Ask a Question, Get An Answer About Outerwear

[Will Zach]

This old CHP I got a while back has been a bit smellier than I like, so I gave it a soak and wash in the bathtub with some Castille soap. It's probably the liner causing the smell more than anything. Jacket was obviously heavily worn and probably never cleaned by the original owner, some CHP biker cop I assume. It's drying out now but the smell is even worse than before I washed it, have I awoken some demonic entity from within the jacket or will the smell dissipate when it's fully dry? I expect it'll take a full week to completely dry. Also, a load of blue dye came out of the jacket in the tub. Is this chrome salts from the tanning process or residual leather dye? The jacket is probably 50 years old, if that helps.

My guess is some leather dye came out. Yes, wet leather smells bad for some reason, it gets better when it dries out. One week is about right for thick cop jacket leather. When I wash old jackets I make sure I knead them well to get all the crap out when wet. Loads of dyes come out.

 

[hieu]

Does any know who the maker is for these jackets? I've come across a few of them. They look somewhat similar to Langlitz Cascades but are usually unlabelled. I've been considering them as an alternative to the Cascade since they're much cheaper.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/732513...et&ref=sr_gallery-1-15&organic_search_click=1

Thanks everyone!

 

[Jasonissm]

I see a lot of these Kett jackets with a design similar to the Lewis Lightning floating around. Found a few posts on the Lounge (some going back to 2013) but not so much information on these (maybe I'm not looking in the right places)

Anyone have thoughts on these and their quality?

Pictured: 70's Kett I found on Yahoo

 

[Daniel Veit]

Vintage Crown Zippers

Hi all ,
I am looking to source a vintage no.8 crown Zipper (brown tape) for my next field leathers jacket. I tried to google it, but came up (almost) empty. Could you direct me to plattforms where these zips are usually traded? Sorry if this should be obvious, but I am relativly new to this all.
Also: Which (crown?) zipper for the breastpocket would you recommend to go along the crown mainzipper?

Cheers,
Daniel

 

[Will Zach]

Vintage Crown Zippers

Hi all ,
I am looking to source a vintage no.8 crown Zipper (brown tape) for my next field leathers jacket. I tried to google it, but came up (almost) empty. Could you direct me to plattforms where these zips are usually traded? Sorry if this should be obvious, but I am relativly new to this all.
Also: Which (crown?) zipper for the breastpocket would you recommend to go along the crown mainzipper?

Cheers,
Daniel

^^
These are tough to find and expensive, but maybe @photo2u can hook you up.

 

[TartuWolf]

Thought this might be of interest in terms of leather education and current state of affairs in the world:
https://www.trumpler.com/fileadmin/.../news/LN-Guide_to_leather_making_COMPLETE.pdf
Pretty informative and readable report.

 

[Will Zach]

Thought this might be of interest in terms of leather education and current state of affairs in the world:
https://www.trumpler.com/fileadmin/.../news/LN-Guide_to_leather_making_COMPLETE.pdf
Pretty informative and readable report.

Great presentation @TartuWolf . The author is clearly an expert and has used many sources in the presentation. Very comprehensive stuff.

 

[pasghetti_western]

Hi all, hope you're doing well. new here, have a question about Aero's A2 fit as I'm trying to nail down the sleeve and back length. My size 40 highwayman was ordered at 25" arms (have since crumpled down to like 24"/24.5"), and the back was 26" (around 25.5" now as it's not perfectly flat anymore). If I want roughly the same fit in terms of the sleeve length and back length of the non-knitted highwayman, should I ask for the same measurements on an A2, or tack on a bit? I should mention I'm looking at a 42-15142 contract, in a size 42"

 

[Canuck Panda]

Not quite an outerwear question, but a leather spending question.

Do you think Cordovan Shell is over the top for belts? Should it be just for shoes/boots.

 

[Will Zach]

Not quite an outerwear question, but a leather spending question.

Do you think Cordovan Shell is over the top for belts? Should it be just for shoes/boots.

I would say it's perfectly fine for formal wear. Not so much for casual/jeans/heritage etc. I think rugged belts look better with casual wear.

