Show your natural leather

[Sheepdog149]

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How'd you get your's that color?

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[handymike]

oils, sun, and stain I believe.

 

[Mark Action]

How'd you get your's that color?

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Hi and sorry for the delay in responding. I suppose the best way to answer that question would be to give you an abbreviated history of the jacket since it arrived in the mail last spring. I had read a few posts from people who had some experience in breaking in the MF Campus Leather Jacket so I thought I would follow their steps. The first thing I did was put it through the soaking process and put it on once most of the water stopped dripping off of it so that I could conform it to my body.....much like the diagram that Christoph' has posted on his site. Then I proceeded to give it a sun tanning session every day thereafter while I was at work....placing it on a mannequin torso to keep it's shape. After about 3 weeks of this I noticed the color changed dramatically to a soft caramel color. At that time I applied a liberal coating of Pecard's Antique Leather Dressing.....feels like vasoline and took a bit of time to rub completely in. It darkened the jacket just slightly. After that, it was back to tanning again....almost every sunny day for 2 months. At that point, the jacket really started to evolve....especially since I would wear it regularly doing simple household chores, etc....never worrying whether or not it got scuffed or slightly marked up. I truly believe that it is very important not to dote over the jacket....don't be afraid to bruise it up a bit.

After about 5 months I noticed that it was not progressing any further so, I took a leap of faith and purchased a bottle of Fiebings Leather Dye in Russet. I had tested it out on an old vegetable tanned belt I owned and noticed that it did not necessary make a huge difference in the overall color however the dye seemed to settle into the various scars and rougher grain areas of the leather creating a contrasting effect from the more polished and smoother areas of the leather hide. So, the next step was to condition the jacket with pure coconut oil to nourish the leather so that it would receive the dye more evenly....much like applying linseed oil to wood before staining. I then took the big chance applying the dye to the jacket with a soft cotton cloth making certain to rub it in very thoroughly. The results were amazing....overnight it seemed to magically age the jacket by 40 years in appearance. The dye took to different areas of the jacket so randomly that it did not appear to be artificially enhanced at all. That is the long version of how it got to where you see it on the photos. You have to just trust in your instincts and forget about how much money you paid for the jacket and dive into the deep end. At any rate, I am glad to hear that you like the results. All the best!

 

[willyto]

Here you have a chance to own one cool Aero for a great price: Tan leather Aero jacket

It's not mine nor do I know the seller.

 

[navetsea]

well, as comparison I showed my undyed chormed tanned goat hide I used for DIY wallet I've been using since mid 2015

800+ days of buttsweat and farts do some aging to it... but nothing as drastic... sigh
the most visible stain is from black jeans I wear alot, and if anything it develops some warmer tone slightly yellower than pale gray it was when new... but that's all it gets so far, maybe 40yrs from now it would look cooler

 

[G'c]

well, as comparison I showed my undyed chormed tanned goat hide I used for DIY wallet I've been using since mid 2015

800+ days of buttsweat and farts do some aging to it... but nothing as drastic... sigh
the most visible stain is from black jeans I wear alot, and if anything it develops some warmer tone slightly yellower than pale gray it was when new... but that's all it gets so far, maybe 40yrs from now it would look cooler

Sorry couldn't resist laughing when you said buttsweat and farts seriously XD .

 

[navetsea]

just being honest, what would age a leather item that is deeply burried inside your jeans' back pocket... if not your own sweat and egg smelling gas

 

[G'c]

just being honest, what would age a leather item that is deeply burried inside your jeans' back pocket... if not your own sweat and egg smelling gas

Well this rule only applies to men. Don't tell me you don't know the unwritten LAW that women, especially pretty women, won't pass gas?

 

[Graemsay]

Dude.....that is one helluva wallet! Looks like an older Iron Heart design.....who is the manufacturer? Thanks for sharing.

@Mark Action the wallet is by Tush (Instagram), an obscure one-man Japanese brand. It's on a North Sea Clothing Carabiner Lanyard.

 

[robrinay]

I’ve show these pics before on TFL on a ‘manbag’ thread but for those of you who haven’t seen them here’s my USPS Mail satchel. I bought it cheap from eBay.com as it was missing it’s front flap. I used the skills I picked up on a one day leather skills course at the identity store in Matlock UK to refurbish it. As it the surviving part was well patinated I used sand paper and wood dyes to ‘age’ it. I use it for small items when I’m at antique fairs.

 

[torfjord]

I’ve show these pics before on TFL on a ‘manbag’ thread but for those of you who haven’t seen them here’s my USPS Mail satchel. I bought it cheap from eBay.com as it was missing it’s front flap. I used the skills I picked up on a one day leather skills course at the identity store in Matlock UK to refurbish it. As it the surviving part was well patinated I used sand paper and wood dyes to ‘age’ it. I use it for small items when I’m at antique fairs.

That looks absolutely amazing! I do some hobby leather crafting of my own and would be very interested to know what brand of dye you used for creating the faked patina on the new front flap.


