Five Star Leather Jackets

[Bfd70]

Here we go:

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That was such a slow teasing reveal I feel like there should be a 2 drink minimum.

 

[Hobbes1]

That was such a slow teasing reveal I feel like there should be a 2 drink minimum.

Now, that is funny!
Thanks again to everyone who has chimed in with advice and thoughts on this jacket. I hope to be able to provide some better pictures at some point. It's supposed to rain here for the next few days so outdoor, natural light pics will likely have to wait.
I asked Shawn and he told me that this is "semi vegetable tanned, cowhide leather" and that it is a Naked Hide, "and not fixed from outer shell". He also reminded me what a "challenge" it was to construct this jacket
I am now thinking what a challenge it will be to wear this jacket. I like this leather but if I were to get it again, I'd ask for it to be .....skived (is that the word?).....down to maybe 1.4mm or so, no thicker. Also, I think Shawn (if you are reading this) could also improve this hide by tumbling it more and perhaps waxing/oiling it at the factory for a gentler end-user experience (even for a bit of an upcharge). Anyway, I'm really not trying to complain. I knew it was thick leather and I asked for it anyway. Now for the break in process. Wish me luck, all! Cheers!

 

[Hobbes1]

I sprayed mine down with water, threw it into the dryer with tennis balls for 30-45 minutes, resprayed, repeat. It softened right up.

Mine has an overdye on it, not sure how your too coat is, but if you choose to go this route, I'd advise to put it in a pillow case or something because the edges will scuff off.

The jacket loosened up alot and lost alot of the stubbornness. Good luck!

Hi. Did you have this same hide? Same color/weight "CHL"? Shawn didn't say anything about an overdye, just that it is a Naked hide. I took that to mean there was dye in the drum to get this color but otherwise, nothing applied. If I do spray with water, I'm guessing it would just be an even, very light spray? Or, did you try for more of a "topical saturation" not a complete, soggy jacket? Thanks

 

[TheDonEffect]

I have the dark brown, same one Ton and a couple others have, but mine was skived down some. So yes, you might want to wait for others to chime in, I'm def no expert, just sharing my experience.

I sprayed it down in the shower, mostly to simulate rain fall.

 

[Bahabp100]

I have the dark brown, same one Ton and a couple others have, but mine was skived down some. So yes, you might want to wait for others to chime in, I'm def no expert, just sharing my experience.

I sprayed it down in the shower, mostly to simulate rain fall.

Does anyone have the Black CHL yet?

 

[Aloysius]

I've wondered this for a while– what does Shawn mean by CHL? Was it because people kept asking him for thick "CXL" so he made that his own name for comparably chunky leather?

 

[TheDonEffect]

I think it's just the name that was coined here, for a while it was called SXL.

 

[Aloysius]

I think it's just the name that was coined here, for a while it was called SXL.

He uses "CHL" on his own posts and pages, which is why I ask.

What did SXL stand for? What actually is this leather anyway?

 

[Hobbes1]

CHL is semi vegetable tanned Cow Hide Leather. At least, that is what mine is, according to Shawn at 5*.

 

[TheDonEffect]

He uses "CHL" on his own posts and pages, which is why I ask.

What did SXL stand for? What actually is this leather anyway?

It was a nickname, like CXL but SXL, Shawn's CXL, therefore SXL.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I liked SXL, for sexy leather.

 

[Khilij]

Does anyone have experience with Five star's other products, like their wallets and briefcases? Are they made up to the same standard as the jackets?

 

[ton312]

I always assumed CHL simply meant cowhide leather? Crazy hard leather? Classy Ho leather? Cool Heavy Leather? It’s at least 3 of the 4…you decide which. The mystery is part of the allure!

 

[Canuck Panda]

Hi Everyone, This post will be a progress update on my CHL jacket and what I did and plan to do:

I have the first generation CHL jackets and they were too stiff. So I googled how to soften leather. And the most doable (for me) was to wipe it down with alcohol and then rub it with Vaseline.

