I bought and RMC Buco j-24 and found a scar on the leather. Help me determine if it’s considered character or not.

[zebedee]

What has become interesting is the intense focus on detail that people have. Reactions veer between: 'That missing cuff! It's nothing, suck it up and love it!' and 'I found a pore that is irregular. I cannot bear an irregular pore. Wait - what if that pore is, in fact, the regular one and all the others are flaws?'

...and then price gets factored in. 'At 7,000 dollars, I expect less shine on the leather and delivery only on Wednesday afternoons in four months' time. The manufacturer's assistant said over the phone that it could be Wednesday, but wasn't sure when on Wednesday. I was, frankly, appalled and threw invective and comparisons far and wide. Here are photos of the jacket- confirm my outrage or soothe my huffing cries and help me feel joy again. I am also going to order another jacket at increased price next week.'

 

[Mich486]

All has been said already but please don’t be that guy asking for partial refunds…. Send it back for a full refund or keep it.

 

[Marc mndt]

What has become interesting is the intense focus on detail that people have.

I think it's perfectly normal to focus on details like these.

The more I pay for a product the more I expect the product, its details and the buying experience as a whole to be perfect. What else would I be paying big bucks for if not perfection and attention to detail?

If I go to a Michelin star restaurant I focus more on details than when eating at Denny's. Not only do I expect good tasting food, I also expect the dish to look good and my chair to be pulled out. Anything less and I'm dissatisfied.

 

[Monitor]

The more I pay for a product the more I expect the product, its details and the buying experience as a whole to be perfect. What else would I be paying big bucks for if not perfection and attention to detail?

But what is perfection in this case? Leather is a fundamentally imperfect... Material, so to refer to it.

To me, a perfect leather is the kind with as many & as pronounced grain, creases, cuts, nicks, bite-marks, pores, etc. with patent leather being on the opposite side of the spectrum - Which quite a few people nowadays seem to be wanting out of their very expensive leather jackets, without realizing it is what they're actually after.

Perfectly uniform, flat leather that isn't full-grain leather, is not what leather is nor something anyone should be expecting out of it.

Top-grain/corrected/sanded leather exists for a reason.

 

[Marc mndt]

To me, a perfect leather is the kind with as many & as pronounced grain, creases, cuts, nicks, bite-marks, pores, etc.

That may be so but in the world of leather scarred hides are cheaper than flawless hides. Cheaper because considered imperfect.

 

[Monitor]

That may be so but in the world of leather scarred hides are cheaper than flawless hides. Cheaper because considered imperfect.

In the world of leather marketing.

All hide is scarred but tanneries that charge more take greater care to either source the cleanest possible hides - Which couldn't possibly any less financially viable - or mask the cuts and bite-marks (this RMC, for example & again, something I'm perfectly cool with).

As you no doubt know, cowhide/horsehide/goatskin/etc. is a meat industry byproduct. Before the moment the raw hide reaches any of the tanneries, zero care was taken to prevent the animal from getting scraped on a barbed wire or so it wouldn't get bitten.

Tanneries then have to work with what little they have and there is indeed little of it left, henceforth markings on the OP's jacket. This isn't a QC issue, it's RMC trying to make 10 jackets instead of 8. And that's okay!

But regardless of the price, it is a logical fallacy to expect flawlessness from, again, something that essentially can only be expected to come in a form that statistically speaking, MUST be considered flawed.

Result, as evident by this thread alone, is a one way ticket dismay, overthinking, over-questioning and aggravation.

 

[Blackadder]

Don'tr people often say facial scar adds character? Whether one likes it is a different matter but it is what many people say about facial scar, isn't it?
Besides it was developed over the animal's lifetime, same as grain on a jacket that develops over time only that this is developed before it became a jacket. Scratches and creases cause by the wearer are often referred to as character, are these not scratches cause by previous wearer of that skin?
The skin have tons of imperfections, many not so plain to the eyes. Return it if the imperfections are so obvious that they bother you.

 

[Carlos840]

All has been said already but please don’t be that guy asking for partial refunds…. Send it back for a full refund or keep it.

+1 to that. You are not entitled to a partial refund, you are not entitled to a free exchange.
They sent you a jacket that doesn't have any abnormal defect and to try to get a free return, exchange or discount is IMO a crappy attitude to have.
Keep the jacket or return it at your own cost, but don't try to get freebies out of it, it sucks.

 

[Carlos840]

That may be so but in the world of leather scarred hides are cheaper than flawless hides. Cheaper because considered imperfect.

I disagree, i would say that 90% of my jackets have at least one mark similar to what is pointed out by the OP.
Skin has scars, leather jackets are made from skins, leathersjackets have scars, it's normal.

