To darken leather or not to darken leather?

[Superfluous]

Here's mine. Colour accurate:

Goodwear?

 

[Sloan1874]

Aero

 

[Superfluous]

Aero

I had no idea that Aero uses Shinki leather. Is that still the case?

 

[Sloan1874]

It was a one-off pre-prod Dustbowl Ken made from shinki they had in their stores, but I think it would be great to see it offered as a regular option on their other jackets - the Aeromarine would look ace in it. You never know, it might come up as part of their forthcoming 'luxe label. [huh] It is one of those leathers that once you see it 'in the flesh', you get what the fuss is.

 

[MightyEighth]

The one I missed was called "Auburn" (by the manufacturer) although it looked like Seal:

The leather darkening oil I mentioned will give you that colour from tan.

Here's my half-belt jacket that was gold/tan before Hydrophane Darkening oil;

 

[pipvh]

As the Four Horsemen of the Recession have forced me to watch the latest developments in the leather jacket world from the sidelines - :rage: - it seems to me that the new hides that are being offered are at least as interesting as the new (old) jacket designs. The colours and finish are the result of an enormous amount of time and skill. I say wait until you find the jacket/leather combo you want, from the maker you want - just going at a special hide with a pot of something or other sort of puts me in mind of this:

 

[Enough]

As others have mentioned, Feibings professional is a very richly colored oil/alcohol dye. They sell a de-glazer which is recommended for coated leathers to ensure an even application of dye. I have done boots and shoes and it is a very thin liquid and is hard to not make a mess and have it migrate where you don't want it, (the liner).

 

[Edward]

It was a one-off pre-prod Dustbowl Ken made from shinki they had in their stores, but I think it would be great to see it offered as a regular option on their other jackets - the Aeromarine would look ace in it. You never know, it might come up as part of their forthcoming 'luxe label. [huh] It is one of those leathers that once you see it 'in the flesh', you get what the fuss is.

'luxe label?

As the Four Horsemen of the Recession have forced me to watch the latest developments in the leather jacket world from the sidelines - :rage: - it seems to me that the new hides that are being offered are at least as interesting as the new (old) jacket designs. The colours and finish are the result of an enormous amount of time and skill. I say wait until you find the jacket/leather combo you want, from the maker you want - just going at a special hide with a pot of something or other sort of puts me in mind of this:
View attachment 11149

Oh, yes.... Let Monkey Jesus stand as a warning to us all! A jacket I'd spent a tenner on in a boot sale I might be tempted to try darkening. A very expensive, premium leather jacket new, not so much. Too big a risk it won't work and you then end up with a jacket that you still don't like and that might be harder to shift on the used market if it looks odd.

 

[Sloan1874]

'luxe label?

Back late last year, Ken said that they were looking at doing a limited range using some of the limited batches of more unusual and rarer hides they had in their store room. I guess if they're thinking of introducing them it could be with the introduction of the new designs and versions next month, though I can't say for sure.