DIY - Removing the Lining from Leather Vest

[LordOfLeather]

I've never been a leather vest guy. Some of you make it look great (thinking of you, @MrProper ), but it's never been a style choice I've thought I could pull off. I began to reconsider my stance after too many hot days on a motorcycle in busy, slow, city traffic. Roasting in a full jacket (even a light-medium weight one), is just miserable. So last year I decided to get a vest. I didn't want anything special, just functional. I only planned to wear it on days that are too hot for a jacket, so function and affordability were key.

I ended up buying two -- one black and one brown -- from First MFG clearance sale. I've had some experience with this brand in the past. They make very affordable, but surprisingly good quality riding jackets and vests. They aren't heritage, wearable art, or handmade by someone noteworthy, but I've found them to fit well and be constructed to last.

The vests fit perfectly and are made of thick, grainy, oily, chrome-tanned leather with a great hand. But unfortunately, the lining was 100% polyester. The website said it has a mesh lining, but that's only true of the back panel. The front has a thick, unbreathable lining with the look and feel of canvas, but even less breathable. The back side of this is like a plastic tarp -- shiny, smooth and un-porous. I'm not sure if it was a waterproofing attempt, or what, but the vests felt like wearing a plastic bag. With four (yes, 4!) interior pockets, this lining was two, three, and four layers thick in some places.

I wore them a bit last summer, but found I became sweatier than if I wore a full jacket with a wool lining. I still can't comprehend why they would use this material for a vest. The only time I want a vest is when the heat is excessive, so it's counterproductive to use a synthetic material for the lining.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1.../AF1QipPM1f4n1-fogoexwcOJxUKOBli5PUf5Dd4hvCy8
I thought for a while about removing the lining but was hesitant to go through with it. For one thing, I didn't want to get in over my head and end up messing something up. For another thing, I didn't want to ruin someone's hard work. Synthetic or not, the vests were very well-constructed.

I finally said "**** it" during this summer's heat wave, and I'm so glad I did. Behold, the unattractive but perfectly functional, unlined version:

From the outside, and when worn, it looks better than it did before, as the very busy lining pockets showed some lumps that are now gone.

By the way, I like this leather more than some leather on jackets that cost 10 to 20 times as much. It's their Platinum Naked Cowhide. Claims to be 1.4mm thick. All I know is I have a cafe racer from them in the same leather and it weighs more than my Comp Weight Vanson Chopper, but looks and feels much nicer.

If, for some reason, you're interested in this vest for yourself, it's called the Venom vest. I'm wearing a size small, despite my 6'1", 195 lbs. stature. "Merica!

While I won't be casually rocking a leather vest for style anytime soon, I'm very pleased with this functional solution to riding on hot days.

Cheers!

 

[Chevalier]

I think it looks great! You did a very careful job removing the lining. Do you think the lining was designed in a misguided attempt to “wind proof” the vest for riding? Your modification takes better advantage of the breathability of the leather.
Did you also give up the internal pocket on the chest? Was the pocket leather lined, or just made of the same lining material with a leather edge for the snaps?
You pull off the vest look well, IMHO

 

[LordOfLeather]

I think it looks great! You did a very careful job removing the lining. Do you think the lining was designed in a misguided attempt to “wind proof” the vest for riding? Your modification takes better advantage of the breathability of the leather.
Did you also give up the internal pocket on the chest? Was the pocket leather lined, or just made of the same lining material with a leather edge for the snaps?
You pull off the vest look well, IMHO

Thanks! I wore it with a tank top underneath last week, and suffered a reasonable amount of teasing from my wife.

I hadn’t considered wind proofing, but that makes a lot of sense. Again, though, I don’t know who’s that bothered by the wind. It’s part of the whole motorcycle experience.

I did give up the internal pockets. They were made of the same canvas type material as the lining. The hand warmer pockets, on the other hand are made of soft leather, which is a nice touch!

 

[Edward]

Wind-proofing would have been my guess. It seems more directly logical than rain-proofing in a sleeveless garment, though to be fair if one was to wear a vest over another leather jacket, if riding in rain it's the body, especially the back of the shoulders, where I think rain would compromise your dryness fastest... I'm guessing the sizes running so big is probably because some folks do wear them over a jacket, at least in some places, part of the year. The large, one-piece back would I imagine make it very suitable for colours for folks in patch clubs; I wouldn't be surprised if they sell a lot for that purpose.

Nice job on removing the lining. I've often considered a vest as a practical alternative to a jacket in all but the worst heat. Got my eye on something from Field currently, and eventually a black Shackleton from Aero. I do have a Helston's vest currently (a model sadly no longer in production). Canvas with leather pocket-trim and a leather panel over the shoulders. I picked it up for long-haul flying with work in Summer, to and from hot climates, when and where a jacket isn't manageable. Enough exterior pockets for passports, tickets, mp3 player, and departure / arrival wallets, means there's nothing in my trousers - easy at airport security. Day to day for a vest, all I need is a good wallet / phone pocket. Not a big fan of the designs with dedicated interior pockets for everything, though: experience is they never quite work that way.

 

[Edward]

I hadn’t considered wind proofing, but that makes a lot of sense. Again, though, I don’t know who’s that bothered by the wind. It’s part of the whole motorcycle experience.

Probably depends on climate. I'm not familiar with Michigan this time of year, but I remember gonig out on my dad's bike for the first time in August, about thirty years ago, back in the north of Ireland. Hitting fifty on the open road there, it's surprising just how much colder it gets the first time you experience it!