ForestForTheTrees
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 293
- Location
- Pacific Northwest
Hi all,
I wanted to thank many of you who have shared information via this forum about the many great leather jackets that you've found.
After browsing a wealth of information across the web, I eventually landed here and then spent a lengthy amount of time reading through numerous posts. It's always interesting to encounter a group of people who are very knowledgeable and passionate about a topic that one is not thoroughly familiar with. No exceptions here as I learned for the first time about a number of other less widely known manufacturers, including Johnson Leathers out of San Francisco. I was very impressed with the looks of their jackets that have been shared here by various members. I was also impressed by the fact that the folks at Johnson Leathers were so experienced with and open to doing custom work.
Most of the examples of their jackets that I had seen posted here previously appeared to be based on the M-200 motorcycle jacket and that was the way I was interested in going as well. I had a few conversations with Alan and Craig who were both very accommodating. An initial plan was drawn up and a test fit jacket was sent. We tweaked things based on subsequent conversations and then my jacket was constructed. It turned out the Alan was out of town when my jacket was shipped and he was unable to examine a few details that we had discussed. Unfortunately this resulted in the jacket needing to be sent back and the decision was made to make a completely new one. I had no problem with this and was very impressed with their commitment to my satisfaction. The second jacket arrived just as I had envisioned it from the start, with one exception. I started off looking for a brown jacket and ended up with a black one.
When we first started discussions, various brown swatches were sent my way and we talked about the qualities of the different samples. In my case, I was looking for a thick yet supple leather that was fairly smooth in appearance with somewhat fine grain characteristics. I also had a preference for leather that visually results more in "tight folds" as opposed to "sharp creases" over time, if that makes any sense. As a result, I received and additional swatch that I couldn't resist even though an up charge was involved. The leather is 3.75 oz. vegetable tanned cow hide from the Horween Tannery. The leather is initially dyed brown and then over-dyed with black. The result is a very rich looking dark black jacket that shows some subtle shades of brown under certain lighting conditions. It should also age beautifully. Alan declared this leather to be more or less indestructible and now I can understand why.
For use as a casual jacket, I was looking for a somewhat looser fit so that I could layer as much as a thick sweater underneath and still have some flexibility of movement. I think of it somewhat as a very thick windbreaker since I opted to go with a simple liner of the most durable material they had available instead of an insulated liner. I can't remember the specifics but apparently they create a lot of jackets for the Japanese market using this fabric. I really like a lot of the styling aspects of motorcycle jackets, but in this case I wanted something free of hardware with a short flap collar and as simple and clean overall as possible without too much taper to the body. Sort of a leather version of an Eisenhower jacket minus the buttons. Johnson Leathers delivered exactly what I had envisioned.
So again, I appreciate all of the insight I've gained here and wanted to put in a good word for Johnson Leathers who provide outstanding customer service and make an awesome product. Anyone considering a new leather jacket should be sure that they are on your list for consideration. Here's the end result (it's certainly going to take a while to break it in).
I wanted to thank many of you who have shared information via this forum about the many great leather jackets that you've found.
After browsing a wealth of information across the web, I eventually landed here and then spent a lengthy amount of time reading through numerous posts. It's always interesting to encounter a group of people who are very knowledgeable and passionate about a topic that one is not thoroughly familiar with. No exceptions here as I learned for the first time about a number of other less widely known manufacturers, including Johnson Leathers out of San Francisco. I was very impressed with the looks of their jackets that have been shared here by various members. I was also impressed by the fact that the folks at Johnson Leathers were so experienced with and open to doing custom work.
Most of the examples of their jackets that I had seen posted here previously appeared to be based on the M-200 motorcycle jacket and that was the way I was interested in going as well. I had a few conversations with Alan and Craig who were both very accommodating. An initial plan was drawn up and a test fit jacket was sent. We tweaked things based on subsequent conversations and then my jacket was constructed. It turned out the Alan was out of town when my jacket was shipped and he was unable to examine a few details that we had discussed. Unfortunately this resulted in the jacket needing to be sent back and the decision was made to make a completely new one. I had no problem with this and was very impressed with their commitment to my satisfaction. The second jacket arrived just as I had envisioned it from the start, with one exception. I started off looking for a brown jacket and ended up with a black one.
When we first started discussions, various brown swatches were sent my way and we talked about the qualities of the different samples. In my case, I was looking for a thick yet supple leather that was fairly smooth in appearance with somewhat fine grain characteristics. I also had a preference for leather that visually results more in "tight folds" as opposed to "sharp creases" over time, if that makes any sense. As a result, I received and additional swatch that I couldn't resist even though an up charge was involved. The leather is 3.75 oz. vegetable tanned cow hide from the Horween Tannery. The leather is initially dyed brown and then over-dyed with black. The result is a very rich looking dark black jacket that shows some subtle shades of brown under certain lighting conditions. It should also age beautifully. Alan declared this leather to be more or less indestructible and now I can understand why.
For use as a casual jacket, I was looking for a somewhat looser fit so that I could layer as much as a thick sweater underneath and still have some flexibility of movement. I think of it somewhat as a very thick windbreaker since I opted to go with a simple liner of the most durable material they had available instead of an insulated liner. I can't remember the specifics but apparently they create a lot of jackets for the Japanese market using this fabric. I really like a lot of the styling aspects of motorcycle jackets, but in this case I wanted something free of hardware with a short flap collar and as simple and clean overall as possible without too much taper to the body. Sort of a leather version of an Eisenhower jacket minus the buttons. Johnson Leathers delivered exactly what I had envisioned.
So again, I appreciate all of the insight I've gained here and wanted to put in a good word for Johnson Leathers who provide outstanding customer service and make an awesome product. Anyone considering a new leather jacket should be sure that they are on your list for consideration. Here's the end result (it's certainly going to take a while to break it in).