 

[TartuWolf]

@Canuck Panda
I doubt if you'll be able to find a one piece shell cordovan belt, as the shells come in rather small sizes. Will probably have to be a 2-3 piece one, which is not a good idea for a belt.

 

[Marc mndt]

I doubt if you'll be able to find a one piece shell cordovan belt, as the shells come in rather small sizes. Will probably have to be a 2-3 piece one, which is not a good idea for a belt.

https://www.carminashoemaker.com/green-cordovan-belt-silver

 

[TartuWolf]

@Marc mndt
Okay, but do you know how they make them?
I see that XXL shells are 1 meter max in length.
https://www.thetanneryrow.com/leather101/cordovanquestions
So the belt one would make can only be so long.
Although I have heard of "double shells" where both cheeks come intact, making it possible to get a very long continuous strip for a belt.

 

[Marc mndt]

@Marc mndt
Okay, but do you know how they make them?
I see that XXL shells are 1 meter max in length.
https://www.thetanneryrow.com/leather101/cordovanquestions
So the belt one would make can only be so long.
Although I have heard of "double shells" where both cheeks come intact, making it possible to get a very long continuous strip for a belt.

 

[Harris HTM]

Not quite an outerwear question, but a leather spending question.

Do you think Cordovan Shell is over the top for belts? Should it be just for shoes/boots.

I own three shell belts (2 Carmina's and a Crockett n Jones) and they're perfect for both formal and more casual wear (I do wear shell dress boots with jeans).
Indeed they're made in three pieces.
The Crockett n Jones is a perfect belt and better than the Carmina's, the last ones have some finishing issues (I still wonder why people bash Alden and praise Carmina for attention to detail and quality control, both brands have the same issues, but I guess this happens when opinions are based on influencers, instagram accounts and internet fora rather than hard facts and first hand experience).

 

[TartuWolf]

So I agree with @Will Zach , should be fine for formal wear, but I would not recommend it as a daily wear / casual belt.
Although it depends on how you wear your belt - does it actually do manual labor, stay under tension and actually hold your pants or is it floating and hanging around just for the looks.
Not a good idea to wear a multi-piece belt under constant tension in my opinion.

 

[Harris HTM]

So I agree with @Will Zach , should be fine for formal wear, but I would not recommend it as a daily wear / casual belt.
Although it depends on how you wear your belt - does it actually do manual labor, stay under tension and actually hold your pants or is it floating and hanging around just for the looks.
Not a good idea to wear a multi-piece belt under constant tension in my opinion.

I don't think that under normal circumstances (that is the belt under a constant slight tension) they would fail but indeed I would avoid any manual labour with these. Especially the Carmina's, the overlap is minimal and there are far less seams connecting the two strips compared to the C&J (which at the overlap by the way has the optimal shape for smooth force transfer from an engineering point of view).

 

[Jasonissm]

I don't think that under normal circumstances (that is the belt under a constant slight tension) they would fail but indeed I would avoid any manual labour with these. Especially the Carmina's, the overlap is minimal and there are far less seams connecting the two strips compared to the C&J (which at the overlap by the way has the optimal shape for smooth force transfer from an engineering point of view).

I think not from just that but the fact that shell cordovan is not thick enough to be belt material on its own so it needs additional leather as a core or lining, usually bovine leather. In the case for the Carmina one linked above, lined with calf, and I find if you flex it enough times, the glue will come apart eventually (usually at the main hole used). The stitching will still hold, but the edge finishing will separate, in my experience. So I prefer one piece of thick leather for my belts, J&FJ Baker bridle leather is my favourite.

 

[Harris HTM]

I think not from just that but the fact that shell cordovan is not thick enough to be belt material on its own so it needs additional leather as a core or lining, usually bovine leather. In the case for the Carmina one linked above, lined with calf, and I find if you flex it enough times, the glue will come apart eventually (usually at the main hole used). The stitching will still hold, but the edge finishing will separate, in my experience. So I prefer one piece of thick leather for my belts, J&FJ Baker bridle leather is my favourite.

Yeah, I see what you mean and I guess you're right, then the weak point is indeed not the overlap and stitching of separate strips but the hole edge itself.

 

[newtojackets]

Is a rip in a biswing back an easy fix?