himel vs Freewheeler vs Goodwear SHINKI

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. There can only be ONE! LOL

Wish I had that kind of collection. I got Field incoming. Pics I've seen look incredible but got nothing to compare it to.

 

I know the pigment vs non pigment finished Shinki can be a pretty big difference. Pigment will generally be more uniform in color.

 

Here are few pics of Shinki.

All the Goodwear jackets in this album are Shinki.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/coV3dZ5edZruqthQ9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UsJSjW5S75gDOwKW2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PSvCQpp2TzSLhy3J8

Real McCoy

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dbzG32gFeMRswC9s9

Diamond Dave

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nrEZ1Dw3baWjgARf6

Himel Heron

https://goo.gl/photos/zm7N4nyXdNgHK6mN6

 

My favorite one I’ve handled was on @Superfluous black Canuck. It was amazing stuff!

 

if you follow Field Leathers IG, the pictures are there as spoilers. Black teacore with the copper/gold lining. I'll take more when I get it though probably end of next week.

 

You are welcome. I would like to say more, but others do better with words. Each seems a bit different, or in some jackets very different. I think it shows in the pictures. So when you ask for Shinki you will get a lot of different looks.

 

A definitive collection!

 

Only the Poncho Barnes Goodwear remains.

 

It depends on a lot more than just which maker. There are of course the variations between oil tanned and pigmented hides.

Also, I have been told by more than one source that Freewheelers finish the hides themselves, so of course that makes them quite different than anything Himel or Field Leathers gets.

There also seems to be a sort of hierarchy to choice of Shinki hides. Flat Head tends to take the thickest hides available, then I would imagine the Japanese brands get next choice after that. My guess is that Greg does not have as much choice as others do. I think he gets his Shinki from some other supplier. That doesn't mean he can't get great Shinki and that doesn't mean you can't prefer what he has to what the Japanese makers use. It's just that they get more choice in getting exactly what they want.

Greg seems to be able to get some pretty grainy Shinki though while Freewheelers and RMC seem to prefer smoother hides in my experience.

Last I checked, Himel got his Shinki through John Chapman as John was the go to guy in North America for Shinki. If that's true, Himel's and John's shinki would probably be similar, but maybe that's not the case anymore. Would be worth confirming that. My Good Wear jacket I had for a short period was Shinki and was very dull. My least favorite Shinki hide ever, but I've seen examples of Shinki jackets from Good Wear that look nice.

My personal favorite Shinki horsehide examples I've handled are my Freewheelers Caboose, RMC A2, and Himel Cossack jacket. So I have ones I loved from Japanese makers and from a Western maker.

 

And I would like to add for Freewheelers, the characters of their shinki leather finish, even for the same name, seem to vary in different time period. I have two FW jackets, both made from their "Black Jack" leathers. The one from 2017 is still quite stiff even with more wears, compared to 2019 one which is much more shiny and pliable since day 1. Another example are the RMC jackets as shown in the photo attached. Both Shinki teacore leather manufactured in the same year. I believe you can tell the difference from the picture. IMHO and according to my limited experience, I think it really comes down to different characters of each individual jacket, and it really brings more fun to the journey haha.

 

@TheBigEraser absolutely true. Things vary per jacket as well as per year and so on. Part of the reason people like horsehide is the variability in the grain and hide, so it's not surprising that jackets can vary to such a degree.

 

I didn’t carry any measurement tools with me but I didn’t notice significant difference on weight/thickness. I also liked the bottom one more.

 

I've only ever handled 2 shinki jackets so my experience is limited. The brown full aniline (not offered at this time, only 2 jackets made from this hide mine and @MrProper) I received from FL has no top coat, it is pretty smooth to the touch, not a lot of grain, it absorbs water, no squeak, and creates a lot of folds/crease, it seems to be darkening as well. The current offering is mostly pigment finish in black/blue/brown and the black full aniline.

New out the box


3 months of regular wear and some walks with light rain



The FW brown mulholland seems to have a top coat, a little squeaky, feels thicker/heavier, still doesn't seem close to be broken in (hope to take care of this issue this year), lots of grain, it's creased some on the sleeves but I don't think it will ever have pronounced rolls as my FL jacket


These jackets are both shinki but they are so different they might as well be made from different tanneries. They are wonderful on their own and I'm lucky to have them. I do hope to have a dark brown oil tanned himel in the future as that hide looks very nice.