Ask a Question, Get An Answer About Outerwear

[Canuck Panda]

Is it fairly simple to remove the ribbed cuff inside my jacket sleeve on a leather jacket? I really dislike that feature.

Thanks!

storm cuffs? Just cut them off and leave the the stub on. Some of them are made like a bomber jacket first and then attached into the leather shell. They interfere with your watch right? Very warm though, keep heat in and wind and cold out quite well.

 

[KBlake]

storm cuffs? Just cut them off and leave the the stub on. Some of them are made like a bomber jacket first and then attached into the leather shell. They interfere with your watch right? Very warm though, keep heat in and wind and cold out quite well.

Yeah i forgot the term ‘storm cuffs’. The sleeves are short so they grip my forearm in the wrong place. I don’t live in a cold climate so I really don’t want them but I’m also reluctant to alter a vintage jacket myself.

 

[cbez]

I thought I would dislike stormcuffs but I surprisingly find them quite comfy.

 

[hungapotamus]

I just picked up this Simmons Bilt and have 2 newbie questions:
1) If I have a tailor remove the hand pocket zippers will that make the jacket look imbalanced or have issues later? I don't like the teeth scraping my hands
2) same question for the belt loops. If I remove them, will it make the jacket look imbalanced?

 

[spectre6000]

There are a bunch of different ways to add flexibility to the backs. What are the pros and cons of each (ignore aesthetics)?

I think this would be called the full action back:

A narrow version of the same that I doubt is meaningfully different in effect, but it's definitely different looking:

High half length action back:

Low half length action back:

High shoulder only gusseting:

Low half length pocket gusset:

Double low half length pocket gusset:

I halfway guessed at names for these, but I want to know how they feel relative to each other. It's been my (very limited) experience so far that anything where the shoulder panel is firmly connected across the shoulders doesn't really help much. That would be all but the full, high half, and shoulder only options, but I've only personally experienced low half-length.

 

[Mrkurtz]

Chamberlains Leather Milk leather cleaner
Straight Cleaner No. 2

Does anyone have any experience with this product?
Any damage to leather, dye, elastic or stitches ?

I have used their No. 1 Conditioner but this is an alcohol based cleaner with no conditioner.
Thanks

 

[Canuck Panda]

I just picked up this Simmons Bilt and have 2 newbie questions:
1) If I have a tailor remove the hand pocket zippers will that make the jacket look imbalanced or have issues later? I don't like the teeth scraping my hands
2) same question for the belt loops. If I remove them, will it make the jacket look imbalanced?

View attachment 585344
View attachment 585345

The CHP styled jackets have hand warmer pockets placed further back it’s hard to use them as actual hand warmers. When I try to use them, my arms will be bent very outwards just to put my hands in them. Normal jacket hand warmers tends to be a bit lower towards the bottom and more slashed for easy hand entry.

Removing hand warmer pocket zipper is easy, but I’d suggest to try them as is first. Can wear gloves so they don’t scratch hand. I find them mostly for storage then zipper works.

The belt loops can be removed, but there will be stitch holes the way SB does them. To swap those panels out would be costly.

Most CHP jackets are gonna have these issues. Very few if any civilian versions (no hand warmer zipper, no belt loop) out there unfortunately…

There are a bunch of different ways to add flexibility to the backs. What are the pros and cons of each (ignore aesthetics)?

I think this would be called the full action back:
View attachment 585350
A narrow version of the same that I doubt is meaningfully different in effect, but it's definitely different looking:
View attachment 585347
High half length action back:
View attachment 585346
Low half length action back:
View attachment 585351
High shoulder only gusseting:
View attachment 585352
Low half length pocket gusset:
View attachment 585349
Double low half length pocket gusset:
View attachment 585348

I halfway guessed at names for these, but I want to know how they feel relative to each other. It's been my (very limited) experience so far that anything where the shoulder panel is firmly connected across the shoulders doesn't really help much. That would be all but the full, high half, and shoulder only options, but I've only personally experienced low half-length.

Third jacket down will give you the most mobility given the sleeves are vintage sized too and not slim modern versions. That jacket has one of the best pattern/design around. Seattle Woolen.

 

[spectre6000]

Third jacket down will give you the most mobility given the sleeves are vintage sized too and not slim modern versions. That jacket has one of the best pattern/design around. Seattle Woolen.

