1930's/40's brown leather cycle jacket restored by Aeroleather

[ukali1066]

Hi guys,

Here's my 1930's/40's German cycle jacket, I recently got it fully relined by Aeroleather, it was in a bad way, most of the seams had opened and some poor fool had put in a bright custard yellow lining...Aero fully relined it with brown cotton twill, redid all the seams, made all new pocket interiors and realigned the main zip, which was a badly put in replacement.

See the original thread here http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=36992&highlight=cycle+jacket+german

This is 80 years worth of all real natural distressing.. it's had two coats of Pecards antique leather care 1 year apart.

The leather is really thick and of high quality, not sure if it's cowhide or horse..any ideas ?

This baby has been given a new lease of life...and I'll proudly wear her until I'm in the ground....and she'll live on for someone else to enjoy

 

[crimsonofsam]

WOW! Great looking jacket.

 

[OneEyeMan]

That's the coolest jacket I've ever seen.:eusa_clap
Congrats.
Lenny

 

[Seb Lucas]

I was wondering how this would end up. Bloody fantastic! Pardon me while I go somewhere private...

How much did it cost?

 

[Papa M]

That sure is a fantastic jacket Ukali.

For my personal taste it would be even better if the pocket zip pulls were replaced with Lozenge shaped pulls. I have a real thing about Lozenge zip pulls.

 

[aswatland]

Aero have restored it well. They have done an excellent job on the leather stitching and the lining looks great. What make of main zip does the jacket have? It looks modern.

 

[ukali1066]

Cheers guys

Andrew the main zip is modern and made by SIMSEK, it was on the jacket when I bought it for £40, I'd have loved it to have had the original RUHR like the diagonal pockets, but beggars can't be choosers

 

[andy richards]

Aero did an excellent job! Congratulations and enjoy wearing it.
Andy

 

[jack miranda]

Excellent bit of restorative workmanship, Ukali.

You've rebuilt a really fine leather jacket. Huzzahs! for preserving a cool bit of history. Now enjoy the daylights out of wearing that puppy. I, too, am curious about the out-the-door cost of the project to restore the jacket, if you don't mind me being a busybody. Thanks for the pics. How about a couple of you wearing it in its new and splendid state.

 

[ukali1066]

It was around £70 for the job...but I only paid £40 for the jacket so it was all worth it

 

[Dave E]

Still looks like a bargain, even at the total price, that's very nice indeed.

 

[JanSolo]

I really hoped that the job would turn out well. The lining choice is excellent and with all the weak spots restitched there is no reason to be too careful with the jacket. Aero really know how to faithfully repair a vintage jacket.
Enjoy wearing this piece of history!

BTW: Judging from your close-ups I would say that it's more likely that the jacket is made from heavy steerhide. But it still could be horsehide. Although the leather looks a bit too thick and sturdy for that. Where the surface finish is worn away you can see the light brown base of the leather which clearly indicates that the hide is veg tanned. Veg tanning leaves the leather generally a little stiffer and harder to the touch and also makes it more abrasion resistant where chrome tanning creates a very pliable and soft leather which is very UV resistant and has a high tensile strength. Veg tanning is the traditional way to transform skins of large animals into leather. It's time-consuming and quite expensive today, therefore very few manufacturers use veg tanned skins (Aero, Eastman, Goodwear, RealMcCoys/the Few etc.)
Again congratulations!

 

[ukali1066]

Thanks for the info Jan....yeah I'm thinking cowhide too, I think it's what today would be called competition weight like you get on a Vanson....very sturdy.

Here's a pic of me wearing it....apologies for the smugness

 

[Papa M]

Here's a pic of me wearing it....apologies for the smugness

Yes indeed. That is one of the best smug looks I've ever seen. And quite justified too - You deserve to be a bit smug about that great jacket and its fine restoration.

BTW - Are you Bonnie Prince Billy by any chance?

 

[ukali1066]

Haha I had to google him...but I do have more head-hair than he does

 

[JanSolo]

It really fits you well! Sleeve and body length are perfect as is the overall fit of this jacket. Did Aero find any label of the original manufacturer? It looks quite german, not only because of the Ruhr zips. It looks... ehm quite "luftwaffian", although this style of jacket must have been popular all over the western world. Any hints?

 

[ukali1066]

Cheers Jan ! I can't gain any weight for the rest of my life now in order to keep wearing it

There were no labels etc... RUHR zips don't essentially mean German, I had some 1950's Belgian Para smocks that had RUHR main zips...

But it does have that tight fitted look the pilots favoured...

 

[Navin323i]

Beautiful jacket, Ukali! I'm glad you got the jacket back in your hands now, my friend... enjoy it! I should hopefully be getting a package from Aeroleather this week containing a certain customized leather jacket I ordered... I can't wait!!

That sure is a fantastic jacket Ukali.

For my personal taste it would be even better if the pocket zip pulls were replaced with Lozenge shaped pulls. I have a real thing about Lozenge zip pulls.

Do you have pictures of these Lozenge pulls? I assume Lozenge is the name of the company that makes the pulls?

 

[Papa M]

http://www.e-workers.net/items/workjacket_lee191lb/1.htm

Lozenge is the shape of the zip pull - as on the chest pocket of my favorite style of Lee 91 B denim jacket.

 

[Navin323i]

http://www.e-workers.net/items/workjacket_lee191lb/1.htm

Lozenge is the shape of the zip pull - as on the chest pocket of my favorite style of Lee 91 B denim jacket.

Ahh... my bad for not realizing you were referring to pull shape and not brand.

I can see why you like that style... that looks pretty cool.

On a separate note... hey Ukali... I missed seeing the picture of you wearing your jacket a few posts up... man, you even have your beard matching your jacket... that's true color coordination right there.