Skyhawk
Well-Known Member
The modern definition of Capeskin in the textile industry includes Sheep, Goat and even Lambskin under the name of Capeskin. What was the original Capeskin made from in the 1920's & 1930's?
Answer: It was a specific breed of hairy sheep.
Genuine Capeskin is a leather made from the hide of a breed of long haired sheep that originated on the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The breed has been spread to other regions and is now being raised in other places in addition to South Africa. The hide varies a great deal from other types of common sheep skin. It is thicker and much softer in texture. This gives the hide much more flexibility at the same thickness as other leathers and is probably why it was chosen for early flight jackets. It provided protection with the thickness while great flexibility for moving around in the cramped cockpits. The only drawback is that the softness of the leather makes it prone to chipping and less resistant to wear and the elements.
The confusion about what kind of hide Capeskin is made from has occurred because of the changing standards of the modern textile industry. At some point the modern definition of Capeskin changed to include Common Sheepskin, Lambskin and Goatskin. There are in fact jacket makers out there selling Capeskin that is not made from Cape Sheep but falls under the modern, catch all definition. Usually it is Common Sheepskin being used and the grain is far too smooth. It is understandable whether done by error or on purpose. It is extremely difficult to find tanneries that handle Capeskin, and even harder to find one who can customize the color and grain.
At Headwind Mfg Co we are happy to have a tanner that handles genuine Capeskin and can customize our hides to our specifications.
First off Capeskin is far softer and lighter than other leathers of the same thickness. It feels different in the hand, almost like a thick fabric.
Capeskin has several characteristics in the grain that can be identified. The hide can be processed to have a smoother grain or so that a lot of grain shows, but there are two things that should be present regardless of the processing.
1. Very small pore like bumps that run in a line patterns. Similar to lizard scales. They appear in lines almost like fingerprint ridges.
2. Large pillow like bumps. These vary depending on tanning process but should be evident somewhere on the jacket.
Check out the Capeskin below, our Superior Grain Oxblood . It displays the characteristics well. Note the tiny scale like bumps within the larger grain.
An example of a smoother type of Capeskin is our Chestnut color used for the 37J1 & A-1 jackets which generally had a smoother surface. We had this hide specially made for us to match the color and texture of the original jacket. The surface is smoother but the characteristics are still present.
Here are some examples of original grainy and smoother Capeskin.
Note that none of the examples above are completely smooth but have various graining and show the characteristics listed above.
Best Regards,
Jay
Answer: It was a specific breed of hairy sheep.
Genuine Capeskin is a leather made from the hide of a breed of long haired sheep that originated on the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The breed has been spread to other regions and is now being raised in other places in addition to South Africa. The hide varies a great deal from other types of common sheep skin. It is thicker and much softer in texture. This gives the hide much more flexibility at the same thickness as other leathers and is probably why it was chosen for early flight jackets. It provided protection with the thickness while great flexibility for moving around in the cramped cockpits. The only drawback is that the softness of the leather makes it prone to chipping and less resistant to wear and the elements.
Fake Capeskin in the Industry - Buyer Beware
The confusion about what kind of hide Capeskin is made from has occurred because of the changing standards of the modern textile industry. At some point the modern definition of Capeskin changed to include Common Sheepskin, Lambskin and Goatskin. There are in fact jacket makers out there selling Capeskin that is not made from Cape Sheep but falls under the modern, catch all definition. Usually it is Common Sheepskin being used and the grain is far too smooth. It is understandable whether done by error or on purpose. It is extremely difficult to find tanneries that handle Capeskin, and even harder to find one who can customize the color and grain.
At Headwind Mfg Co we are happy to have a tanner that handles genuine Capeskin and can customize our hides to our specifications.
How Can I Tell If Capeskin is Genuine?
First off Capeskin is far softer and lighter than other leathers of the same thickness. It feels different in the hand, almost like a thick fabric.
Capeskin has several characteristics in the grain that can be identified. The hide can be processed to have a smoother grain or so that a lot of grain shows, but there are two things that should be present regardless of the processing.
1. Very small pore like bumps that run in a line patterns. Similar to lizard scales. They appear in lines almost like fingerprint ridges.
2. Large pillow like bumps. These vary depending on tanning process but should be evident somewhere on the jacket.
Check out the Capeskin below, our Superior Grain Oxblood . It displays the characteristics well. Note the tiny scale like bumps within the larger grain.
An example of a smoother type of Capeskin is our Chestnut color used for the 37J1 & A-1 jackets which generally had a smoother surface. We had this hide specially made for us to match the color and texture of the original jacket. The surface is smoother but the characteristics are still present.
Here are some examples of original grainy and smoother Capeskin.
Note that none of the examples above are completely smooth but have various graining and show the characteristics listed above.
Jay
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