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[robrinay]

A mix of these - I tried out various proportions on a scrap piece of leather until just right then applied with fine steel wool rubbing gently all over and harder in places that should show wear and tear.

 

[torfjord]

A mix of these - I tried out various proportions on a scrap piece of leather until just right then applied with fine steel wool rubbing gently all over and harder in places that should show wear and tear.

Thanks! Will have to look those up!


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[robrinay]

I’m fairly sure any spirit based wood dye will work and it doesn’t rub off like some leather dyes do, although I remember I did give it a light coat of Fiebings ‘bag kote’ when it was dry.

 

[Burrows]

Sorry for the delay in responding. Personally, it's my opinion that my MF Campus Jacket, being just a leather shell fits with room to spare. It is a 44 and the largest size they carry but it works perfectly for me since I like to dress in layers. While wearing a t-shirt I can really feel just how much room there is to spare. When I put on a sweater underneath, however, it fits like a glove. When I called MF to inquire about the Baloo, Peter told me that I should go with the 44 as well....even though it has a flannel lining. It would appear the the lining is somewhat thin and does not impact the fit all that much. Also, the Baloo cannot be put through the initial wet soaking process that Christophe suggests with the Campus jacket because of the mouton fur application. This restriction should keep the size of the jacket in tact whereas I found that the soaking process shrunk the Campus jacket a tad.

Moving on I would think that a 40 will do the trick for you based upon your size and weight. Of course, if you are unhappy with the fit when you receive the jacket, the good people at MF are always very accommodating when it comes to returns......although I do know that it is a hassle most of us would like to avoid. You may want to shoot an email off to them.....they are very good about getting back to me whenever I send one. At any rate.....all the best.....and, let me know what you think if you decide to pull the trigger. I am still sitting on the fence a bit.....wondering how I will divide up the wearing time between the two jackets.

 

[Burrows]

Sorry for the delay in responding. Personally, it's my opinion that my MF Campus Jacket, being just a leather shell fits with room to spare. It is a 44 and the largest size they carry but it works perfectly for me since I like to dress in layers. While wearing a t-shirt I can really feel just how much room there is to spare. When I put on a sweater underneath, however, it fits like a glove. When I called MF to inquire about the Baloo, Peter told me that I should go with the 44 as well....even though it has a flannel lining. It would appear the the lining is somewhat thin and does not impact the fit all that much. Also, the Baloo cannot be put through the initial wet soaking process that Christophe suggests with the Campus jacket because of the mouton fur application. This restriction should keep the size of the jacket in tact whereas I found that the soaking process shrunk the Campus jacket a tad.

Moving on I would think that a 40 will do the trick for you based upon your size and weight. Of course, if you are unhappy with the fit when you receive the jacket, the good people at MF are always very accommodating when it comes to returns......although I do know that it is a hassle most of us would like to avoid. You may want to shoot an email off to them.....they are very good about getting back to me whenever I send one. At any rate.....all the best.....and, let me know what you think if you decide to pull the trigger. I am still sitting on the fence a bit.....wondering how I will divide up the wearing time between the two jackets.

Hi Mark,
I'm just exchanging with Peter from MF and we agree that I should pick a 40 according to my size and weight. Now another question arises for me. As I live in France, I've asked Peter if people at MF would be eager to declare a low value on the customs form but Peter seems to be very elusive with the question. He told me that they usually do what they can to make it a smooth ride thru the French Customs and that it usually works. But I'm not too confident with that especially when a tax of $400 is hanging over my head. They happen to use Fedex and DHL as a carrier and those guys are pretty strict with import taxes. Is there any of you guys from the Lounge living outside the US who already have ordered from Mister Freedom and could share their experience?

 

[willyto]

Hi Mark,
I'm just exchanging with Peter from MF and we agree that I should pick a 40 according to my size and weight. Now another question arises for me. As I live in France, I've asked Peter if people at MF would be eager to declare a low value on the customs form but Peter seems to be very elusive with the question. He told me that they usually do what they can to make it a smooth ride thru the French Customs and that it usually works. But I'm not too confident with that especially when a tax of $400 is hanging over my head. They happen to use Fedex and DHL as a carrier and those guys are pretty strict with import taxes. Is there any of you guys from the Lounge living outside the US who already have ordered from Mister Freedom and could share their experience?

That's basically fraud so no proper vendor would do that.

 

[Dickie Teenie]

Not sure about DHL but FedEx hit's you extremely hard on clearance paperwork on top of the VAT tax, at least into Greece. I never have problems using EMS shipping.

But I'm not too confident with that especially when a tax of $400 is hanging over my head. They happen to use Fedex and DHL as a carrier and those guys are pretty strict with import taxes. Is there any of you guys from the Lounge living outside the US who already have ordered from Mister Freedom and could share their experience?

Ok not an aged natural leather but I'm looking forward to how this belt I just made will age. I'll check back in in six months or so for an update.

 

[Sheepdog149]

Steerhide wallet crafted in Japan. I just moisturized the leather with coconut oil, followed by Pecard Antique Leather Conditioner.

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[robrinay]

My new Gap trucker - also posted in the trucker thread.