I did the alcohol rubbing part:

Remember to wear safety goggles and use gloves and do it outside in well ventilated space.

Both dark brown CHL and tan CHL showed an improvement, but slightly. If the scale is to 10, and 10 is stiffest. Dark Brown CHL was 7 now 5, Tan CHL was 5 now 4. There was less improvement felt in the tan one because I've had it longer and worn it before so it started at a better place.

I plan to get some Vaseline in the lotion form and do some rubbing all week. Lol. I plan to wear the tan one to office everyday and give it some daily rubbing. I hope for softness of 3 or less at the end of the week. Will report back.

Two side notes:
1) Leather - I've washed and dried both tan and brown CHL. Neither shrank. This is some tough and dense leather. The toughness of the leather is the only reason I kept it and continue to spend time on them. In comparison, any of my heaviest CXL jackets I could have broken them in after one week of wear everyday. This CHL will take some more time.
2) Fit - I spec my jackets a lot looser than most here I assume. I believe this is the key for thicker leather jackets like the CHL. There is at least 6" difference between the jacket chest circumference and my actual chest circumference. This helps me to wear something soft under the jacket while breaking it in. I also live north of the 49th Parallel. The dark brown one was unwearable before but now it's tolerable.

I have a good feeling that the Vaseline lotion will do the trick.

 

[Hobbes1]

Hi Everyone, This post will be a progress update on my CHL jacket and what I did and plan to do:

I have the first generation CHL jackets and they were too stiff. So I googled how to soften leather. And the most doable (for me) was to wipe it down with alcohol and then rub it with Vaseline.

I did the alcohol rubbing part:
View attachment 368330
View attachment 368331
Remember to wear safety goggles and use gloves and do it outside in well ventilated space.

Both dark brown CHL and tan CHL showed an improvement, but slightly. If the scale is to 10, and 10 is stiffest. Dark Brown CHL was 7 now 5, Tan CHL was 5 now 4. There was less improvement felt in the tan one because I've had it longer and worn it before so it started at a better place.

I plan to get some Vaseline in the lotion form and do some rubbing all week. Lol. I plan to wear the tan one to office everyday and give it some daily rubbing. I hope for softness of 3 or less at the end of the week. Will report back.

Two side notes:
1) Leather - I've washed and dried both tan and brown CHL. Neither shrank. This is some tough and dense leather. The toughness of the leather is the only reason I kept it and continue to spend time on them. In comparison, any of my heaviest CXL jackets I could have broken them in after one week of wear everyday. This CHL will take some more time.
2) Fit - I spec my jackets a lot looser than most here I assume. I believe this is the key for thicker leather jackets like the CHL. There is at least 6" difference between the jacket chest circumference and my actual chest circumference. This helps me to wear something soft under the jacket while breaking it in. I also live north of the 49th Parallel. The dark brown one was unwearable before but now it's tolerable.
View attachment 368338

I have a good feeling that the Vaseline lotion will do the trick.

thanks for posting this. I’ll be following along for your results!

 

[TheDonEffect]

I plan to get some Vaseline in the lotion form and do some rubbing all week. Lol.

Make sure you beat it good too while it's stiff. Ok ok I'll stop.

Good info, for me I just sprayed it down with water and in the dryer with no heat and it softened right up. You are indeed right, when I CXL back, the CXL does break in with less stubbornness. The CHL does have a rubbery memory to it.

 

[Hobbes1]

Man I'm super tempted to order a "Hobbes1". Jacket turned out spectacular!

