Legendary Brown HH Wild Stallion...

[Tommer45]

Warning: This is a thread about a guy who purchased a jacket other than an Aero.. I know you guys love Aero over here... so please try not to kill me.

So I did it... I've been eyeing Legendary's Black Stallion for a couple of years now, and a few months ago when I saw it offered in brown I've been scheming to get one. For a short while I was up in the air about whether to get the Legendary or the Aero King of the Road. Aero's horsehide, in my opinion, is by far the most superior horse I've ever laid hands on. My LHB is by far the nicest leather in my closet. I know I would have been happy with the KOR, but I have a history with the Black/Wild Stallion (hours of drooling over it's pictures, reading reviews about it, and just plain wishing I had one). So I knew that if I didn't get it, I'd always feel the need to get one down the road.

A major selling factor was that Legendary now requests that Schott leave OFF the felt fusable, which in my opinion made my Schott 641HH feel spongy and not like real leather. Legendary actually mentioned reading about the felt fusable a while back here on the FL, so that's proof that manufacturers do take what we say seriously. The Wild Stallion I just received feels worlds better than the 641. It feels like real leather.. it's very nice. Aero quality HH? No, but then again what is? (see, I really do like Aero!!) After scrunching up the sleeves for a while as my wife watched one of her beloved reality shows, I was surprised to see so much grain popping out already. I think this jacket is really gonna be a looker down the road.

Forgive my lousy pictures.. I am headed out of town for a film in Boston for a while and just quickly snapped some pics with my cell phone so I could at least get some up here for you guys. As the jacket breaks in I'll of course update this thread.

One of the things I am very happy with is that the quilted lining is very low-profile, and not puffy like the one that was in my 641 (that I eventually had replaced). I feel it will keep me warm and it doesn't add any bulk to the jacket.. the jacket fits and feels as if a standard lining is in it.


Here's a side by side with my Langlitz Cascade just to show the color when compared to a dark brown. In size 46, the Stallion's dimensions are nearly identical to my custom Langlitz. It fits great and freedom of movement is great (that was an area that the Aero concerned me with.. my LHB is a 48 with a huge bi-swing back and it is still annoyingly restrictive when reaching forward or up).

So while I apologize for the shoddy review, I really don't have much to go on being that I just got the jacket yesterday. All I can say is that the build quality is high and so far I am really pleased. Oh and I left the belt off for the pictures in case you were wondering if it came standard or as an option.

More to come...

Tommer

 

[Kid Mac]

Tommer,

Very nice jacket. Your pics show how nice a mc jacket can look in brown; I can see why you chose it. I look forward to seeing more pics after you've worn it a bit.

Cheers,

Mac

 

[JanSolo]

Very nice jacket from a traditional American manufacturer. The colour of their brown horsehide is particularly nice. I wouldn't have bought the jacket if it had felt backing but as this problem was solved this is just a plain beautiful jacket! I would love to wear it.

 

[Tommer45]

Jan, I agree.. one of the things that kept me from ordering another Schott or Legendary was the felt they fused to the horsehide. As soon as I found out Legendary requested no more felt I jumped at the chance. You have a great jacket collection.. been admiring it on here since I joined.

Tommer

 

[pjstrass]

Black Horse HH

I have the Legendary Black Horse with the fusing. ...and was involved with the discussion over this. Now that you have had the non fused for some time, how would you compare the thickness and character of the HH with the Langlitz and Aero and Vanson ? I have a Vanson cowhide which is still like armour. Thanks.

 

[Tommer45]

PJ.. I love the hh of the Legendary. From what I learned from Herman at Legendary, Schott started working much more closely with the production and selection of their horsehide.. and it shows. My hh cafe racer from Schott has a hide that I've never really cared for. Even after removing the felt and having it relined I still never opt to wear it.. I just don't like it. The hh on the Legendary is awesome.. very grainy, fairly soft and very comfortable. I like it much more than my LW hh too. As for Aero, they have the nicest hh I've ever seen so they still get ranked #1, and my Langlitz is a very comfortable cow.

Legendary says the Wild Stallion is 4oz hide, but it feels a bit thinner. My Langlitz and Lost Worlds are quoted as "4+ oz" and they are way thicker. Even so, the Stallion is heavy duty and I have been totally happy with it.

Tommer

 

[jon z]

Tommer

A motorcycle jacket, not black & not Aero!!! You dare to be different with a fantastic result & refreshing. Interesting info. on how Legendary take notice of customer criticism & take appropriate action. Enjoy & thanks for sharing.

John

 

[Bonneville]

I wonder would it be safe to assume that Legendary uses the very same hide as used on your Stallion for their Ace/Cafe HH jackets?
I'm getting the sense also that maybe the HH that Schott uses on their Schott label jackets is not the same as they use for building the Legendarys.?/ Any thoughts?
Ted

PJ.. I love the hh of the Legendary. From what I learned from Herman at Legendary, Schott started working much more closely with the production and selection of their horsehide.. and it shows. My hh cafe racer from Schott has a hide that I've never really cared for. Even after removing the felt and having it relined I still never opt to wear it.. I just don't like it. The hh on the Legendary is awesome.. very grainy, fairly soft and very comfortable. I like it much more than my LW hh too. As for Aero, they have the nicest hh I've ever seen so they still get ranked #1, and my Langlitz is a very comfortable cow.

Legendary says the Wild Stallion is 4oz hide, but it feels a bit thinner. My Langlitz and Lost Worlds are quoted as "4+ oz" and they are way thicker. Even so, the Stallion is heavy duty and I have been totally happy with it.

Tommer

 

[bobmarco]

wise move.. nice jackets!

