Answer: Because most companies use
CHEAP SPLIT LEATHER
or Patchwork Pieced Together Leather!
What's the Difference?
Isn't Leather all the same?
PART 4 - PATCHWORK LEATHER
The obvious answer to this question is no:
The quality and type of the leather determines the price.
To really understand the difference between the quality and types of leather, you have to know what the different types and qualities that are available, the main manufacturing purpose for that type of leather, and the cost for those products. The main types of leather used in manufacturing of Motorcycle Chaps are Split leather, Premium leather, Naked leather, and Patchwork leather. We will discuss each different type of leather in a different article: Part 1 - Split Cowhide, Part 2 - Premium Leather, Part 3 - Naked Leather, Part 4 - Patchwork Leather.
PATCHWORK LEATHER is a form of leather that is made when you put many random pieces of leather together in sort of a jigsaw puzzle method. Each of the pieces are glued together then sewn together by a method called cross stitching. Different companies use different standards in the manufacture of patchwork leather, but most employ the all leather method. This means that you may get a piece of lamb skin next to a piece of pig skin, that is next to a piece of cowhide and so on. There is one company that only used lamb skin in there process, and we will talk about them later.
PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS are the cheapest style of leather chaps that can be made. PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS go by many names. The most popular names on Ebay® seem to be Iron Buffalo, Stone Leather Chaps from Rebel Ryder, Giovanni Navarre™ "Italian Stone Design" Genuine Buffalo Leather, and Diamond Plate Rock Design Genuine Buffalo Leather. I can sit here and try to convince you of the quality of what these chaps are, but I think the actual names tell you everything. Iron, Diamond, Rebel, Stone design, It seems that the people welling these chaps are wanting to try to convince you of how solid they are, when in fact they are made of hundreds of tiny pieces.
These PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS are soft and flexible. And, to their credit, they do use a polyester lining in them. But, don't think for a minute that they are as sturdy or durable as a real pair of leather chaps. They are not. If you go down on your bike wearing these, you will wish you had a real pair of leather chaps. I know this for a fact, I have seen it in my store more then once. I have sold many, many pair of real leather chaps to people who USED to have PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS. If you don't believe me, try to rip one of the legs. Or better yet, unstitch part of the lining and see what is between the lining and the leather. Most of the PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS manufacturers have to put a layer of foam rubber padding between the leather and the lining to even make them windproof. The only way I know of to make them water resistant is to mink oil the whole thing, and then go back over the stitching with seam sealer made for canvass tents. Good luck and have fun.
Now, there are uses for PATCHWORK LEATHER. We have sold PATCHWORK LEATHER vests in the past and we still do sell the PATCHWORK LEATHER bags. The PATCHWORK LEATHER bags that we sell are the all lamb skin type. They are made well last a very long time and use premium hardware (zippers, snaps, etc). we have sold these bags for the past 10 years or so and have only had 3 defective returns in that amount of time. PATCHWORK LEATHER can be used effectively in the manufacture of of some leather products. But in my opinion, PATCHWORK LEATHER is just not the most appropriate leather for use in motorcycle chaps.
For these and other reasons, we do not and will not sell PATCHWORK LEATHER CHAPS. As you have seen though, Lots of other companies are willing to sell them. I am sure that you can find someone to sell them to you for $19.99 or even less. But, If you are willing to spend just a little more, you can get a real pair of premium top grain cowhide chaps from us.
RealBikers.com is family owned and operated by Wholesale Direct, The Ozark Leather Shop, located at 1503 S 3rd Street, Ozark, Missouri 65721. So call us toll free Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm Central Time at 877-735-1377 with any questions and we can get started on your Custom Patches today. |