I would highly recommend ordering this in a different leather I have reached out to Shawn to see about getting this remade (I would pay for it, of course) in a different leather. I'm thinking Premium Goat in black. The pattern is great and I think it's worth having a jacket in this style. I am agonizing now over which hide to get it remade with....Shawn says they have a "semi-vegetable tanned steer hide" that he recommends. So far, I haven't gotten and pics from him though nor any reply when I asked if it had a top coat or was more "naked" like the CHL. I'd prefer naked, to coated.
I really wanted a tan jacket as I don't have one, but the CR I have in P.G. is nice and well made, easy to wear. Maybe if this tan CHL was skived way down but not as it is. I'm planning to text Shawn just to recommend to him one man's opinion that he shouldn't even sell this leather as-is for jackets. IMHO, it should be discontinued or only sold if they take on the responsibility of tumbling the shit out of it, to pre-soften prior to making it into a jacket. I'd hate to see anyone else buy this and have to decide between throwing it away for a loss, or taking on a lot of work to make it comfortable to wear. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with this one ultimately. I do have some Obenauf's oil incoming so will give that a try.

 

[ton312]

I would highly recommend ordering this in a different leather I have reached out to Shawn to see about getting this remade (I would pay for it, of course) in a different leather. I'm thinking Premium Goat in black. The pattern is great and I think it's worth having a jacket in this style. I am agonizing now over which hide to get it remade with....Shawn says they have a "semi-vegetable tanned steer hide" that he recommends. So far, I haven't gotten and pics from him though nor any reply when I asked if it had a top coat or was more "naked" like the CHL. I'd prefer naked, to coated.
I really wanted a tan jacket as I don't have one, but the CR I have in P.G. is nice and well made, easy to wear. Maybe if this tan CHL was skived way down but not as it is. I'm planning to text Shawn just to recommend to him one man's opinion that he shouldn't even sell this leather as-is for jackets. IMHO, it should be discontinued or only sold if they take on the responsibility of tumbling the shit out of it, to pre-soften prior to making it into a jacket. I'd hate to see anyone else buy this and have to decide between throwing it away for a loss, or taking on a lot of work to make it comfortable to wear. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with this one ultimately. I do have some Obenauf's oil incoming so will give that a try.

Give it a good beating/oiling before anything else. If you still can’t stand it, and I can wear it, I’ll buy it from you!

 

[ton312]

Hi Everyone, This post will be a progress update on my CHL jacket and what I did and plan to do:

I have the first generation CHL jackets and they were too stiff. So I googled how to soften leather. And the most doable (for me) was to wipe it down with alcohol and then rub it with Vaseline.

I did the alcohol rubbing part:
View attachment 368330
View attachment 368331
Remember to wear safety goggles and use gloves and do it outside in well ventilated space.

Both dark brown CHL and tan CHL showed an improvement, but slightly. If the scale is to 10, and 10 is stiffest. Dark Brown CHL was 7 now 5, Tan CHL was 5 now 4. There was less improvement felt in the tan one because I've had it longer and worn it before so it started at a better place.

I plan to get some Vaseline in the lotion form and do some rubbing all week. Lol. I plan to wear the tan one to office everyday and give it some daily rubbing. I hope for softness of 3 or less at the end of the week. Will report back.

Two side notes:
1) Leather - I've washed and dried both tan and brown CHL. Neither shrank. This is some tough and dense leather. The toughness of the leather is the only reason I kept it and continue to spend time on them. In comparison, any of my heaviest CXL jackets I could have broken them in after one week of wear everyday. This CHL will take some more time.
2) Fit - I spec my jackets a lot looser than most here I assume. I believe this is the key for thicker leather jackets like the CHL. There is at least 6" difference between the jacket chest circumference and my actual chest circumference. This helps me to wear something soft under the jacket while breaking it in. I also live north of the 49th Parallel. The dark brown one was unwearable before but now it's tolerable.
View attachment 368338

I have a good feeling that the Vaseline lotion will do the trick.

I forgot how cool that two tone is!! I love that jacket!

 

[Aloysius]

Shawn says they have a "semi-vegetable tanned steer hide" that he recommends.

That's funny (not in a bad way). I assume he came up with the "CHL" out of confusion from so many western jacket nerds asking him when he'll have "heavy CXL"; whereas 'semi-vegetable tanned steer' is what actual CXL is.