 

[TheSnark]

Forsooth, unholy heretic, wouldst thou again tempt fate, and twice dare the wrath of vorpal blades lurking just beyond this narrow thread? And would thy companions here count thee brave or foolhardy for wanting discretion? Zounds and Gadzooks, fellows! Mark well the day the holy canon was rent asunder, and pray thee for further blessings of wondrous forbidden images! Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war! More non-Aero, I beg thee! MORE!!!

(Cliff Notes Version: Tommer, could you post some updated pics so we can see how the leather is breaking in? Thanks! )

 

[Edward]

What is the relationship between Scott and Legendary? Same parent company?

 

[Tommer45]

Funny posts, guys! Especially you Snark.

Edward, from what I know Schott makes some/all of Legendary's jackets.

Here are some pics of the Wild Stallion after several thousand miles on the bike and in some rain.

NOTE: I wasn't thrilled with the dull brown color of the Wild Stallion, and as some of you may recall I was very successful in dying one of my russet colored Langlitz Cascades, so I bought some cordovan Fiebings leather dye and worked it into this jacket as well. The result was a much deeper, richer cordovan/brown that I like a lot more.

My one complaint would be that a few of the zippers are too bunched, almost like the zipper tape was a half inch too long for the opening and they scrunched it in there anyway. They all function fine though, but one of the pockets in the back needs to be closed slowly.

Tommer

 

[ukali1066]

Lovely....I much prefer these biker style jackets in brown

 

[TheSnark]

Thanks for the pics, Tommer! Some very nice grain developing on the jacket. And I do like that color... much richer than the factory brown. I'm not familiar with the dye you mentioned, so I'll have to do some homework, but I love your results. I assume you've had no problems with the dye on your Langlitz, or you wouldn't be using it again.

 

[jon z]

Tommer - That was a nice jacket out of the box. With the break-in & the colour change it's stunning. Any chance you could talk me through your dying process, ie what steps, what you use as an applicator, etc, etc? Or is it just buy the dye & rub it in with a cloth?
Cheers
John

 

[erikb02809]

I'd be interested in hearing about how you dyed it as well.

 

[Tommer45]

I've been making leather knife sheaths and belts for a couple of years now and through Tandy Leather Co. I buy Feibing's Leather Dye (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/home/department/Liquids-N/2100-114.aspx?feature=Product_75). I never planned on dyeing my Langlitz, but I hated the color and one night out of the blue I decided that I'd grab my dark brown dye and go for it. I started with any leather on the inside of the jacket as a test, and then moved to the outside.

Here's my process, which I've successfully done on 2 jackets and even a pair of Wesco boots that I turned from "redwood" to dark brown.

-Rather than use a dauber wand, I cut up an old t-shirt. I'd fold up a section, hold it on top of the bottle of dye and turn it upside down so the t-shirt would start to soak. I'd then rub it into the leather..really working it in. The reason I don't use a dauber wand on large pieces of leather is that it can be hard to avoid seeing lines where the amount of dye wasn't equally distributed. I find that with the t-shirt I got much better coverage.

-You have to be careful of the zippers, as sometimes the dye will permanently stain the metal, so I used painters tape and taped off the zips.

-After the entire jacket is covered (the Wild Stallion took me the full length of a movie to do) I let it sit for a half hour and dry. I find that with some leather dyes you can see a green sheen if too much dye was applied, so after about a half hour I then take a fairly wet wash cloth (or the rest of the t-shirt), and vigorously rub down the jacket. Some dye and the green sheen will come off.

-I'll then let the jacket dry overnight and the next day I check to see if it needs a reapplication of dye anywhere. I'll let the jacket dry another day or two (it'll already feel dry) and then apply a leather dressing. Whether the dressing is needed or not I don't know, it's just what I've been doing...kinda makes me feel like I'm sealing in that dye.

The only thing I've noticed is that over time some of the dye will fade, but overall I love the look. In the pic below you can see small patches on my Langlitz that are slightly more faded, but I feel it adds to the look. The picture below was taken a solid year after dying the jacket.

I don't think I left anything out.. if I did I'll just add it later. And just remember I'm no leather dying expert... and I'm sure that depending on what leather you're dying your results WILL VARY. I'd feel terrible if someone ruined a jacket based on my success with dyes!

Tommer

 

[1087]

Funny posts, guys! Especially you Snark.

Edward, from what I know Schott makes some/all of Legendary's jackets.

Here are some pics of the Wild Stallion after several thousand miles on the bike and in some rain.

NOTE: I wasn't thrilled with the dull brown color of the Wild Stallion, and as some of you may recall I was very successful in dying one of my russet colored Langlitz Cascades, so I bought some cordovan Fiebings leather dye and worked it into this jacket as well. The result was a much deeper, richer cordovan/brown that I like a lot more.

My one complaint would be that a few of the zippers are too bunched, almost like the zipper tape was a half inch too long for the opening and they scrunched it in there anyway. They all function fine though, but one of the pockets in the back needs to be closed slowly.

Tommer

It looks absolutely awesome!
Can you elaborate in your dye process?
Better can I send you my Wild Stallion and you do it for me?
Great job!

 

[TheSnark]

Thanks for the info, Tommer .

Duly noted that the Langlitz was NOT your first attempt at dying leather, and that anything I do is entirely at my own risk. (Which means, of course, that I will cuss at you under my breath, but I can't blame you out loud ). I'm sure I can find some really cheap low-quality hides or leather scraps to practice on.

 

[jon z]

^^^Seconded^^^

Just one thing more if you wouldn't mind. How do you get the dye to the edge of the inner facings where they meet the lining without the dye leaching into the lining?