How do you get wrinkles out of a Horsehide Jacket?

[handymike]

Now that I have your attention, here's the situation:
I've been watching eBay for a couple of years hoping to find a great vintage HH jacket. In that time, I keep finding guys in Thailand and Indonesia that have some great ones, but they always look as if they've been stored in a trashbag in someones humid basement for years. I mean these look wrinkled!!! Linen shirt wrinkled- not the good wear and tear kind. I once asked a seller how to get rid of the untidyness, and I was told to iron the coat with a steam iron.
What do you all think?
Would they come out? How could one go about getting rid of them?
Or should I pass cause the jacket is a goner?
Here's what I'm talking about:




Thanks.

 

[Jeff M]

Ride that puppy.
Ride it hard.

 

[Novos]

Man, in my experience I would tread carefully with sellers out of Thailand, not because their product isn't good or they aren't good sellers, but every jacket has stunk to high heaven. The extreme humidity is not leather's friend, and this means lots of humidity/musty smells. Some jackets have mellowed out over time, but by and large the smell remains.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I spend my life trying to put wrinkles in them.

2 answers.

1. Wash/soak it and dry it under some heavy items to flatten it.

2. Find a leather tailor who can use a leather steam press to flatten it out.

Over on COW there was talk about a press used to flatten out seams after alteration - I wonder if it's just a standard steam press.

 

[simonc]

I'll wager a good old fashioned steam press that a dry cleaner usually has would blast the creases out.

 

[rocketeer]

I would think it would depend on how long the jacket had been stored folded or stashed so that wrinkles developed. OK, it not horse but I once bought a G1 that had a pocket folded back on itself. So, I rubbed a little leather conditioner on it then clamped the pocket flap between two pieces of wood and left it for around 2 weeks. When I took the clamps off the flap was nice and flat, after about 2-hrs the crease had re formed itself.
I would think after a few years storage the leather would stretch on one side of the fold and shrink(compress) on the other.
Ironing with a steam iron may shrink the leather, I tried this with another jacket and ended up binning it due to vast shrinkage. I would never dry a leather garment next to extreme heat such as an iron, steam or not.
Try to get an answer from someone who can say "This works I have done it". Seb says:

1. Wash/soak it and dry it under some heavy items to flatten it.

2. Find a leather tailor who can use a leather steam press to flatten it out.

Maybe these ideas have worked for him. Just how long do you leave it(1.)?

Just my experiences with old leather.
J

 

[handymike]

Thanks so far guys...
Has anyone ever had a jacket in this condition????
I once found an Aero FQHH 50s HB in this state ( can you imagine getting the wrinkles out of that stuff).