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Lewis Leathers Jacket Ripped/Thoughts?/For Sale.

Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
Hello all,

This is my first thread here, I often stay well away from any kind of comment sections and forums as the anonymity of the internet seems to bubble up the most unpleasant traits in people, however, from what I’ve seen this community seems like a lovely supportive bunch so here goes. Please be kind.

I’ll try not to ramble on too long but it’ll require a fair bit of back story, so I bought this Lewis Leathers jacket second hand from Gumtree. Now I must stress this isn’t my first rodeo, I own two other Lewis Leathers jackets that I purchased directly from their store, one way back in 2010 (cowhide Corsair, that jacket cost £600 back then, what a pleasant thought compared to now eh) and another in 2014. They’re both in complete working order, one of which I’ve worn a heck of lot and looking great.

Now the only reason I mention the other jackets is that I knew what the gumtree LL jacket should look like, materials, fabrics, all that jazz. Anyway I met the chap in person and was like, ‘oh yeah this the real deal’. So I snapped it up, that was about 4 years ago. It’s a horsehide Dominator, first horsehide jacket I have ever owned, was very impress with how solid it felt and the shine.

Anyway, onto a recent incident. So I’ve not worn the jacket too often over the past 3-4 years, was more of a special occasion item as in terms of leather jackets it felt quite dressy, didn’t look as casual as cowhide. I kept thinking ‘wow this jacket still looks so new, gonna be a while before I get a good patina’. Sorry I’m digressing again!

So I was at a party and my cousin picked me up under the arms. So picture a hand by each armpit and hoisted up so there would be a fair amount of pressure on the stitching. I didn’t feel it at the time but my nephew told me later on ‘there’s a hole under your arm’. I was like ‘eh? Na no way’. I went to the bathroom to find that both sleeves had completely torn away from the body underneath, madness! It took me a few days to work out how it happened, then I remembered being picked up under the arms as I was blocking his route, of course it was just an amusing gesture and it wasn’t aggressive in anyway but it did irk me a bit when I realised the cause.

Now I’ve seen discussions about the dangers of over stitching on horsehide, the stiffness of the leather can cause small cracks rather than pin holes, and over stitching could just create a real area of weakness. But let’s face it, this shouldn’t have torn like that right? You would like to
think they could withstand some serious rough handling. I’m not a heavy guy, 65 KG, yet this jacket didn’t put up much of a fight at all.

I don’t want to put the fear in anyone with a horsehide jacket but what are your thoughts? D’ya think that incident if recreated would tear on other jackets?

So the damage is mainly to the under arms, the body hasn’t torn at all being the that the zipper is on the outer panel that a pretty decent repeat job could be done on this jacket. I’m no expert on repairs though! T

hat leads me also to add on, does anyone want to purchase this jacket for £120? I understand it might be a bit like ‘why would anyone want to buy this?’ but if ya know of a good repair gaff, or perhaps you could do it yourself this jacket may yet be saved. I’m in the UK, will post anywhere within the UK.

Give yourself a pat on the back for reading through my waffle, look forward to reading what people make of the tear incident.
 

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Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
Apologies the ‘repair’ paragraph was a mess, I meant to say that as the tear is only on the underarms, that a good repair may be possible, as the zipper side panels are undamaged. Hopefully that’ll make better sense now.
 

mvilla

A-List Customer
Messages
497
Location
Bristol, UK
Wasn't supposed to happen, I'd reckon... It is disappointing to say the least.
Anyway, there are a few places and people in UK that I believe would be able to fix it for you.
 

Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
Wasn't supposed to happen, I'd reckon... It is disappointing to say the least.
Anyway, there are a few places and people in UK that I believe would be able to fix it for you.
‘Ello, cheers for the reply! Yeah my thoughts too, shouldn’t really happen eh. Ah yeah I might look into a quote for a repair but I also wouldn’t mind selling it on, wave goodbye to what could have been.
 

Canuck Panda

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,577
What he said, sleeve underarm panel needs replacing. The rest of the jacket looks solid, lots of life left. Freak accidents happens. Party sounded like a lot of fun though.
 

Will Zach

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,686
Location
SoFlo
I think it can be fixed by a skilled leather worker. You may lose a bit of the sleeve length. But the whole episode is baffling. It really should not have failed like that. Yes, armpits of the jacket are not designed to take heavy stresses, but still...
 

Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
What he said, sleeve underarm panel needs replacing. The rest of the jacket looks solid, lots of life left. Freak accidents happens. Party sounded like a lot of fun though.
Haha yeah, had I never been picked up I suppose this would never have happened, does feel like something would have occurred eventually though given both split the minute moment they took some stress. Thanks for the reply.
 

Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
Yeah 100% agree, not ideal at all the moment they take a bit of stress they completely split. D’ya know I always felt the sleeve length was a little too long so that wouldn’t be an issue losing some length. Thanks for the reply.
I think it can be fixed by a skilled leather worker. You may lose a bit of the sleeve length. But the whole episode is baffling. It really should not have failed like that. Yes, armpits of the jacket are not designed to take heavy stresses, but still...
 

Arron

New in Town
Messages
8
It looks like the actual leather ripped, not just a seam?
Hello, yeah it has unfortunately. The tear began at the seam and then for whatever reason, the force went through the leather. You can see a zigzag quality to the tear around seam which sort of reveals how the stitching has caused splits or multiple little weaknesses. Then I assume that energy had to go somewhere, so likely stopped when it reach a better bit of solid stitching around the seam and zoomed through the leather. Agree with everyone else, not the best scenario, shouldn’t really happen. Reveals some mishaps in the ol’ horsehide production method. Thanks for the message.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,005
Location
London, UK
That does seem odd. I'd agree with @TREEMAN : I'd have Lewis look it over (and give you an estimate for repair - they won't be the cheapest, but if they will take repairs on they are surely best placed to do that on their own work). They might be able to give you some indication as to what happened, which could be peace of mind if you're concerned about a repeat.
 

mvilla

A-List Customer
Messages
497
Location
Bristol, UK
Good luck talking to Lewis... I tried sending mine just to restitch under the arm, they gave me a quote and then proceed to tell me they couldn't do the service because I hadn't bought the jacket from them.
 

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