Belgian Military Leather Coat

[skbellis]

Today I received a used Belgian Military Leather coat from Sportsmansguide :

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=44743

The coat has alot of character and will need some saddle soap and alot of elbow grease to restore it (must have spent alot of time in a depot somewhere).

But my question is if anyone else has one of these coats, and if so, what are the additional leather panels with snaps for that came with it? Many thanks.

Cheers,

Scott

 

[Trotsky]

What kind of leather do you think it is Scott? Heavy? I would love one of these, but wanted to know specifics beyond horrible puns (thanks for being so Informative, Sportsman's Guide).

BTW, you still doing British reenacting?

 

[skbellis]

coat leather

Hey John!

The coat is a heavy weight leather, I'm not sure what type of hide it is. It is olive drab, but has some spots with light brown fading through. The coat I received is dated 1950. I ordered the XL and I would estimate it to be between a US 46-48 ( I haven't found a European size marking in it yet). I figure once I clean it up and treat the leather the fit should be more comfortable ( a bit stiff right now).

What was odd is that Sportsmansguide sent 4 panels of leather (matching more or less) that have snaps with them.

By the way, yes I am still doing Brit. reenacting (Coldstream Guards and RAF). Hope all is well with you.

Cheers,

---Scott

 

[Trotsky]

Scott,

Everything is great, still doing Brit, SAS, RN and RAF, as usual. Looking to get into German, for some reason! Also started French and Indian while I was in Tennessee as British Line. That's damn fun.
Thanks for the for the info on the coat. I was hoping it was brown, not OD. Looks like a really nice piece though.

 

[rgraham]

I have just received my jacket from the Sportman's Guide. It's much nicer than I expected. It does smell a bit musty, but over all it's in very nice condition. The green color is not objectionable, but the leather is pretty stiff. I wouldn't go out to the opera in this jacket, but I think it will make a pretty nice jacket for riding on the motorcycle, or kicking around. I will need some elbow grease for sure. To be honest, the jacket seems like it may not have ever been issued, and just was throw around and stuck in a box somewhere.

Mine also came with the leather squares with snaps. It looks like there are some snaps at the bottom corners of the lower front of the jacket that fits these perfectly. What they are for is anyone's guess. It seems like they would cover the thighs for some reason or another. They don't look very good at all when attached.

 

[dfukumoto]

rgraham

I have a Belgium jacket on order. I just used their general sizing charts to figure out my size; I have a forty chest so I ordered a medium. Mind me asking what size you ordered and did you find the size accurate according to their chart?

Thanks,
DF

 

[Luddite]

I had the breeches which go with this coat, some of the finest leather clothing I have ever owned. I gave up ever finding the matching jacket so sold the breeches on! I don't remember any additional snaps on the breeches, but I'm wondering if these additional squares are some kind of weather/windproofing for on-motorcycle use??

 

[DBLIII]

Well, gents, you all just cost me some money

Based on your commentary, I figured a heavy leather jacket for under $100 was worth pulling the trigger on. I decided to go with a size large as I usually wear a 42 but wanted a bit of room for layering so just subtracted from Scott's size estimate.
And, large is all they had left as of a few moments ago. Guess my Aero order will have to wait a bit longer.....

 

[rgraham]

I'm pretty happy with the sizing. I wear a 48, and the XL jacket fits perfectly. The sleeves are tight up by the shoulders, and don't seem to taper much on the way down to the sleeve. The sleeve is long, but I think that just adds to the protection value. I think you'll be fine size wise.

The way the leather squares attach wouldn't help riding a motorcycle. I thought that was a possibility, but they would just fly up in the air on a motorcycle. More of a protection thing if you were just sitting down, but not moving. It would be very interesting to know what they are really intended for.

DBLIII, I hope you are happy with your purchase, as there is no guarantee the jacket you get will be in similar shape. They are surplus military, and I just got lucky. Now I just need to go and find some Pecard antique leather dressing and go to work.

 

[DBLIII]

DBLIII, I hope you are happy with your purchase, as there is no guarantee the jacket you get will be in similar shape. They are surplus military, and I just got lucky. Now I just need to go and find some Pecard antique leather dressing and go to work.

Thank you. Actually, I'm expecting the worst (used, cracked, etc) and had planned on opening up the Pecard's - so any condition better than worn out surplus will be a bonus.
Some years back, my wife and I each bought a wool German military greatcoat from Sportsman's Guide - they were virtually new condition. We ordered a couple more for gifts and not so good condition. You're right. Surplus is surplus. No telling what you get, but that's part of the fun (well, sometimes....)