The jacket photos are borderline random, and focused solely on the flexibility aids. I'm not sure I could even find any of the photos again, let alone any particular jacket. Are you saying the sleeve width is as or more important than flexibility aids? Are there pros and cons to any of the others? The one you pointed out as being best is one of the few I have any experience with, and mobility was excellent compared to what I called the "low half length action back" I briefly had in my possession.

 

[tmitchell59]

The CHP styled jackets have hand warmer pockets placed further back it’s hard to use them as actual hand warmers. When I try to use them, my arms will be bent very outwards just to put my hands in them. Normal jacket hand warmers tends to be a bit lower towards the bottom and more slashed for easy hand entry.

Removing hand warmer pocket zipper is easy, but I’d suggest to try them as is first. Can wear gloves so they don’t scratch hand. I find them mostly for storage then zipper works.

The belt loops can be removed, but there will be stitch holes the way SB does them. To swap those panels out would be costly.

Most CHP jackets are gonna have these issues. Very few if any civilian versions (no hand warmer zipper, no belt loop) out there unfortunately…


Third jacket down will give you the most mobility given the sleeves are vintage sized too and not slim modern versions. That jacket has one of the best pattern/design around. Seattle Woolen.

The 2nd and 3rd jacket are mine. Neither are a Seattle Woolen.

 

[TartuWolf]

@spectre6000
From experience with Aero Hooch Hauler I'd say the last two are not very helpful / don't do much. They help a bit, but the effect is minimal. Middle back pleats / gussets.
From experience with Vanson Chopper the the shoulder gussets, if done correctly, are absolutely fantastic and would be my nr1 choice in terms of aesthetic + functionality.
From experience with Vanson Model B the 3rd photo that you posted works extremely well too, amazing mobility. Slightly less aesthetically pleasing for me though.
With the Vanson examples note that they are masters of these things and other companies might make something that looks very similar but does not work nearly as good. For example I'm wondering how Aero and SB shoulder gussets compare to Vanson shoulder gussets.
No experience with the other options, but I would guess that Nr1 and Nr2 would have the highest mobility. Nr4 would probably not be very effective, but I might be wrong.
Good job gathering them all in one post. bookmarked!

 

[hungapotamus]

The CHP styled jackets have hand warmer pockets placed further back it’s hard to use them as actual hand warmers. When I try to use them, my arms will be bent very outwards just to put my hands in them. Normal jacket hand warmers tends to be a bit lower towards the bottom and more slashed for easy hand entry.

Removing hand warmer pocket zipper is easy, but I’d suggest to try them as is first. Can wear gloves so they don’t scratch hand. I find them mostly for storage then zipper works.

The belt loops can be removed, but there will be stitch holes the way SB does them. To swap those panels out would be costly.

Most CHP jackets are gonna have these issues. Very few if any civilian versions (no hand warmer zipper, no belt loop) out there unfortunately…


Third jacket down will give you the most mobility given the sleeves are vintage sized too and not slim modern versions. That jacket has one of the best pattern/design around. Seattle Woolen.

Okay this makes sense - you're totally right about the angle of my arms going into the hand warmer pockets, but that angle causes the zipper teeth to bite into my hands even harder and it's not like I'm going to just stop using my jacket pockets lol.

I definitely see your point about the belt loops, they're punctured into the waist area and will show holes if I remove them.

I think I'm still going to eventually remove the pocket zippers but will leave the belt loops. Thanks for your insights.

 

[spectre6000]

The 2nd and 3rd jacket are mine. Neither are a Seattle Woolen.

Could you please share more information and photos about these two? The brown one in particular.

 

[Poltung]

Hey there,

I'm wanting to improve my leather knowledge, and got lost in the mountain of posts here: I usually like to lurk and make up my mind on my own, but for these two I cannot seem to understand the hype for both.

How would you compare Aero Connolly steerhide to Lost Worlds Chrome Horsehide?

From my understanding LW's like a armor (akin to CXSH or CXFQHH) and is super duper thick. It will almost not age, and would virtually remain the same years from now.
On the other hand, I understand that Aero's Connolly SH smells like rose and has crazy grain & drape, and is discontinued today because the tannery's steep prices.

Can anyone with experience with both enlighten me on their main characteristics? Thickness, wear, weight, and so on.

Thanks!

