B-3 project

[fishmeok]

Taking a sanity break from other jackets I decided to try fixing up an old pseudo B-3 that was passed down to me. It's essentially a sheepskin jacket based loosely on a B-3 but with hand warmer pockets, no horsehide, etc. Pretty nice jacket really, but I wanted to experiment with a few things and this was the perfect candidate. I added an original Talon zip (repurposed from a B-4 bag, had to turn it into an open zipper- one of the things I wanted to try), horsehide on the arms, and a horsehide pocket. I had to run the tape up over the chest to cover up where the hand pockets were, and added the reinforcement tabs at the top and bottom of the zipper. The buckles and straps had already been added, and I spent some time experimenting with the finish. I dyed it a dark seal brown and then tried out some different topcoat ideas. The results are completely unexpected, but pretty cool. Broken grain! I still have to add the tapes the cover the arm to shoulder seams, but since I need to sew those on by hand it's going to be a while. Will also probably darken and weather the horsehide some, but I'm going to walk away from it for a while and see what I think. Stay tuned, I traded for a US Authentic B-6, will be tearing into that in a few months. I've got a thing for these shearling project jackets....
Cheers
Mark

 

[sbhva]

I'll take it!!!!! LOL

Beautiful work Fishmeok. Did you take a "before" picture? Is so, care to share?

 

[Edward]

Yeah, I'd love to see a before pic too... This looks great. You thinking of putting together a sheepskin from scratch?

 

[DavidVillaJr]

Hey "fish", what's your website addy again? I can't find it here, and I don't have it on the laptop.

Thanks,

dv

 

[fishmeok]

I didn't think to take a before pic, but it looked like pretty much every other generic B-3 type jacket out there. It was pointed out over on the VLJ that I missed the cuff seams- there should be no tape and they overlap the arms, so I will have to fix that too- otherwise it will just bug me too much.

I'd love to try one from scratch, but I do not have the machines necessary to put one together.

My website is superiorjackets.com, but i have to do some updates, have not been on it in a while.
Cheers
Mark

 

[alfyman]

Very Nice Jacket,