 

[rgraham]

What was odd is that Sportsmansguide sent 4 panels of leather (matching more or less) that have snaps with them.

Hey, you got four panels of leather with yours? I only got two.

So how is the leather conditioning coming along?

I couldn't find any Pecard's locally, so I bought some stuff called Leather Therapy instead. I rubbed down the jacket this evening, and we'll see what happens.

Where did you see the reference to 1950 on the jacket?

 

[dfukumoto]

Belgian Leather Coat

The date of manufacture is by the maker's label on the coat's lining.
There is another small white label there that had, very faintly, 1952.

I had to return mine because it was too small. Medium is about a 38" chest, so I'm swapping it for a large.

The condition of mine was same as yours, new old stock. The thick leather was in excellent shape with no scrapes, scratches or holes. The collar was wrinkled, no problem. The leather on mine was quite pliable, not stiff. The lining looked like heavy cotton, also in great shape. No staining by the collar, or any other evidence of use. Stitching was strong. Smelled musty though, just like grandma's basement.

Hope the large fits. I think it's a good deal for $69.

DF

 

[rgraham]

It really is a great chunk of leather. The entire back side is made from one piece of leather.

My wife doesn't like it, and it won't be mistaken for anything other than a military jacket.

My son tried it on an said, "You know who'd wear this?"

"Who", I asked.

"Nobody."

I disagree. But have not found the time or place to wear it yet.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

I'm a Belgian...and I know nossing about either the jacket or the four square panels. But I know about Belgium, and the Belgian army, in a folk lore way.
I can understand you guys thinking in terms of motorcycles and all that but, given it is Belgian army, have you given it a thought that these panels might be for ...riding a bicycle
(OK, ok I'm leaving now.... lol )
Paul

 

[matei]

Do ye have any pictures? I'm curious to see some!

 

[DBLIII]

Got mine (in large, which was all they had available when I ordered it). I wear a 42 and that worked but the arms are so long that they go to my fingertips. Given that, and I could not figure out how to keep the top folded open, it was either button all the way up or leave open and have the points at the front poke me in the face -- just decided to return it. Now, having pointed out the negatives......
Leather was really in good shape for its age. No wear, pliable, only found one place where a button would have needed a bit of additional sewing just for security. The belt can be unbuttoned and removed from each side, leaving a half-belt sewn on the back. Musty smell I am sure would have gone away with just a bit of pecard's or similar - or just wearing out in the weather for a day.
A good buy for the price, just didn't quite work for me.

 

[rgraham]

Man! I'm glad I bought one of these when I did. This one on the bay has really risen in value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vtg-1950s-Military-POLICE-Leather-Cafe-Jacket-Coat-M_W0QQitemZ370165325334QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Men_s_Clothing?hash=item370165325334&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A2|240%3A1318

 

[dfukumoto]

rgraham

Notice the guy on ebay removed the belt for some reason. I think it's the belt that gives this coat its style. Makes me think of something that would possibly have been worn by someone in the French Maquis during WWII. Of course, if I was running around blowing up German trains, I'd make dang sure that I blackened the shiney brass buttons first, lol.

I thought of pecarding the coat but got lazy and just sent it to a quality leather cleaner. They did a fantastic job! They condition the leather somehow and the color came back very slightly darker, which is fine.

BTW, did you figure out how to secure the lapels? They button down onto the top two buttons. It took me a few days to figure that out.

Anyway, I'm glad that I got this small piece of Belgian history.

DF

 

[skbellis]

I must admit that I have not yet done anything with those coat, but I plan to start working on it this weekend. I'll post my results when I am done.

Cheers,

Scott

 

[henrik5]

Is this the same one?

Hello,
I have bought this one as a "swedish submarine leather jacket" with leather from a Ren. I dont think so. But its also a very nice jacket. The first two pictures shows the condition when it arrives. Very hard and stiff, but its normal for leather not used for 50 years. There is a sign with the year 1952 in it. And a stamped 4 which i guess is the Size. Its sometehing like 50-52 or 98 in German sizes.
The leather smells very good. I first cleaned it with vinegar acid and then greased it several times. The liner is brown and not oliv as the other ones. But under the doublelayer on the shoulder and on other spots there is the rest of this green layer. It seems the whole jacket was green before but I am not sure. It weights 3,5 kg. The color oft the leather is awesome as you can see in the third picture.
Nice greetings, Henrik