Bill Kelso Californian/Surrogate...

[Tommer45]

So, after being out of the leather jacket game for nearly a decade I decided to sell off some old, barely worn jackets. Twelve, thirteen years ago I wanted the heaviest, most badass leathers I could find. For the past few years I've gone for comfort.. wearing waxed cotton and a lightweight G-1. So this past spring I decided to try and find a lightweight horsehide jacket I could wear fall thru spring...and wear til I'm an old man (that's the dream, right?). After some research I ended up on the BK Surrogate. A few sizing emails with Andy and my order was placed.

-Standard Size 48 (I had measured 6 of my best fitting jackets and the 48 was nearly dead on)
-Dark Seal Brown Liberty Horsehide
-Medium Brown Thread
-Riri Main Zipper (I don't need vintage... I just need something that works)
-Repro Talon Ball Chain Puller Pocket Zip
-Cranleigh Cotton Plaid Lining
-2 Interior Pockets


The jacket arrived 16 weeks to the day from when I placed the order. First thing I noticed was how light the box felt! It felt easily a third the weight of when something like a FQHH Aero arrives. I was pumped!

I gotta say, I'm really very pleased with the fit and materials of the jacket. The Liberty Horsehide is really pretty wonderful, and the light/medium weight of it just feels perfect. The zipper tapes were installed perfectly, zips work super smooth, stitching is dead on. Really very well made.

You'll notice there are no interior pockets. I had ordered one on each side. Oops... guess there was an oversight during production. Not as big of a deal to me as it might be to some, I simply sent an email asking for a refund of what equates to about $49USD for the pockets.

I have never seen a lining left unstitched at the bottom of the jacket.. maybe this is how the original was? The lining is nicely sewn and finished, but you'll see what I mean in the pic below.

I don't have a fit pic for y'all, but it's perfect for me. Overall I'm very pleased with the jacket and glad I went with BK. The experience was professional start to finish. The jacket is very well made. Lifting my arms up doesn't cause the entire jacket to lift above my ears as it did with so many of my earlier leather jackets that just never quite fit right. Looking forward to getting this thing some wear and tear.

 

[Bennarion]

The grain on the leather looks amazing. Lining is not sewn, it is somehow doubtful

 

[Powerband]

Just fantastic—the hide is something else. And you can say that one can examine the quality of the entire hide when the lining allows a peak. Congrats, what a leather comeback.


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[Dr H]

[QUOTE="Tommer45, post: 2593136]
I have never seen a lining left unstitched at the bottom of the jacket.. maybe this is how the original was? The lining is nicely sewn and finished, but you'll see what I mean in the pic below.
View attachment 186631

The unsewn lining at the hem is a genuine vintage feature (used by Monarch) to prevent the lining drooping and hanging too low. Good spot by the manufacturer!

[/QUOTE]

 

[Lebowski]

Beautiful Liberty HH at its best, what a gorgeous grainy leather!
The leather looks dense and solid on the photos above, seems to look thicker than Vicenza or Warhorse for instance (which both are great leathers too of course), doesn't it?
Congrats!
Looks to be one of the most beautiful batches of Liberty HH, very like how the leather looks like!
Unstitched bottom line of lining is a feature which might be found on some 1930s-1950s HBs.
Very very nice jacket you've purchased!

 

[Tommer45]

Thanks guys! Good to know about the lining.. I figured there was a reason for it to be left open on the bottom...and the leatherwork and quality on the inside is just as clean as on the outside.

 

[nick123]

Yeah, that inside side of the leather, rarely seen in a repro, looks clean!
And the Liberty looks very much Vicenza-esque, but not exact. Same "goat"-like pebble texture. Well done.

 

[handymike]

Congratulations!

 

[Guppy]

[QUOTE="Tommer45, post: 2593136]
I have never seen a lining left unstitched at the bottom of the jacket.. maybe this is how the original was? The lining is nicely sewn and finished, but you'll see what I mean in the pic below.
View attachment 186631

The unsewn lining at the hem is a genuine vintage feature (used by Monarch) to prevent the lining drooping and hanging too low. Good spot by the manufacturer!

[/QUOTE]

I've seen this on a few jackets. I had a Vanson/Logan's Closet half-belt that was done this way (since sold, due to fit issues) and the Army's M-65 field jacket is like this as well.

 

[Will Zach]

Beautiful leather.

 

[sweetfights]

Gorgeous looking jacket.
I had looked at the BK Surrogate model many times and almost pulled the trigger a dozen or so times.
Well spec'd.
Damn fine looking leather. Terry knows all about this leather. Liberty rocks!
Your choice of color combination leather/lining: impressive looking.
Congrats and welcome home!

Nice photography by the way.

 

[tmitchell59]

Very nice jacket! A classic Half-Belt. I just posted some pics of my BK Dodger in Liberty Horsehide. I like the lighter weight for civilian jackets.

I've liked the fit and style of the Bill Kelso jackets.

Here is an album when my Dodger was new.
Here it is down the road.
Here is a BK Monarch A2 in Liberty HH.

Both those jackets are a few years old. They used a fast aging finish on these. I have no idea if they use that now. My Liberty jackets have a very different grain. I also have a Liberty Hercules in Black, but it is unworn.

 

[Mich486]

Nice jacket! I like it a lot. I didn’t know a partially unstitched lining was a thing.


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[Tommer45]

Very nice jacket! A classic Half-Belt. I just posted some pics of my BK Dodger in Liberty Horsehide. I like the lighter weight for civilian jackets.

I've liked the fit and style of the Bill Kelso jackets.

Thanks Terry! Your YouTube vids and pics on here helped me decide on the BK. So thanks for all the content! I went with the Liberty hide because I liked how yours had aged... only time will tell if it's still made to wear faster than other finishes.

 

[Cooperson]

Very nice half belt, look forward to some fit pics.

 

[tmitchell59]

Thanks Terry! Your YouTube vids and pics on here helped me decide on the BK. So thanks for all the content! I went with the Liberty hide because I liked how yours had aged... only time will tell if it's still made to wear faster than other finishes.

Thanks! Great Jacket! Wear in Good Health!

 

[ton312]

Really nice jacket @Tommer45! Hide reminds me of Vic looking at the grain. I like the way they situated the half belt too with the straps forward facing. Nothing beats a half belt for everyday wear! Congrats!

 

[Seb Lucas]

That's possibly my favourite half-belt pattern. I had a version made by Johnson Leathers which I sold. A bit big in the shoulders.

I have always wondered why more jacket makers don't end their jacket lining in this way. - old jackets I have seen here so often have this feature.

I'm not crazy about the rapid ageing of the Liberty Horse but I'd consider this one in a goat.

 

[zebedee]

The open lining allows for repairs and helps prevent sagging. I'd really like it if more of my jackets had this.

 

[regius]

Lining opening allow the lint & debris to fall out or get vacuumed. Beautiful jacket. I’m a bit surprised at peoples positive reaction to the pebbles though. When I showcased my Terminator 2, people don’t dig the pebbles, & they are not even as regular as this.


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