 

[Canuck Panda]

The jacket photos are borderline random, and focused solely on the flexibility aids. I'm not sure I could even find any of the photos again, let alone any particular jacket. Are you saying the sleeve width is as or more important than flexibility aids? Are there pros and cons to any of the others? The one you pointed out as being best is one of the few I have any experience with, and mobility was excellent compared to what I called the "low half length action back" I briefly had in my possession.

Damn my bad, I thought the third one was Seattle Woolen. I went back to take a clear look and no.

So I've got the first jacket (Aero Northeaster) and the bottom one Rockefella, and similar jackets to third one (Roughwear?) and the second bottom one.

I don't think it can be judged by just the photo. Generally speaking full action back that goes all the way up to the top of the shoulder seam and down to the waist gives the most mobility because how big and wide the pleats are. But how big and wide the sleeves goes into the body also add or subtract from this. The torso don't actually move, it's always the arms and shoulders that are doing most of the moving. But each pattern cannot just be based on function, it's gotta look good too. And depending on body shape now we got three different factors.

I see your quest to crack the code and I can respect that. But I do believe the best way to it is to find a period pattern that fits you best first, and then use safety pins to nip tuck out the extra and see if mobility works if not, let out a few pins.

FWIW, the Hooche is close similar to the third and second last jacket I think. The Vanson B is close or similar to the Rockefella even the later has wider shoulder and slimmer body their sleeve angles make them feel very similar. You're missing a fatman type of Langlitz / Trojan cutting where the sleeve goes into the body from a wide angle and huge sleeves. You can get away with very slim torso measurements in this cutting and still look like its too big, A2 jackets?

I would say the best is to try on as many different pattern as possible and pick the one that you like the most and modify from that point on.

 

[spectre6000]

I've been trying to find as much as I can locally. I've found a handful of Schotts, but that's it. Apparently those were fashion jackets to boot (not surprising since they were at a mall). I've looked around the Denver area, and pickins are just really slim as far as leather specialty shops of the sort that would have high end jackets are concerned. I've just about exhausted what can be found locally.

I've done quite a bit of (non-garment) leatherwork, to the point that I considered doing it full time at one point, and I know the material well. With that, I have a really good head for 2D-3D spatial things of the sort that play in significantly with this sort of thing. Intuitively, anything with a shoulder panel isn't going to do what I need it to do. It's gotta be free between the shoulder blades. That means the bottom two, and the fourth are not going to get me there. A full action back clearly has the most movement, but it seems like it's probably overkill. From what I'm hearing, the "high half length action back" and "shoulder only gusseting" are the two options most likely to be minimum viable. I don't super care for how they look most of the time, but there are exceptions (like that third image, from the back at least).

I've looked at vintage options, but fit is at least as big a challenge there as anywhere else, and cost is even less favorable. If I could get my hands on some ideal pattern, I'd do the legwork to get it to Fivestar for patterning/reproduction purposes. I still have a very specific image in mind for what I want, and that may not be exactly a specific vintage pattern, but I think that's where the custom piece comes in. A good, solid, half belt pattern to start from will clearly go a long, long way with Fivestar.

 

[KBlake]

These sleeves are too short, right? I feel like it’s on the cusp of wearable but hard to say.

 

[Aloysius]

These sleeves are too short, right? I feel like it’s on the cusp of wearable but hard to say. View attachment 585661

Honestly when it comes to vintage, especially non-motorcycle, I don’t really care much. I think it’s fine as long as it’s noticeably past the elbow lol.

And no one looking will notice.

 

[KBlake]

Honestly when it comes to vintage, especially non-motorcycle, I don’t really care much. I think it’s fine as long as it’s noticeably past the elbow lol.

And no one looking will notice.

Haha thanks bud. It’s hard to part with something this special.

 

[jojothenorthstar]

If i buy a new shearling jacket, if the length down to the waist is fine, can i expect it to remain the same way? will the shearling compress and fall lower? Also if i get a bit bigger in my arms, chest, etc. would that affect the way it falls too?

 

[Aloysius]

If i buy a new shearling jacket, if the length down to the waist is fine, can i expect it to remain the same way? will the shearling compress and fall lower? Also if i get a bit bigger in my arms, chest, etc. would that affect the way it falls too?

If your waistline goes up, it'll hold up a hem, but I wouldn't expect the smoothing out of the wool to have a perceptible effect on length.