Kubatu
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 458
Just got this in mail today, so I wanted to share here in a bit more detail than in the new arrival thread.
After hearing about Cal Leather for a long time, I started searching for my own in the fall of last year. I consulted with @JMax, one of the resident Cal experts here. He sent me several suggestions, including this one. The pictures supplied were not the best, and once the seller sent some more, red flags started to pop up. Weird spots with odd stitching, some cracks on the sleeves and collar. Plus, the jacket was just dirty. I moved on and ended up buying a used Vanson CHP2.
I liked the Vanson CHP, but...it's not a Cal. So finally I gave in to the itch and offered a very low price to the seller. He accepted and I got the jacket two days later. True to the pictures, there was cracking and weird stitching. One of the sleeves had a hole at the cuff. But things weren't all bad: the satin lining was new, and the zipper had already been replaced. It fit well, so I sent it over to Dena at Great Leather for cleaning, conditioning, and a redye. If there had been a notable teacore effect, I might have held off on the redye, but it was fading to an ugly gray instead. At a certain point, wear and patina don't look that great, especially when the leather hasn't been treated very well. Anyway, Dena did a great job. I think the jacket looks fantastic after the whole process, and she fixed some other areas that needed stitching, as well as the cuff tear.
The cracking itself is still there, obviously, but I'm okay with that. I'm optimistic that with good treatment from here on out, it'll hold up. The structural integrity of the leather is still solid, and Dena did not feel like it needed additional backing. I do know buying something with cracking on it is not everyone's cup of tea, however.
The jacket itself is likely from the 1940s or 1950s, dated by a diamond Talon (the only original zipper on the jacket). It's the standard Cal Leather CHP, but it also has a third chest zipper. I probably won't use that, but it is pretty unusual. I don't notice them often on Cals. It weighs about 6.5 lbs. What is particularly neat about the jacket is the graininess of the leather. The entire front portion of the chest is bumpy. I've attached a picture of my Vanson CHP in comparison. Granted, there's a significant difference in years on these jackets, but the surface texture on the Cal is something else.
The first picture is one of the pictures the seller sent me, and the second is a picture of my Vanson. From there on, its just pictures of the Cal.
Even though it is wildly impractical in the South, I'm very tempted to look into getting brown or blonde shearling collar made for the jacket. We'll see!
After hearing about Cal Leather for a long time, I started searching for my own in the fall of last year. I consulted with @JMax, one of the resident Cal experts here. He sent me several suggestions, including this one. The pictures supplied were not the best, and once the seller sent some more, red flags started to pop up. Weird spots with odd stitching, some cracks on the sleeves and collar. Plus, the jacket was just dirty. I moved on and ended up buying a used Vanson CHP2.
I liked the Vanson CHP, but...it's not a Cal. So finally I gave in to the itch and offered a very low price to the seller. He accepted and I got the jacket two days later. True to the pictures, there was cracking and weird stitching. One of the sleeves had a hole at the cuff. But things weren't all bad: the satin lining was new, and the zipper had already been replaced. It fit well, so I sent it over to Dena at Great Leather for cleaning, conditioning, and a redye. If there had been a notable teacore effect, I might have held off on the redye, but it was fading to an ugly gray instead. At a certain point, wear and patina don't look that great, especially when the leather hasn't been treated very well. Anyway, Dena did a great job. I think the jacket looks fantastic after the whole process, and she fixed some other areas that needed stitching, as well as the cuff tear.
The cracking itself is still there, obviously, but I'm okay with that. I'm optimistic that with good treatment from here on out, it'll hold up. The structural integrity of the leather is still solid, and Dena did not feel like it needed additional backing. I do know buying something with cracking on it is not everyone's cup of tea, however.
The jacket itself is likely from the 1940s or 1950s, dated by a diamond Talon (the only original zipper on the jacket). It's the standard Cal Leather CHP, but it also has a third chest zipper. I probably won't use that, but it is pretty unusual. I don't notice them often on Cals. It weighs about 6.5 lbs. What is particularly neat about the jacket is the graininess of the leather. The entire front portion of the chest is bumpy. I've attached a picture of my Vanson CHP in comparison. Granted, there's a significant difference in years on these jackets, but the surface texture on the Cal is something else.
The first picture is one of the pictures the seller sent me, and the second is a picture of my Vanson. From there on, its just pictures of the Cal.
Even though it is wildly impractical in the South, I'm very tempted to look into getting brown or blonde shearling collar made for the jacket. We'll see!
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