I agree that an imperfection that has depth, ie a nasty mosquito bite, that does a weird well in the finish, should be avoided, but a perfectly healed scar is IMO not a problem or a defect. It's just life.

 

[Kenan]

+1 to that. You are not entitled to a partial refund, you are not entitled to a free exchange.
They sent you a jacket that doesn't have any abnormal defect and to try to get a free return, exchange or discount is IMO a crappy attitude to have.
Keep the jacket or return it at your own cost, but don't try to get freebies out of it, it sucks.

You are probably right. I don’t know it just felt bad to see something like this especially when it’s the second jacket I get from them that has issues. First one being more obvious as the zipper was faulty. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with it. As you see some would say that scars like this could have and should have been avoided and other people (like yourself) say that this is perfectly normal. Triggering point for me is the price I payed and my initial worry was if the leather wasn’t A grade like on the rest of the jacket or if the scar could be a “weak” spot.

 

[Bfd70]

Keep it. Examining any jacket whether $200 or $2000 will lead to disappointment. In watch collecting they say “the loupe is not your friend.” Guess what, $12,000 rolex are not perfect. wear it hard as it was meant to be and put a few dozen more blemishes on it.

 

[Brandrea33]

Considering one of the selling points of those McCoys Buco jackets is how quickly they age and look beat up, it really wouldnt bother me in the slightest - it will be bascailly impossible to find when the leather gets broken in/moved around a bit. Example - heres my Buco J24 - Im pretty sure it had similar marks when it was new, but its bascailly irrelevant now, and ive not worn it much at all - View attachment 431989

That’s a beauty!

 

[Damon141]

Keep it. Examining any jacket whether $200 or $2000 will lead to disappointment. In watch collecting they say “the loupe is not your friend.” Guess what, $12,000 rolex are not perfect. wear it hard as it was meant to be and put a few dozen more blemishes on it.

100% agree, anything expensive that you examine too closely will often lead to disappointment.

As a guy who grew up around horses , I’m surprised that there are jackets without blemishes, they love to scratch against barb wire, trees, go through post rail. They are accident prone. Some of these brands like Y’2 and Fine Creek with this unnaturally smooth shiny leather on their instagram photos, they seem corrected.

 

[Angel]

A lot of wise things said.
Fact is, you're thinking a lot about this scar.
If you feel more doubt than joy with your new jacket you better send it back (great to have that option!). A 2000$ jacket should make YOU happy!

Or you give it a chance and maybe will one day love what makes this jacket your jacket. It won't be the last scar or scratch.

There is no right or wrong. You've got to decide. And no one is to blame.

Cheers!

 

[AeroFan_07]

No matter if you keep or return/exchange this one, I will say that this well-broken in example is well worth looking forward to!!

Considering one of the selling points of those McCoys Buco jackets is how quickly they age and look beat up, it really wouldnt bother me in the slightest - it will be bascailly impossible to find when the leather gets broken in/moved around a bit. Example - heres my Buco J24 - Im pretty sure it had similar marks when it was new, but its bascailly irrelevant now, and ive not worn it much at all - View attachment 431989

 

[Damon141]

No matter if you keep or return/exchange this one, I will say that this well-broken in example is well worth looking forward to!!

That really looks great broken in. OP said it wasn’t worn that much at all, you also see some RMC Shinki that looks brand new after years. Since I’ve not owned a Shinki, I’d assume maybe this is a riding jacket which is what I’ll be doing with my Shinki when I get it. I’m guessing the ones that look new are possibly not exposed to the elements and combination with a large collection.

 

[ton312]

Horrible Vanson, current comp weight, “disappointing”:

RMC “it’s just character” hide:

 

[JurassicUtility]

Tanneries then have to work with what little they have and there is indeed little of it left, henceforth markings on the OP's jacket. This isn't a QC issue, it's RMC trying to make 10 jackets instead of 8. And that's okay!

Isn't making 10 jackets instead of 8 from the same amount of hide the definition of corner cutting? lol, I'd rather advocate for a quality product for the end user rather than the company's bottom line. Context matters here. The way I see it, if you are willing to pay 2k for a custom or made-to-order jacket, you have the luxury of being picky. I personally wouldn't sweat a few flaws in a pre-owned jacket for $500 (or less), but at this price point, I might complain. Like I said before, scars are cool, but clusters of enlarged pores are just straight up structural damage. The only jacket I own that has clusters of enlarged pores from bug bites, dung burns, etc is a cowhide Wilson's jacket where they obviously couldn't have cared less whether a visible front panel was thin, crappy belly leather or covered in scar tissue from dung burns.

 

[Nykwil]

If a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?​

likewise; if a jacket goes uninspected, where there any flaws? (20 years down the line)

 

[photo2u]

According to Schott, the money is made or loss at the cutting boards.