Horsehide or goatskin A2.

[wyiauta]

Hope this hasn't been covered. Can someone advise the difference between horsehide and goatskin? Look, feel, grain, durability, etc. Additionally, what about manufacturer, Good Wear looks like they make fine jackets, but quite pricey and a long wait. What do you suggest?

 

[Jeff M]

Look;
HH generally develops more patina over they years.
Feel; depends on the individual hide/thickness. Goat tends to not break in as much as horse hide. If it's "plasticky" and not soft to begin with, you will have a battle on your hands to try to get it to soften up.
Durability; goat is generally very very resistant to abrasion. HH not as much. Both are very durable and will outlive you.
Grain; depends on the individual hide. In general, I've come across more "grainy" samples of HH than goat. Again, HH will age over the years and give you a nice vintage look. Goat, not as dramatic.

Much depends on the jacket design. Best to pick a jacket/hide based on the individual hide/how it will be used and not just the "kind" of hide.
I'm an A2 addict.
I've owned few goat A2's, many horse hide A2's. Some with great hide, some not so great.
I love a good goat hide on a M422/G1.

To toss in another wild card.....steer hide.
Often indistinguishable from horse.
Vintage WW2 A2's were made from steer hide, as well as horse and goat. Many folks were unsure of this until Gary Eastman had did some testing on some vintage WW2 A2's.
The last A2 I received was a Good Wear Cooper made with horse hide. Quickly became one of my favorites.

Though a photo can be misleading as to how a hide feels/looks in person, here is a link to Good Wear's photo section;

http://www.goodwearleather.com/photos/

 

[Sloan1874]

Eastman and Aero are worth a punt too - if you check the Aero website, there's an A-2 sale on just now, so you could get yourself a bargain there, but of the Eastmans I've handled, and the general opinion by those who know a lot about these things, they are very good and very accurate. (My A-2 is a buffalo hide, but let's not muddy the waters here )

 

[Edward]

Horsehide was the original spec on paper, though I've often heard it said by the experts that goathide originals have survived in greater numbers and better shape. (And we now know many were also steer/cow...). I have an ELC in horse and an Aero in goat. I like both. The goat has stayed "tidier" looking, which can look better with a collar and tie than horse with a lot of patina...

 

[bn1966]

I have an A2 in Horse & an M422A in Goat (both Eastmans) both great jackets, as Edward states & in my experience goat stays "tidier".

 

[Azog]

You'll have to get one of each, but which one first? Whatever you get you'll be curious about the other.

 

[aswatland]

Good Wear is the premier maker of A2 jackets in terms of accuracy. John Chapman's Indian goatskin is awesome and indistinguishable from War time goatskin. He also offers a decent range of horse and cowhide. Although there is a long waiting period for his jackets, the wait is well worth it.

 

[Jeff M]

Good Wear is the premier maker of A2 jackets in terms of accuracy. John Chapman's Indian goatskin is awesome and indistinguishable from War time goatskin. He also offers a decent range of horse and cowhide. Although there is a long waiting period for his jackets, the wait is well worth it.

Yep.